A Deep Ecology workshop will be conducted at Narara Ecovillage on October 25-27 by John Seed and Tema Milstein.
It will be presented by the Rainforest Information Centre (which will receive 25 per cent of profits), with attendees invited to bring their own tent or campervan or stay in a B&B or their own home if they live nearby.
Vegetarian meals will be provided, along with gluten-free and vegan options by request after booking.
John Seed has worked for worldwide rainforests since 1979.
“Although many of our efforts succeeded, for every forest saved 100 have disappeared,” he said.
“Clearly, you can’t save the planet one forest at a time.
“It’s one green Earth or a bowl of dust.
“Without a profound change of consciousness, we can kiss the forests goodbye; the ones we’ve ‘saved’ alongside the rest.
“Deep ecology is key to the change we need.
“Underlying all the symptoms of the environmental crisis lies a psychological or spiritual root – the illusion of separation from the rest of the natural world which stems from anthropocentrism or human-centredness.”
Seed said the modern psyche, conditioned since the Old Testament to “subdue and dominate” nature, was radically alienated from the air, water and soil which underpinned life.
“This is reflected in the rapid shredding of all-natural systems in the name of economic development,” he said.
“Deep ecology reminds us that the world is not a pyramid with humans on top, but a web.
“We humans are but one strand in that web and as we destroy this web, we destroy the foundations for all complex life including our own.
“In this workshop we remember our rootedness in nature, recapitulate our evolutionary journey and experience the fact that every cell in our body is descended in an unbroken chain four billion years old.”
Tema Milstein has been intrigued by the deep ecology movement since she studied it as part of her PhD program in environmental communication, culture and change.
When she moved her family from the United States to Australia in 2019 for the love of this country, she was happy to move closer to key thinkers like John Seed in deep ecology, and other leaders in related knowledge systems.
She is program convenor for University of NSW’s Master of Environmental Management program and also teaches undergraduate environmental humanities.
Her research and teaching focus on ways culture and communication shape ecological understandings, identities and actions.
Her most recent book is the Handbook of Ecocultural Identity.
The workshop will be held from 4pm on Friday, October 25, to 4pm on Sunday, October 27.
To book, search ‘deep ecology’ at humanitix.com
For more information, email johnseed1@ozemail.com.au