Exploring the Enduring Wild: A Journey Through America's underdog lands /40 Joshua Jackson

“It was like a 10 year reorientation of what beauty looks like.”

— Joshua Jackson

In this episode, Joshua shares the profound impact of exploring the so-called “leftover” lands—places long dismissed as lifeless or inconvenient—that he now sees as sacred and bursting with biodiversity. You’ll discover how his immersive travels through desert dunes, salt flats, and sagebrush oceans rewrote his understanding of beauty and purpose in nature, and why these underdog landscapes deserve our attention and care.

This conversation, as many of the others, was a long time in the making and I am truly grateful that it came together. His book is beautiful, and even more so the heart of his work. Relevance that goes way beyond the borders of the US.

The deeper we got into the conversation, the clearer this line became: true beauty often whispers, not screams. It’s a reminder that sometimes, we need to slow down — to really see; to be present.

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About Joshua Jackson

Joshua Jackson is a writer and photographer whose work explores the overlooked public lands of the American west.

His work has appeared in The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, High Country News, SFGATE, and Adventure Journal, among others. He has also been a featured guest on numerous podcasts exploring nature, science, and conservation. His first book, The Enduring Wild: A Journey into California’s Public Lands (Heyday, 2025), winner of the Golden Poppy Award and a Foreword INDIES finalist, is both a love letter to these landscapes and a meditation on belonging and reciprocity.

As founder of the Forgotten Lands Project, Josh gives keynote talks on public lands and place attachment, engages in storytelling collaborations with conservation organizations, and guides camping trips with the USAL Project that connect people directly to these fragile and inspiring landscapes.

He lives with his wife and three children in the heart of Los Angeles.

Find him here:

Website

Instagram

Becoming Nature: Navigating Relationships in Therapy and Nature /39 with Ruth Allen

“We are at an edge in the middle.

”

— Ruth Allen

I sit down with the wonderful Ruth Allen, to talk about her journey to writing 'Weathering', her insights into eco psychology, and the importance of relationality in therapy. We explore the complexities of nature connection, the role of language in articulating experiences, and the expectations surrounding nature therapy.

We get into the need for humility in understanding our relationship with nature and the significance of staying present in both human and ecological relationships. We also get real about the act of commitment, the concept of weathering, and the relationship between decay and personal growth.

Ruth shares how rocks can serve as a metaphor for understanding our own lives and the importance of being present in the moment, the challenges of facing decay and loneliness, while also emphasizing the value of commitment to living fully and authentically. And we dwell on the interconnectedness of life, death, and the natural world, encouraging listeners to embrace the complexities of existence.

Takeaways

• The concept of eco psychology is about broadening our understanding of relationships with nature.

• Language plays a crucial role in articulating our experiences with nature and each other.

• Not all experiences in nature are profound; some are simply ordinary moments.

• The expectation of constant ecstasy in nature therapy can be misleading.

• Staying in relationship with nature requires patience and commitment, even during dull moments.

• Understanding our own experiences is essential to fostering connections with the natural world.

• Commitment is about giving oneself time and space.

• Facing decay can lead to a deeper understanding of existence.

• The process of weathering can soften our experiences.

• Embracing the cyclical nature of life helps in coping with decay.

About Ruth

Ruth is a writer/author, embodied psychotherapist and writing facilitator and mentor. She has written two books Weathering (Penguin Random House, 2024) and Grounded(Hachette, 2021) and is currently writing her third book publishing with PRH in 2027. She also writes and illustrates zines which she self-publishes to explore ideas and preoccupations that arise ‘between book projects’ and which push the boundaries of genre and form.

Combining her doctorate in geology with innovative body-based and creative techniques drawing on a multitude of psychological teachings and influences, she offers therapy, mentoring, workshops, classes and adventure retreats – all practical, slow magic – designed to help others connect with their bodies, their words, and the rest of nature through depth-full enquiry and practices that extend our capacity to listen and nurture deep resonance with the world around us.

FIND HER HERE

Elementals Special; ep 5 An Elemental Life

This episode is the fifth and last of our podcast special, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is series that celebrates the Center’s series ‘Elementals’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

In this episode of the Becoming Nature podcast, we sit down to talk about the fifth and final volume of the Elementals series with editors Gavin Van Horn and Nickole Brown. We explore the themes of kinship, belonging, and the urgent need for awareness of the elemental forces that shape our lives.

The conversation delves into the indifference of the elements, the cultural shifts needed to respect them, and the importance of community and gratitude in our relationship with nature. The episode concludes with reflections on the power of light and an invitation to engage more deeply with the natural world.

Takeaways

• The Elementals series emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life.

• Community plays a crucial role in navigating environmental challenges.

• Gratitude is essential in our relationship with nature.

• The elements can be both life-giving and destructive.

• Cultural shifts are necessary to foster a deeper connection with the elements.

• Poetry serves as a powerful medium to express elemental experiences.

• The urgency of climate change calls for immediate action and awareness.

• We must learn to love and respect the elements as vital forces of life.

• Engagement with nature can lead to a sense of purpose and belonging.

It has been a great privilege to record these episodes.

Thank you for listening.

“We have a job to love the earth.
”

— Nickole Brown

Nickole Brown (she/her) is the author of Sister and Fanny Says. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where she volunteers at several animal sanctuaries. To Those Who Were Our First Gods, a chapbook of poems about these animals, won the 2018 Rattle Prize, and her essay-in-poems, The Donkey Elegies, was published by Sibling Rivalry Press in 2020. In 2021, Spruce Books of Penguin Random House published Write It! 100 Poetry Prompts to Inspire, a book she co-authored with Jessica Jacobs, and they teach generative writing sessions together as part of their SunJune Literary Collaborative.

Find her here

Gavin Van Horn (he/him) is Executive Editor of Humans and Nature Press, the author of The Way of Coyote, and the coeditor of City Creatures, Wildness, and the award-winning five-volume series Kinship. He currently resides in the ancestral lands of the Northern Chumash people in San Luis Obispo, California, where you can find him wandering the nearby hills and shores, learning the flowers, trying to go light.

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Elementals Special; ep 4 Earth

This episode is the fourth of our podcast special, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is series that celebrates the Center’s series ‘Elementals’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

In this conversation, Leora and I discuss the Earth Elementals volume, exploring themes of inheritance, responsibility, and the interconnectedness of life. Leora shares her journey as a geographer and poet, emphasizing the importance of understanding our relationship with the earth and its elements. The discussion highlights the diverse contributions of various authors, the intimacy of storytelling, and the significance of memory and history in shaping our future. They reflect on the power of poetry and the need for cooperation in addressing environmental challenges.We speak to the profound perspectives that emerge from the contributions to the Elementals volume.

NOTE: THE SOUND IS AT TIMES A BIT ‘CLICKY’ DUE TO A FAULTY MICROFON. THIS COULD NOT BE FIXED DURING EDITING. WE DECIDED TO KEEP IT, AS LEORA HAS SO MANY VALID INSIGHT AND THOUGHT.

Thank you for listening.

Takeaways

• Inheritance is complex, involving responsibility and creativity.

• Research should focus on recovering relationships with nature.

• The earth is a living entity that teaches us about life.

• Storytelling creates intimacy and connection with the earth.

• Each author's voice in the volume offers unique perspectives.

• Understanding history is crucial for survival and thriving together.

• Indigenous knowledge holds valuable lessons for contemporary issues.

• Poetry can change consciousness and perspective.

• Cooperation is essential for learning from the earth.

“What earth have you inherited?”

— Kristi Leora Gansworth

Kristi Leora Gansworth (she/her) is Anishinabe-kwe, a community-engaged scholar and Anishinabe geographer. Her professional work draws from Anishinabe legal traditions including relationships and responsibilities to water. She has been involved in collaborations with First Nations in Canada and Tribal Nations in the United States for a number of years, dedicated to supporting the priorities of Peoples and Nations. Her primary collaborative work involves research, writing, and planning for restorative futures. The personal work of Dr. Gansworth as a writer and artist grows from being Anishinabe, involving the practices of cultural knowledge & language learning. Dr. Gansworth also has training and background in certain fine arts including poetry. She maintains ancestral practices which include working with healing medicines, needlework, dance, and sacred regalia design.

Find her here

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Elementals Special; ep 3 Air

This episode is the second of our podcast special, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is series that celebrates the Center’s series ‘Elementals’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

In this episode I’m joined by writer and friend Nicholas Triolo. We explore the multifaceted nature of air represented in the volume. We discuss its significance in both personal and societal contexts. We delve into the concept of air bars and the economic implications of commodifying air. The role of air in communication and connection. The discussion also touches on environmental justice, the importance of breath in existence, and the power of language and poetry to convey the essence of air. We speak to the profound perspectives that emerge from the contributions to the Elementals volume.

He reads from his essay as well as Ross Gay’s poem ‘A small needless fact’.

This was a rich conversation.

“Air isn’t just empty space; it is filled with life and communication”

— Nick Triolo

Nicholas Triolo (he/him) is a writer and long-distance mountain runner from Missoula, Montana. With an MS in environment writing from the University of Montana (2016), Triolo was formerly Digital Strategist for Orion and is currently Senior Editor for Outside Run and Trail Runner. His writing, films, and photography have been featured in Orion, Dark Mountain Project, Outside Online, Best American Poetry Blog, Terrain.org, Patagonia’s Dirtbag Diaries, Juxtaprose, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, and others. He’s currently working on a book, The Way Around, about walking in circles, due fall 2025 from Milkweed Editions. 

Find him here

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Elementals Special; ep 2 Water

This episode is the second of our podcast special, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is series that celebrates the Center’s series ‘Elemental’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

Writers Lyanda Haupt and Hannah Close join me in a conversation about water. We go with the flow of it all, moving through thoughts on how water is essential for various life forms, emphasizing its role in sustaining ecosystems. Lyanda shares her story of the American dipper, a bird that thrives in aquatic environments. The dipper's health is directly linked to the quality of the water and the presence of salmon, which provide nourishment.

Hannah expands on this idea by discussing the concept of Eros, describing how water is a unifying force that connects all life. She states, "Without the ocean and without the unifying integrative force of Eros, there would be no life."

They both share insights into their work, which blends, poetry, creative non-fiction with scientific perspectives, emphasizing the importance of honor and wonder in connecting with the more-than-human world.

Tune in to discover the profound perspectives that emerge from their contributions to the Elementals volume and to hear how water shapes our understanding of nature and ourselves.

They both read from their work as well as share their perspectives on the importance of looking at the world through the lens of the elements.

“I love the ocean because it feels like the last uncolonized place on earth.”

— Hannah Close

Hannah Close is a writer, photographer, curator, and researcher. She is currently making a documentary called Islandness in the Anthropocene and completing an MA in Engaged Ecology at Schumacher College with a dissertation project exploring archipelagic poetics and relational metaphors.

Find her here

Lyanda Fern Lynn Haupt is a writer and naturalist based in the Pacific Northwest. Her work explores the beautiful, complicated connections between humans and the wild, natural world. Lyanda is the award-winning author of several books, including Crow Planet, Mozart’s Starling, and Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit.

Follow her here

“Only a bird will wonder, all these birdly voices came to me from Emily’s poems.”

— Lyanda Fern Lynn Haupt

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Elemental Special; ep 1 FIRE

This episode is the first of 5, in a collaboration special with the Center for Humans and Nature. It is a series to celebrate the Center’s series ‘Elemental’ as well as a celebration of the many voices that contributed to the series. It is a great honor to finally shares these episodes with you.

In this episode of our special, I sit down with nature writer Isaac Yuen and contributor Rina Garcia Cua. We delve into the theme of fire, exploring its multifaceted significance and the personal and collective narratives surrounding this elemental force.

They both share insights into their work, which blends, poetry, creative non-fiction with scientific perspectives, emphasizing the importance of honor and wonder in connecting with the more-than-human world.

Tune in to discover the profound perspectives that emerge from their contributions to the Elementals volume and to hear how fire shapes our understanding of nature and ourselves.

They both read from their work as well as share their perspectives on the importance of looking at the world through the lens of the elements.

““Perhaps the last sunset that truly matters will simply be one seen by those still capable of becoming spellbound at the sight of a fiery disk slipping beneath the horizon.””

— Isaac Yeun

Rina Garcia Chua (she/her/siya) is a creative and critical scholar from the Philippines who is currently based in British Columbia, Canada. Her poems have been previously published in numerous journals, some of which are World Literature Today, Asteri(x), g u e s t, and The Goose: Journal of Arts, Culture, and Environment in Canada, of which she is currently coeditor. Rina is completing her poetry chapbook, A Geography of (Un)Natural Hazards, which is a visual and poetic response to migrant and arriving cultures, liminal environments, and violences of form and language. She can be reached at her website: http://rinagarciachua.com 

Photo by Maude Roxby

Isaac Yuen’s (he/him) creative work has been published in AGNI, Gulf Coast, Orion, Pleiades, Shenandoah, Tin House, and other literary publications. Winner of a Pushcart Prize, his debut nature essay collection titled Utter, Earth from West Virginia University Press weaves together the human and more-than-human world with wordplay and earthplay. A first-generation Hong Kong–Canadian, Isaac is currently a writer-in-residence at the HWK Institute of Advanced Studies in Delmenhorst, Germany.

Follow him here

““After fire there’s fertility and there is life.””

— Rina Garcia Chua

About the series

From the Center for Humans & Nature, Elementals is a new five-volume collection of essays, poetry, and stories that asks: What can the vital forces of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire teach us about being human in a more-than-human world?

Learn more about Elementals at www.humansandnature.org/elementals

Find out where to buy the books here

Becoming Nature: How Loss Inspired a Podcast and Deep Conversations /33

The tables have turned in the episode.

Last year my good friend Rich Skrein asked if he could interview me, for my own podcast. This became a deeply personal conversation through the themes I usually invites guests to explore. 

Rich and I have learned together as mentees, write together in our own little writing group and in May collabing around retreat in the Swedish Forest. It felt like the perfect interviewer to guide me deep into the why of it all. 

We had asked listeners for questions, Rich had asked mutual friends for some and he brought his own. I feel very moved by this conversation. For the opportunity to talk about my friend, who's passing started this whole thing. To talk about what shapes and forms us and the harder parts of life that become important thresholds. 

It feels raw and very honest to share this with you. 

In this epsiode we talk about: 

• Becoming Nature and how it started

• Becoming vs. we are nature

• Honoring teachers

• No BS as a superpower

• Belonging and cultural identity

• Practices for grief and connection

• Dying and the beauty of being alive

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Interview with Stephen Jenkins

• Stefana Serafina

• Interview with Tom Hirons

• Interview with Clare Dubois

• Rachel Corby

“When she died, a talking partner died too, and a philosophical wonder died.”

— Carina

The best way to support the podcast is to listen, share, leave a review, rate and comment. 

Thank you to all of those who have listened and supported Becoming Nature until now.

There is so much more to come. 

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This was a conversation between Rich Skrein

and myself, Carina Lyall

Rich can be found in the woods of Europe and England and is a Forest School trainer, storyteller and author with a profound and enduring passion for the natural world. He works with groups of all ages, building community and long-term opportunities for learning, growth and healing in the outdoors.

For the past 15 years I, Carina have guided people to come closer to nature, their inner and outer wild. I has worked with groups and retreats and has years of experience in holding space for inquiry and connection. The focus has been on community, nature, storytelling and rewilding in a modern world. This podcast is a heart project.

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Join us in the Swedish woods !

Find out more here

From Concrete to Wilderness with Jon Conradi. Ep 32

Land remembers. This is the heart of many rewilding activities happening across the globe, as people work to restore depleted ecosystems.

My guest today, Jon Conradi, founder of Wild Mosaic, is one of those people, working to rewild parts of the UK.

One of the important learnings from my conversation with Jon was that while human intervention in nature restoration is needed, we aren’t nature’s sole saviours. We also need to find ways of stepping back so that ecosystems can recover through their own ‘remembering’ of their natural state. 

What’s more, Jon spoke about how we are a part of this remembering; we are part of these ecosystems, not separate from them! Rewilding nature is also about rewilding ourselves, as of nature. Through storytelling and reconnecting with wildness, we can remember alongside and with the land.

And so, join us for this week’s episode, and become a part of nature’s ‘remembering’. 

In this episode, we talk about:

• Reconnecting humans to ‘wildness’

• Wildlife and humans co-existing

• What it takes to rewild and restore land 

• The impacts of humans separating ourselves from nature

• Some of the legal constraints of land use

• Pigs! 

“It’s almost like a desire to be small again, to be just awestruck and to feel part of something that’s bigger than us”

— Jon Conradi

About Jon Conradi

Jon founded his start-up – Wild Mosaic – in 2023 to catalyse restoration of land and reconnection to wildness. 

He has an MSc in Sustainability and Adaptation from the Centre of Alternative Technology, and a postgraduate certificate in Biodiversity Conservation and Management. He is a 2021 Fellow of the Social Innovation programme 'Year Here' and has just started a fellowship with the Bio-Leadership programme.

He spent fifteen years in business education specialising in supporting student-led learning and sustainability. He still supports sustainability leadership courses for London Business School.

Connect with Jon: 

• Website: www.wildmosaic.eco

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wild_mosaic/ 

• Video on the role pigs play in accelerating rewilding: Pigs rewilding!  

• Article: How can we create a wilder future for the UK?

Mothership, wonder & crisis with Greg Wrenn. EP 31

In this episode I sit down with author and professor Greg Wrenn. We dive into an engaging conversation about healing, childhood trauma and ayahuasca. I came to the this conversation with skepticism, but also curiosity and lack of experience with this approach to healing. As we navigate the complexities of healing, Greg reflects on the roots of his journey, tracing it back to childhood. Tune in for an insightful discussion that blends humor, vulnerability, and profound insights into the healing path.

In this episode we talk about:

• Childhood trauma and healing

• Ayahuasca as last resort medicine

• Trust and psychedelics in ceremony

• Personal and planetary healing

• Reciprocity in healing practices

There was so much more we could have to and about. Let’s continue the conversation here.

As a discretion, there is a mention of un-detailed childhood abuse in this episode.

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“What do you have to lose by putting out a message straight from the heart? What do you have to lose? Nothing. And what could be gained? A lot”

— Greg Wrenn

About Greg

GREG WRENN is a former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University and author of Centaur, which National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes awarded the Brittingham Prize. Greg's work has appeared in The New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. As an associate English professor at James Madison University, he weaves climate change science into literary studies.

An Advanced PADI Nitrox diver, he has been exploring coral reefs around the world for over 25 years. He lives in the mountains of Virginia with his husband and their growing family of trees.

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Greg’s Website

Instagram

Why the Body is Our Wisest Compass with Stefana Serafina. EP 30

My dear friend and mentor Stefana Serafina is our guest today. Her work has transformed my life. The way I live in my body and what I experience because of the intimate relationship with its language.

It became a very rich conversation about body, culture body, deep body and listening to the language of.

A conversation and reflection about how we can trust the information coming to us, what world we would have and live in, if body led was an option.  

I’m so excited to share her work with you! We would love to hear what you take away from this episode.

In this episode we talk about:

• The body and cultural perceptions.

• The body speaking the truth.

• Body movement and self-expression.

• The intelligence of the body.

• Deep body intelligence and movement.

“Will we transform the culture into something more restful, more sane, more just? I truly believe we would”

— Stefana Serafina

About Stefana

Stefana Serafina, M.A., is an embodiment educator, transformative movement facilitator and trainer, and the founder of the Deep Body Institute in California. Recognized for her unique body– and movement–based approach to personal and collective growth, Stefana has worked with hundreds of women and non-binary people in the U.S., Europe, and around the world since 2009, and has trained practitioners and facilitators in 12 different countries. 

Stefana developed the Deep Body Movement Method, which empower people in restoring embodied wholeness, interconnectedness, and personal–collective growth. Her work weaves together movement journeys and expressive arts approaches, nature- and soul-centric body practices, women’s sensuality & mystery traditions, embodied archetypal psychology, and dance, Her facilitation and teachings have been called "life-changing and life-giving",  "deeply penetrating and rekindling", a "masterful invitation to the timeless remembrance of who we are''.

Weekend Immersion in Copenhagen, Sept 13-15 2024

https://www.deepbody.org/sensual-root-denmark

Embodiment and Movement Facilitator/Educator Training - October 2024-2025 

https://www.deepbody.org/facilitator-training

(as a listener you get a discount on the training by mentioning carinalyall at sign up)

More about Stefana's work and all her offerings: 

www.deepbody.org

Re-imagining our future through food and hunting with Danny Christensen. EP 29

The illustration for this weeks podcast Is made by beautiful artist Cille Vengberg

This week I speak to Danny Christensen, a hunter among many things. And also a man with a passion for nature, animal welfare and health.

I learned a lot from my 1 and a half hour conversation. One that rolled with me for days after. New questions arrived, New threads and a real desire to have more conversations around the way we consume, produce and honor the food we eat.

There are many questions still. We both want to keep this thread alive, as it is something we need to have a serious look at.

As for hunting there are many opinions and feelings attached. Should we eat meat? Should we hunt as modern people. Or should we think differently about the system as a whole?

Please listen in and bring your thoughts and questions!

In this episode we touch on

• Food production and consumption.

• Rejecting the general food system.

• Consuming and harvesting wildlife.

• Ethical dilemmas in food consumption.

• Ethical consumption and environmental impact.

• Veganism and connection to nature.

• Environmental impact of avocados.

““I don’t want people to wash their hands with the organic labeling and say, well, then everything is okay. It’s not, it’s not. You still have an enormous environmental footprint.”

”

— Danny Christensen

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About Danny

He shares about his path “I grew up on a small farm in Denmark, close to a metropolis city. I spend most of my youth dreaming, fishing, hunting, and talking to trees.

As my world evolved, I developed a strong interest and appreciation of the design, architecture, fashion, art, and the food that were always all around me.

I met the most amazing and inspiring people in the world but the ones that I really admire and remember are the passionate men and women that live their lives to the fullest with a burning fire in their heart for everything they do. I like to think I'm one of those men.”

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Find Danny here

Instagram

Website

Conversation with Tom Hirons: Exploring Poetry, Love and Hope. Ep 28

Art made by Cille Vengberg

In this episode we explore the power of poetry and the thing about hope. This episode is a conversation with poet Tom Hirons. I first discovered Tom's poetry on Instagram and it has a certain way of grabbing me.

We discuss hope, Whiskey, fires, love and activism. Tune in to the beauty of Tom Hirons' inspiring words and ways in a World, with hope not fueled by optimism but love.

Known for ‘In the Meantime’ and ‘Once a wild God’ Tom writes in ways that brings you to far a way land and the earthly muddy ‘here’.

In this episode we touch on:

• The impact of poetry

• The reputation of poetry

• Poetry as expression of soul

• Poetry as activism

• The power of poetry

• The importance of love

• Unexpected occurrences and hope

• Whiskey and storytelling traditions

“ “poetry has a power to speak to things and open doors in us that the language of everyday conversation, or, you know, especially kind of political discourse, whatever, just doesn’t have””

— Tom Hiron

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Tom Hirons was born and raised on the Suffolk-Norfolk border in East Anglia, but lived in Scotland for almost twenty years before gravitating to Dartmoor in the Southwest of England. T

om has been storytelling publicly for over 15 years and writing for much longer.

He now teaches storytelling for Hedgespoken and has been known to mentor a writer or two.

Find him here

Website

Instagram

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TO MENTOR WITH THE WILD; WITH SOPHIE STRAND

KINSHIP AND FORAGING STORIES WITH GAVIN VAN HORN

MOVE LIKE WATER WITH EASKEY BRITTON ☾ 5

Tara Lanich-LaBrie - Donuts, Nettles and Culinary Herbalism. Ep 27

Art by beautiful Cille Vengberg

Tara Lanich-LaBrie is an Instagram star loved by over 110.000 followers, for her colorful and joyful way of sharing her craft - Culinary Herbalism. She was also fun, real and we got into the deeper side of this work. Connection, eldership, playfulness and having fun with what you do.

I adore this woman and what she has to offer. Please enjoy this conversation, I did!

From nettle donuts to rose syrup, Tara's cookbook is a colorful journey into the world of plant-based cuisine. We talk about the magic of connecting with nature through food. Tara as she shares her insights on the ancient wisdom of plants.

In this Episode we talk about: 

• Connecting with nature through art.

• Plants as elders and allies.

• Connecting with Elderberries.

• Deep connection to plants.

• Chamomile tea's lasting power.

• The power of plants.

• Building connections through humility.

• Discovering nature in your backyard.

““If you can get someone to taste the carrot that was grown by them or grown by a local farmer. It’s like what you said, like that can change the way that they meet the world.””

— Tara Lanich-LaBrie

About Tara

Tara Lanich-LaBrie is a culinary herbalist, finding a love of cooking and plants at an early age, and after a series of health issues began farming, foraging and baking professionally.

She created her business, The Medicine Circle, to share colorful, seasonal recipes, and to build a bridge between people and the natural world.

Foraged & Grown: Healing, Magical Recipes for Every Season, is her first book.

Find Tara here

Instagram

Her website

Buy Foraged & Grown: Healing, Magical Recipes for Every Season

Sam Lee - Singing in Dark Times and places. Episode 26

Art donated by Cille Vengberg

I first came across Sam during a leadership training I did with Emergence Magazine. I was captivated by his work and story. It is with great honor that I got to sit down and talk with him.

We explore his work of collecting songs and time with traveller communities, and the honoring of elders. It became a deep look at bridging what was known once into the current. I had to go for a long walk after this conversation to just be in some of the magic of his words… and humor. He is an artist that can’t help but pull you in, to listen, learn and be.

About singing in the dark times and places.

In this episode we talk about

• Singing with Nightingales.

• The importance of old traditions.

• Last of the Scottish Travellers.

• The urgency of preserving culture.

• Discovering elders from different communities.

• Unusual encounters and creativity.

““I saw something that will never be seen again.””

— Sam Lee

Sam Lee is a highly inventive and original singer, folk song interpreter, passionate conservationist, song collector and successful creator of live events. Alongside his organisation, The Nest Collective, Sam has shaken up the music scene breaking boundaries between folk and contemporary music and the assumed places and ways folksong is appreciated.

Sam’s helped develop its ecosystem inviting in a new listenership interrogating what the messages in these old songs hold for us today. Sam released his debut novel ‘The Nightingale, notes on a songbird‘ telling the epic tale of this highly endangered bird and their place in culture folklore, folksong, music and literature throughout the millennia.

Find Sam Lee here

Website

Instagram

Spotify

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MOVE LIKE WATER WITH EASKEY BRITTON ☾ 5

THE WISE ONES WITH STEPHEN JENKINSON ☾ 4

REGENERATIVE LEADERSHIP WITH LAURA STORM ☾ 11

Richard Skrein - Reciprocity, Play and Thank You as foundational skills. Episode 25

Art by Cille Vengberg

Today I speak with a really good friend of mine, Rich Skrein. We’ve been in the same storytelling mentorship for nearly a year now. We share many different interests and I’ve been curious about his work with nature, children and educators since first getting to know him.

It became a heartfelt conversation about our place, as humans, in the greater eco system.

Rich shares about his work, about returning to England, being a primary school teacher and started taking his students outside to experience nature. He observed the transformative effect it had on the children, witnessing them coming alive in ways that couldn't be fully expressed within the confines of the classroom. A transformation happening in him as well.

We get into the more personal wonder about and in the world and how we as adults need this just as much as the children.

“How much awe and wonder was there when I was able to take them to the beach? How much awe and wonder was there when I took them to the deep forest? It’s right there. They were able to grow in ways that I couldn’t give them in the classroom.”

— Richard Skrein

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Richard is a Forest School teacher trainer, ecological educator, storyteller and author. He can be found in the woods of Europe and England and is a storyteller and experienced educational professional with a profound and enduring passion for the natural world.

He worked for many years in the classroom as a primary school teacher before swapping four walls for the magic of natural environments.

He is the author of three books: 5o things to do in the wild. 50 things to do with a stick and 50 things to do in the snow.

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Find him here

Instagram @richardskreinoutdoors

His website

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Other episodes you may enjoy

HOLISTIC SURVIVAL WITH LUKE MCLAUGHLIN ☾ 9

THE ROOTS AND STITCHING OURSELVES BACK TOGETHER STORIES WITH JAN BLAKE

DISCOVERING THE CRACKS IN THE MIRROR WITH BAYO AKOMOLAFE

Erica Berry - Wovles and the stories we tell about fear. Episode 24

Art by Cille Vengberg <3 - Check her work out here

In this episode I have been so blessed to have a conversation with Erica Berry, author of the book ‘Wolfish- Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear’.

This is a brilliant book that I highly recommend. Ever since putting it down, I knew I had to talk with her some how. And here we are.

We dive into the impact of consuming a constant stream of fear-based stories. From the overwhelming amount of news and information focused on fear and trauma that bombards us in today's world. But also the stories that are ancient. The ancient fear stories that we told, and heard, for many reasons.

We talk about wolves and the history of out of proportion fear that has existed around this beautiful animal.

All of this conversation centered around Erica’s study with wolves, collective and personal fear and what emerges with that - love.

“I think there’s something beautiful in actually thinking about the idea of a lone wolf as someone looking still for connection and actually being vulnerable.”

— Erica Berry

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About Erica Berry

Erica  is a writer and teacher based in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Her essays appear in publications such as the Guardian, The New York Times, Yale Review, The Atlantic, and Orion, and her first book, Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell about Fear, was published by Flatiron/Macmillan in 2023.  She is currently an Associate Fellow at the Attic Institute for Arts and Letters and a writing instructor with Literary Arts in Portland.

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Find her online

Instagram @ericajberry  

www.ericaberry.com.

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Other Episodes you may enjoy

THE ROOTS AND STITCHING OURSELVES BACK TOGETHER STORIES WITH JAN BLAKE

KINSHIP AND FORAGING STORIES WITH GAVIN VAN HORN

MELTING THE ICE IN THE HEART OF MAN WITH ANGAANGAQ

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Woniya Thibeault - Never alone. Episode 23

Artist: Cille Vengberg - find her here

In this episode, I speak with Woniya Thibeault who appeared on the show "Alone" and was the first woman to win a season.

Woniya joined two seasons of the show. First lasting 73 days alone in the wild on the brink of starvation. And won the second season ‘Frozen’, as the first woman in ‘Alone’ show history. It felt even more special to speak to her, as she won the show on my birth land of Labrador.

We talk about shares her experience in Labrador and the similarities and differences between that location and the Northwest Territories. Woniya reflects on the importance of self-care and the societal pressures around winning and money.

She has such a special way of speaking about the land and how it held her through her time there.

I hope you enjoy what she has to offer as much as I did.

““Usually big, tough men with bulging muscles with a bunch of military training. I was that small woman coming at it with a really, really different perspective””

— Woniya Thibeault episode 23

Woniya Thibeault is a naturalist, craftsperson, and ancestral skills instructor, whose passion is inspiring and empowering people to live their wildest, freest, most abundant lives. She accomplished this through teaching land-based living skills such as those our ancestors used, and nature connection practices. While never describing herself as a survivalist, she is best known for being the first woman to win a solo survival wilderness challenge on the History Channel’s Alone.

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Find out more about Woniya

Her book ‘Never Alone’

Buckskin revolution

Patreon

Instagram

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Other Episodes you might enjoy

HOLISTIC SURVIVAL WITH LUKE MCLAUGHLIN ☾ 9

WILD AND ALONE WITH CALLIE NORTH ☾ 8

PLANT WHISPERING WITH RACHEL CORBY ☾ 13

Why knowing your story matters, when holding space

The first thing we look at in The Art of Holding Space is our stories about being in relationship, community, together. What we bring with us into the spaces we create or participate in. The old, the new. The family ones, the School ones, the others. 

The stories about our place, roles, expectations, assumptions, wounds and longings.

There are the obvious ones and sometimes the more subtle threads. But they can have a lot to say about how safe we feel. Or the way we connect inward and outward as we take a seat. Without feeling we have to play a part, to be worthy. 

A new edge for me is becoming more visible and it is really shining in relation to motherhood. I feel my old stories poke as I witness their interactions and school yard challenges. It takes a lot of consciousness to remember what is mine and what is actually their experience.

I am meeting them A LOT at the moment! Even though many carried threads have found some ease, they will probably never leave my system completely. It weaves in. 

Knowing our history of togetherness, the in the light and the ‘in the shadows’ can support us in creating a safer container for not only participants, but also ourselves. We can tend to ourselves with intention and care in a different way. It can become easier to get proper supervision and plan curriculum and content that we can actually hold in a responsible way.

Having this perspective and insight with us, I feel, it’s important. The things we often think set apart, are the stories that truly connect us.

The art of holding space begins February 8th - read more here

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When we compete, we can't connect

image by inuit artist Germaine Arnaktauyok

For 7 years I’ve offered a course on the art of holding space. When I first started out I had listened to a Ted Talk with Chitra Aiyar. In the talk she mentions her work with communities with minorities on campuses in the US. She states in the talk ‘When we compare, we can’t connect’. 

The more I’ve worked with the content and people, that statement has changed for me. I think it’s more a case of ‘When we compete, we can’t connect’. 

Of course in many ways they are linked, the ‘compare and compete’. We compare all the time, it’s natural. When it takes over, the energy can change. I’ve been down the spiral so many times. The compete element feels more intense. It’s not one that brings the heart to heart feel. It’s been a key learning of mine I think. To feel safe enough to let the story of having to fight my way through to get anywhere, rest. 

It’s also something that often gets glossed over in the spiritual settings. We pretend it doesn’t exist and we stick to the love and light. We stay with the all positive feels and suppress what also exists when people come together. I think most of us have, well I think all of us have. In business, in all kinds of groups - the spiritual is no exception, the competition has a certain effect on how we connect. I’ve seen it in the yoga world, the meditation world, the shamanistic the the the. And as mentioned in myself. Something we don’t talk a lot about. It’s not really pretty and comes with some level of shame or ick. Which makes it grow in intensity. 

I work with this a lot. Relearning how to be in ‘it’ with fellow humans, myself. And it is a huge part of the foundation of my work. 

As a people we are increasingly recognizing the importance of coming together in a different way. To heal our stories of being in community and the ways we walk this Earth. 

AND we meet edges here. That may surprise us at times. Wounds and past experiences that were not easy and are brought into the room with us. 

Creating space for all of that and the chance for us to witness the brilliance in ourselves and others is powerful. Healing a story and experiencing the ability to be here as a whole entire being. I love this work so much. The honeymoon and the chaos. 

READ MORE ABOUT ‘THE ART OF HOLDING SPACE’ THAT BEGIN FEBRUARY 2024

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