Regenerative practice (under its myriad of guises) has been growing hugely in the past few years, on the roots of decades, centuries and millennia of regenerative practices that have gone before.
In every field, from architecture to product design, from land use to economics, from wellbeing to agriculture and from wellbeing to business, we can see regenerative practices emerge as a serious contender to business as usual. This allows us to vision a future within planetary boundaries and with lives and businesses full of health and purpose; pieced together from the existing real examples that are everywhere when you know where to look.
Of course business-as-usual is not going to give up without a fight and we can see the dying throws in the polarisation, the extremism, conspiracy theories and the exploitative marketing.
Which is all the more reason why those of us who are serious about co-creating inspiring ways of living on planet Earth NEED TO COME TOGETHER TO GROW THIS MOVEMENT TOGETHER.
And to do this WE NEED EVERYONE who wants to take part.
But how to do that when every newsfeed is overflowing with examples of how divided humans are, how selfish, how destructive?
The answer lies, (as with every movement), in DECIDING WHAT UNITES US. And I don’t mean unites small group of people who recognise each other when we show up to conferences. I mean that we decide what unites us AND then align that with what has the potential to unite every member of the human race (and incidentally every living being on our planet too).
So what GUIDING CONCEPTS should we draw on to grow such a movement?
What has the potential to unite us so much that we can stay away from the petty spats and punching down that social media encourages? To avoid being drawn into the competitive mindset of neoliberal economics that we are trying to move away from? And to move beyond the blame and shame of different approaches when ultimately we all want the same thing:
A PLANET THAT IS HEALTHY FOR HUMANS AND FOR ALL BEINGS IN A RESILIENT, INTERCONNECTED WHOLE.
I believe that what all TRULY REGENERATIVE PRACTICES have in common are some relatively simple to understand concepts.
If everyone using the term regenerative united behind them (and of course most already are) then we will successfully bring this to the mainstream with only a natural amount of upheaval or division.
Guiding concept 1: Regenerative practices are guided by living systems (nature)
Why is this primary principle so important?
First, because aligning with the principles of Life is the only way of living that has ever been proven to succeed long-term on planet Earth – either for humans or for other living beings.
And second, because, when taken as a holistic approach (rather than cherry-picking principles), nature-inspired, regenerative practice is very difficult to Greenwash, to Regenwash or to co-opt.
Because nature is very democratic – it’s a bit like the Emperor’s new clothes – take any child into the woods and they can tell you when you throw plastic on the ground that you’re not operating according to the natural principle that cycles matter without polluting.
In the same way, when a corporate advert tells you a product is regenerative, you might hear that it might take away wrinkles but you’ll be questioning whether 100% of its ingredients (in combination) are beneficial to aquatic life.
We start by asking ourselves – does my action create life and create the conditions conducive for life to thrive?
Guiding concept 2: That living-systems (nature) have principles that characterise life and growth
We don’t need to agree exactly on what those principles are, but we do need to be guided by biologists and ecologists and look at the success of whole ecosystems rather than cherry-picking principles from individual organisms to suit our purposes.
Many disciplines (and practitioners) are already guided by living-systems principles – for example permaculture, biomimicry, regenerative business, regenerative economics, land-based permaculture, social permaculture, biophilic design, regenerative agriculture.
Many overlap and all are slightly different depending on their application BUT THAT’S OK. Like I say we don’t need to agree on a definitive set– we just need to be able to lead people into the woods (or seashore or any other ecosystem) and allow them to observe them.
Nature (and natural principles) are an important evaluation tools for everything from business to agriculture, to economics to wellbeing – which again means they are less likely to be co-opted by businesses without scrutiny.
Guiding concept 3: That humans systems (families, communities, businesses, social systems, economies) are living systems
This concept leads us to agreeing that human systems will be more healthy and resilient when we operate by the same rules.
Humans are no longer apart from other living beings, we take our place back in nature where we belong (and where we never actually left other than in mindset).
Guiding concept 4: That to be most effective (and democratic and inclusive) living-systems approaches also require Nature-Connection,
This means that everyone (from toddler to CEO) can experience and learn from living systems directly.
We know that, to be effective, a regenerative shift is something you need to FEEL and experience rather than simple understand in an analytical way.
All the books and theory mean nothing unless you can stand in a forest and feel part of Life. To feel connected.
Nature-connection has real benefits for people, but in this context we aren’t connecting because of what we can consume from nature, but how we can connect with other living beings in a joint endeavour called LIFE.
So we’re going to have to unite behind the discomfort of being told these most natural of behaviours are ‘woo-woo’ or ‘tree-hugging’, and stand proud amongst the trees.
And this embodied and emotional element of nature-connection has the potential to unite people regardless of their tradition of faith and belief-systems.
Guiding concept 5:– To honour a diversity of nature-inspired practices, from ancient and indigenous wisdom to the modern elders AND recognise that we are co-creating on new ground.
This fifth concept invites the role of guides and elders, not of ‘experts’ and ‘gurus’. What’s the difference? In short, for this to work, everyone is invited to grow their own potential rather than wait to be told what to do by an expert or guru. So guides and elders are there with the necessary handrails, frameworks and nature-connection practices to support a paradigm shift. But we must not create new gods or religions or cults of personality. And those who are raised up by others are invited to practice humility and pay respect to Life/Nature/ living ecosystems as the ultimate teacher.
To do this everyone is invited to examine their mindsets, their privilege and power, their desire to ‘tell others what to do’ or ‘be told what to do’. Instead, we must be willing to relinquish feelings of being in control and embrace the complexity of Life, sitting with a certain amount of discomfort as we shift towards a world of empowerment and potential for all and co-creation together.
I believe that those 5 Guiding Concepts (with the associated natural wisdom) form the solid basis of all we need to guide a huge transformation towards tipping points to a future fit for humans and all Life.
So, to return to my original question how do we put this into practice to create a welcoming and inclusive regenerative movement?
Regenerative circles are abundant with welcoming and inclusive practices to learn from.
Here are some practical actions (with a few warning signs where I’ve encountered the opposite in recent times):
1. We create open, welcoming and inclusive spaces which have strong values to unite us
(alternatives are ‘invitation-only’ networks behind closed doors or behind high paywalls)
2. We create and model healthy cultures from the outset and put in place checks and balances for power and celebrity (we don’t wait for things to go wrong to work on cultures and communication and the ‘people-side of things’). We value the role of facilitators and guides in helping to create healthy cultures.
3. We invite nature-connection and nature-learning as regular practices (instead of leaving nature in the theory books or entirely absent)
4. We create specific roles for nature representation in our networks and conferences. We give nature a voice in a language we can all understand (instead of using nature as a commodity).
5. We call out behaviour that doesn’t align with the guiding concepts above (and we support those with the courage to do so). We accept this as part of a healthy natural feedback process.
6. We recognise that our own situations can lead to more or less influence or power and we adjust our actions accordingly to lift up the voices of those less heard.
7. We avoid creating ‘gurus’ or ‘experts’, instead inviting ‘guides’ and ‘practitioners’, case studies and experiences of ‘successes’ and ‘failures’. We recognise the need for everyone to gain the tools, frameworks and inspiration needed to grow their own potential, specific to their needs, circumstances and place.
8. We share the work of those practicing in a regenerative way– by amplifying each other’s endeavours we raise the profile of all regenerative practice. (we avoid the traps where we see other practitioners as competitors). We grow the spheres of influence for regenerative practice by uplifting each other.
9. We unite across the nature-inspired disciplines – whether you’re a permaculturist or a biomimetic architect, a regenerative personal development coach or a regenerative economist we can support each other and learn from each other (we avoid creating new silos of regenerative practitioners to replace the old silos of unregenerative ones)
10. We leave no-one behind that wants to come with us (gatekeeper roles are limited to creating and maintaining healthy culture not keeping out diversity or new people).
11. We recognise that a diversity of ideas and voices and people and ecosystems and ways of being and doing are what will create a healthy future. We unite diversity around a common purpose of growing regenerative practice so that everybeing, everywhere is part of it and benefitting from it.
What are your thoughts – please comment if this resonates or if you have additional suggestions for growing a healthy regenerative movement. Please share to encourage conversation around this important topic.
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If this resonates with you and you would like to join a community of people interested in nature-inspired, regenerative approaches living on planet Earth, WE WELCOME YOU to join Inspired by Nature Network.
Our monthly Seedling Sessions, accessed via the network (via Zoom) are a great forum to explore nature-inspired frameworks in a practical way to grow your ideas and projects.
Inspired by Nature Network and Seedling Sessions are Free/Pay-what-you-can and we welcome people regardless of income status.
With a UK focus we aim to bring people together across regenerative disciplines (and very much welcome people for whom regenerative concepts are new too).
Our vision is to grow a healthy, bioregional network of people who can co-create a healthy, nature-inspired, regenerative future for all.
No gatekeepers, no gurus, no egos, no getting bogged down in theory – just people coming together to bring into reality really good stuff the world needs – guided by nature’s regenerative wisdom.
To find out more and join here’s the link:
Inspired by Nature Network (and Seedling Sessions)
Inspired by Nature Network is hosted on Mighty Networks and is easy to navigate and connect with other people.
As well as connecting online we aim to grow various opportunities to connect with members in person too.
(And if you’re sitting at home or in the office thinking this is the best thing ever and want to support the network financially then please get in touch. We are seeking two or three large donors who are aligned with our values to give the network the momentum it deserves).
With Abundance.
About me: I am a regenerative trainer, speaker and guide, supporting individuals, businesses and organisations to adopt regenerative ways of living and working, inspired by living-systems success. I am author of Think like a Tree: the natural principles guide to life, founder of Think like a Tree and co-founder of Think like a Forest and originator of Inspired by Nature Network.
I have trained across nature-inspired disciplines, from permaculture to forest school, from regenerative economics to regenerative business, from horticulture to nature-inspired personal development and I believe that a holistic approach is what is needed to draw us into a new, connected way of being and doing.
I live in the National Forest in south Derbyshire in the UK with my family in an old farmhouse surrounded by thousands of trees.
All my life I’ve pondered the big question- why aren’t we living the way that nature shows us works?, so have made it my vision to raise the profile of that question, and the solutions that flow from it. 🙂
Links to my work:
Think like a Tree (for individuals) www.thinklikeatree.co.uk/for-you
Think like a Forest (for businesses and organisations) with JK (Jennie-Kate) McQuinn https://www.thinklikeatree.co.uk/product/regenerative-organisation-fundamentals/
Think like a Tree was shortlisted for the Lush Spring Prize in 2023.
And here’s a link to a community project that I co-founded in 2013: www.whistlewoodcommon.org