What a whirlwind of learning and sharing at three different conferences this week! I've been inspired (thank you, Evan Kuras) to share a bit of the value I've found in each of these experiences. As my mind and heart process all that I've taken in over the past week, in person and virtually, I'm left with a couple of key points to ponder and integrate into my work:
Space-making, relationships, and realistic optimism!
from North American Association for Environmental Education #naaee2023:
- Making space to engage in meaningful conversation around the challenges of equitable evaluation processes and community engagement
- My social science thirst quenched by hearing others speak about the need and relevance of our human experience within the natural sciences and environmental education.
A local, intimate knowledge of who is around you may be the most powerful tool in making impactful changes!
from Florida Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (FACDEP) #FACDEP
- A small and dedicated group's deep understanding of the needs and hardships of many communities around the state
- The critical (and under appreciated) work of community development agents in addressing complex social and health needs in Florida
Talk may be cheap, but true dialogue is priceless!
from National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) #ncdd2023
- Engaging in direct conversations that address historical and current injustice reconnects us all to our shared humanity. From there, it inspires us to move forward in an active and honest way. How can I regularly engage with people in my sphere in a way that promotes truth and kindness (not necessarily niceness)?
- The Southern Deliberative Democracy Network (SDDN) was gracious enough to have me as a panelist during one session and this showed me yet again the power and need for uplifting one another in this work .
- One tool for continuing onward through the sheer overwhelm and pain of national and global politics and terror is through deepening personal connections and hyper-local actions. "When they go low, we go deep" - V Fixmer-Oraiz
Photo is a mural located at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in SW Florida. "Diversity, Relationships, Learning, and Protection" are the four elements demonstrated here -> whether applying them to the natural world or one another, they are fitting for the good of all!
Executive Director at Colorado Youth for a Change
2moLove this! So sorry to miss this time.