Mission and Values
We believe we are living in a time of deep social and ecological crisis, which creates disconnection from the idea of community, solidarity and the natural world. We see a more just, life affirming, creative and connected future as not just possible but necessary. The Natural Resilience Project is an attempt to create a tiny microcosm of that future.
We believe in a future in which destitution, inequality, racism and violence a) do not exist and b) no longer disproportionately affect women and people of colour.
We want the circumstances to exist in which is it possible for everyone to be healthily and positively connected to ourselves, to our communities and the natural world.
Our mission (until our vision of utopia is realised) is to prioritise work with people who are most disadvantaged from an intersectional perspective; to support and nurture the personal resilience of those struggling the most, through positive nature and community connection work.
Our workshops and childcare will always be free to those that need it.
SELF-EMPOWERMENT
Participants are the experts in their own sources of existence, resilience and survival and are treated with dignity and respect.
“I discover myself. I was a good wife, a good mother, but not good to myself. I have met me, myself again, I have discovered my inner strength.”
COMMUNITY BUILDING
We create a safe space for women to explore the similarities and shared nature of their experiences in order to find collective strength and support each other. We explicitly support participants to explore the systemic nature of their situations and reject ideas that people are individually responsible/to blame for their circumstances.
“When you are passing through stress you need people. So when I went home that day [after the first session] I was happy in my soul. I was lighter. The problem is out of me.”
NATURE CONNECTION
Actively ‘connecting’ with nature cultivates a sense of peace, appreciation and connectedness to the larger natural world that supports resilience in day to day life. Nature connection is an active practice and differs from simply “being in nature”.
“Today I realised for the first time that the earth can hold me and carry my burdens.”