Unfolding Earth Justice - Meeting the Needs of Our Time

We bring you news of another great workshop opportunity from our friends at Gaia:

Unfolding Earth Justice - Meeting the Needs of Our Time

With Ian Mason, Head of Law and Economics at the School of Economic Science, Director if the Earth Jurisprudence Resource Centre, and practicing barrister.

SATURDAY 7th JUNE 2008, 10 AM - 4.30 PM

£45 including a delicious seasonal, organic, vegetarian lunch.

Gaia Learning Centre, 18 Well Walk, Hampstead, London, NW3 1LD

Nearest tube, Hampstead, Northern Line

Real law is discovered, not made. What can be discovered by observing nature? How do we come to a natural way of living? Earth Justice is a search for a new philosophy of law based on reverence and respect for nature, the natural world and human dignity.

This workshop will integrate practical sessions on connecting with the natural world and learning how to learn from it. Discussion and reflection will enable participants to formulate core concepts and reach a deeper understanding of Earth Justice principles for themselves. We will consider how these principles can be translated into law and governance. The workshop will conclude with an ideas session to formulate practical initiatives for applying Earth Justice at the personal level.

For lawyers and non-lawyers alike, come and spend an inspiring day discovering the principles and origins of Earth Justice.

For more information or to book a place, please visit: http://www.gaiafoundation.org/learning/online.php or contact Guy Fisher on guy@gaianet.org or 020 7428 0055

Seeking Health in an Ailing World

You may recall that our Friend and colleague Mary-Jayne Rust ran a successful workshop for the Foundation in June 2007 - The Power of Wild Places. Mary-Jayne has brought us advanced news of a new residential workshop that she will be running in June 2008:

Seeking Health in an Ailing World:
Therapy with the Earth in Mind

Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd June 2008

A weekend residential workshop in North Norfolk for therapists who wish to
explore ecopsychology in practice.

Therapy is an intensely personal process. Yet our well-being, as well as our suffering, is bound up with the whole web of life. Climate change and a litany of environmental crises come right into our bodies and psyches; in turn, our choices about everything we buy and use affect the lives of others. Spending time in wild places, or simply in our back gardens, can be deeply healing, bringing us back to the ground of our being.

Using experiential exercises, reflection and discussion, indoors and outdoors, this week-end will be a chance to explore areas such as: attachment and bonding with the other-than-human world; our response to increasing trauma in the world; environmental concern as part of recovery ecologically based spirituality as ever day practice. There will be ample opportunity to discuss how these issues come into our therapy practice and how me might respond.

Mary-Jayne Rust is a Jungian analyst, art therapist and ecopsychologist practicing in London.

£225 including accommodation and meals. 9 spaces available.
Deadline for bookings 30th April 2008.

For forms and more info see www.norwichcentre.org Tel: 01603 617709

Touching the Earth Fire & Shelter Day

We'd like to bring you news of this new course from our friends at Natural Pathways:

Families Survival Skills and Nature Awareness Day

15th December 07 - 10.00am-3.30pm

On this action packed course, you'll learn:

The ideal type of fire to build. We'll show you a quick and easy way to build a fire that's simple to light - easy to keep going - and burns nice and hot. This is an essential skill to learn.

Where to find and gather an endless supply of DRY firewood... even if it's been RAINING. Even if the ground's wet and damp - you'll know exactly where to look - and WHAT to do - to find DRY wood for a roaring fire.

3 ways to build a "debris" shelter that'll keep you warm... dry... and as "snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug." Once you know these 3 simple shelters - you'll be able to adapt them for use in many situations.

A quick and easy way to light a roaring fire... WITHOUT matches or a lighter. Just by using a special pocket size fire lighting "tool" - you'll never have to worry about losing a gas lighter - or trying to use damp soggy matches - EVER again. We'll show you what this tool is - and more importantly - HOW to use it. It's so simple to use - even when its WET.

Where to find the best and DRIEST tinder... in the most UNLIKELY places. It's easy once you know WHERE to look. Even in wet conditions, it's easy to find dry tinder to start your fire. We'll show you what to look for and how to use it.

The Drum Stalk. Using all your senses to move around the woods - blindfolded to the sound of a drum! This exciting Nature Awareness game will switch you on to experiencing nature in a completely new way.

£17 p.p. - Under 5's Free

Family of 4 - £60

Set in Beautiful Woodlands near Canterbury, Kent

Book on line http://www.natural-pathways.co.uk/touching_the_earth_fire.html

or contact Hannah Tel: 01304 842045 or 07828 316827

Please mention Wilderness Foundation UK when contacting them.

Essential Faciliation Core Skills Workshop

Louise O'Meara, Regional Director for IISC Ireland brings us information on their public workshop "Essential Facilitation ® Core Skills for Agreement-Building". This three day programme will take place on November 27, 28 & 29, 2007 in Dublin. The Workshop focuses on the essential strategies and skills for helping groups solve problems, resolve conflict and build agreement - and provides participants with a solid foundation of facilitation theory and practice for immediate use.

Louise writes...

Chances are, the more responsible you are for organisational or community outcomes, the more meetings you will need to facilitate and the more agreements you will need to build. Facilitation is critical to success whenever a decision involves several people. Essential Facilitation® provides a solid framework and proven techniques for resolving conflict, creating buy-in, and building lasting agreements – skills as valuable in every day life as they are in organisational settings.

Benefits for Participants

In this three-day intensive facilitation workshop, participants will learn the essential strategies and skills for helping groups solve problems, resolve conflict and build agreement. Led by expert practitioners, the workshop will provide participants with a solid foundation of facilitation theory and practice for immediate use. After completing this workshop, they will be able to:

• Keep discussions on track

• Design results-focused agendas, group processes and implementation plans

• Design and conduct planning sessions and team meetings

• Use collaborative problem solving tools to make decisions more easily

• Respect and make best use of diverse points of view and communication styles

• Share ideas, responsibility, and success in a way that values everyone’s contribution

• Use win-win thinking to resolve conflicts

• Model behaviours that help others improve group interaction.

Over three days, participants will have numerous opportunities to practice what they’ve learned including facilitating a number of discussions in ‘practice meetings’ using tools presented. In activities and exercises they will be encouraged to focus on real-life issues facing their organisations for immediate application. With an average participant-to-trainer ratio of 10:1 participants will receive considerable attention with both group and individual feedback and coaching. This approach produces immediate gains in skills and awareness. We will tailor the workshop to the levels of experience of participants, creating the opportunity for both novice and more advanced facilitators to improve their skills.

Benefits for Communities / Organisations

Effective facilitators unlock the power of the individual and show groups how to reach their desired goals. When development officers and leaders model skillful facilitation, they put their commitment to participation and collaboration into practice. As facilitation skills improve throughout an organisation or community, everyone involved becomes more creative and productive, and is better able to seize opportunities for significant improvements in how work is done in order to achieve more effective and sustainable results.

Workshop Topic

• The Interaction Method™
• Meeting Planning and Agenda Design
• Listening as an Ally
• Resolving Conflict
• Tools for Building Understanding and Agreement
• Mastering the Strategic Moment
• Facilitative Behaviors
• Collaborative Problem Solving

Who Should Attend

Anyone who leads groups, teams or meetings needs to be able to act as a facilitator. Participants may include:

• Directors, CEOs and managers of organisations
• Formal leaders who are responsible for the performance of others
• Team leaders and supervisors
• Development officers & project leaders
• Neighbourhood and community workers & leaders
• Informal leaders such as development consultants

DATES: 27 - 29 November 2007, 9:30am – 5:00pm

LOCATION: Youth Work Ireland (formerly National Youth Federation), Dublin

COST: €595/Stg£395, includes all materials and lunch

For more information or to register please contact:

IISC Ireland, PO Box 969, Belfast BT5 9AN

EMAIL: lo’meara@interactioninstitute.org

WEBSITE: www.interactioninstitute.org

Please mention Wilderness Foundation UK when replying. Thank you.