Tuesday, March 18, 2025
12:00 - 1:00 pm Central US Time
Join this free online conversation with plant writer and nature mentor Pete Yeo exploring new and ancient perspectives about plants.
Can we view the Earth's vegetation as a self-organising whole rather than as competing plant species? Are there emergent properties and behaviors of plants that we are typically missing? And might these allow us to move beyond notions of good and bad plants?
Join plant writer, nature mentor, reconciliation ecologist, and broadcaster Pete Yeo in an intriguing conversation about plants and the ways in which we perceive and relate to them. The event will be moderated by Plant Initiative executive director Paul Moss.
The dominant narrative about plantae non gratae, those unwelcome weeds or invasives, is being increasingly challenged. Such pioneering plants, and the novel ecosystems they help to create, are being positively reframed in the light of a more unified worldview re-emerging through ancient wisdom and the latest science. Othering, even outright war, are slowly giving way to greater appreciation and a desire toward power with, rather than over.
Moreover, if we were to perceive the vegetal realm akin to Gaian 'skin', with its own immune response and healing capabilities across scales - yes, those plantae non gratae - would we not be compelled to further transform our relationship with plants, the land, and the planet? To feel Gaia more? Might we also discern Gaia's evolutionary creativity, instead of vegetal boundaries in space and time? And receive inspiration in challenging times?
Join us for this free interactive program exploring these and other questions!
There will be time for questions from the audience following the discussion. This free program will be livestreamed with a link to be sent to participants before the event and will also be recorded and available for viewing online afterwards.
Plant writer, nature mentor, reconciliation ecologist, and broadcaster Pete Yeo lives on the temperate rainforest-fringed north coast of Devon, UK. Plants have been an inspiration to Pete since childhood. They led him into mainstream higher education in horticulture, landscape architecture and ecology, before eventually nudging him off-road and into more alternative understandings of the Plant Realm, along with the wider web of Life.
He is honored to be working with them now as portals to both deeper awareness of our ecological relationships and greater wellbeing within and without. You can find out more about him at www.futureflora.co.uk.
For listening or reading:
:
Celebrating Weeds - In Art, Science and the Everyday (Webinar trilogy for The Resurgence Trust, Part Two linked)
Can we allow Planta non-grata to become Planta conviva? (OP for the journal Biodiversity)
A recent interview on Alex Duncan’s Plant Noise podcast.
Friday, June 20, 2025
10:00 am - 4:00 pm Central US Time
This unique free and interactive online event features over a dozen individuals who communicate with plants. Plant communication is an alternative and natural way of knowing that everyone is capable of.
In this packed agenda, experienced plant communicators will share with you messages and insights that they are receiving from plants which can help us to meet the joint challenges that both humans and plants are now facing in the world.
Our plant relatives have always been helping humans and partnering with us. Our entire existence is supported by all of the gifts that plants offer in many ways. At this dangerous time on our planet, with crises arising at many levels, plants continue to reach out to try to help us to create a better future for all life on Earth.
The following plant communicators will be participating in presentation sessions or panels at the event: Basia Alexander, Sara Artemisia, Danielea Castell, Jim Conroy, Rachel Corby, Kara Daniels, Evgenia Emets, Jen Frey, Tigrilla Gardenia, Mary Getten, Madii Kasem, Sydney Kale, Pam Montgomery, and Amanda Nicole. Introductory remarks will be offered by Alice McSherry. There will also be two interactive sessions for attendees. See the agenda for more about the presenters and the program.
Presentations will be recorded and posted online for free access after the event and a link will be sent to everyone who registers. You are welcome to attend as many parts of the live event as you wish.
After a brief introduction to plant communication by New Zealand-based interdisciplinary scholar Alice McSherry, eight individuals who are communicating with plants will share insights from plants in presentation sessions throughout the event.
An additional six plant communicators will be participating on two interactive panels - "Integrating plant communication into our lives" and "Where do we go from here?" which will allow for questions and answers from attendees.
There will also be two opportunities for attendees to be divided randomly into Zoom breakout rooms to share their thoughts or experiences from the day's event and to discuss and reflect on the presentations by the plant communicators.
The video recording is now posted on The Plant Initiative's YouTube channel of the online program "The Vegetal Turn - a conversation with Marcello Di Paola" held January 30, 2025. Access the one-hour video directly here!
For 20% off the printed book or eBook if ordered from the publisher, enter the following coupon code at checkout on https://link.springer.com/ to apply the discount: hFA84rLzMNKpGb The code is valid from January 24, 2025 – February 21, 2025. See more details here. You may also be able to access the book for free through your institution or library.
Each month, The Plant Initiative sends out an e-mail newsletter to provide timely information and resources about improving the plant-human connection as well as to keep you up to date on our work.
Here's the link to the January 2025 e-newsletter which was sent on January 15, 2025.
To subscribe to the e-newsletter, just visit our home page and enter your e-mail address on the form on that page. If you have a suggestion for a resource, event, or other item that may be of interest to subscribers, please consider sharing it with us at info@plantinitiative.org.
Thank you
The Plant Initiative is posting podcast episodes on our YouTube channel.
Our fourth episode, recorded on December 13, 2024, features a wonderful conversation with Gay Bradshaw, Executive Director of the Kerulos Center for Nonviolence and Plant Initiative board member Sue Fager. Topics include Nature Consciousness, advocating for animals and plants, and thinking about how to make change.
The video recording is now posted on The Plant Initiative's YouTube channel of the online program "The Seed Keeoer - a conversation with Diane Wilson" held November 20, 2024. Access the one-hour video directly here!
These grants totaling $6,500 were provided in October 2024 to organizations working to increase respect for plants, encourage ethical behavior toward plants, and/or to support development of an effective movement toward these goals.
Grants of $500 each were provided to:
Center for Biological Diversity (Tucson, AZ) to support the Center's legal and other efforts to protect the Alaskan glacier buttercup, found only in the Kigluaik Mountains on the Seward Peninsula in Western Alaska, which is imperiled by climate change and rapidly warming Arctic climate as well as by potential mining activities and other threats.
Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights (Spokane, WA) to support the Center’s staff time and travel to advance and enforce the rights of manoomin (wild rice), which has been recognized in tribal law by the White Earth Band of Chippewa in Minnesota.
The Cultural Conservancy (San Francisco, CA) to support the Conservancy's Native Foodways Program, in partnership with Intertribal community, including purchasing California ethnobotanical seeds and plant starts for ecological restoration in their land base, as well as to purchase additional heirloom seeds, fruit tree starts, and seeds for winter crop planting.
Dogwood Alliance (Asheville, NC) to support the Alliance's forest advocacy activities, which seek to protect the forests of the US South and to work in partnership with frontline communities to develop economic alternatives that work with and for the Southern forests.
Earth Law Center (Durango, CO) to support the Center in developing a policy report and blog on the concept of plants as kin and family members, as well as other innovative and ecocentric protections, and exploring legal and cultural frameworks worldwide, with the grant supporting staff time and design costs for this work.
Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (San Francisco, CA) to support GARN's work to advance the "Declaration of the Rights of the Amazon", including developing and distributing educational materials to be shared with GARN's members and allies that highlight the importance of recognizing the Amazon as a subject of rights.
Institute of Relational Being (Los Angeles, CA) to support initiatives that are focused on enhancing appreciation for plant life through community engagement events and materials for educational workshops in the Los Angeles, CA area, to help cultivate a deeper respect for plants within that community.
The Land Institute (Salina, KS) to support the Institute's sustainable agriculture work, including expanding and accelerating perennial grain research, building network,s and helping to develop perennial grain supply chains and markets.
Native Seeds/SEARCH (Tucson, AZ) to support their mission of conserving and sharing the seeds of the people of the desert Southwest and Mexico by establishing a new dedicated rainwater harvesting basin for dry-farm crop seed production on their Conservation Farm that will also serve as a crucial habitat for beneficial insects and pollinators.
Old-Growth Forest Network (Easton, MD) to help support the purchase of an ArcGIS Online subscription to help the organization to increase its mapping capabilities in order to fill a gap in the nationwide accounting of remaining old-growth forests and lands that are set aside for protection as well as to help create educational materials for visitors to their website.
Re:wild (Austin, TX) to advance the recovery of Ekman's Magnolia, a Critically Endangered tree endemic to the biodiversity-rich Tiburon Peninsula of Southwest Haiti, through working to conserve its habitat and propagating these rare trees in field nurseries for reforestation, in collaboration with the Haiti National Trust.
Seacology (Berkeley, CA) in support of Seacology's seagrass project in Las Calderas, Dominican Republic, where seagrass faces threats such as sedimentation, runoff, and coastal development, with the project supporting community patrols, educational workshops, signage, stakeholder engagement, and strengthening ecotourism in collaboration with local partners.
WildEarth Guardians (Santa Fe, NM) to support implementation of a communications and outreach plan to highlight the need to protect the Joshua Tree which is facing threats from climate change, including a digital communications campaign which will help to build extensive support in Southern California around this issue.
With your support, The Plant Initiative plans to continue to provide grants in 2025 to organizations working on behalf of plants!
The video recording is now posted on The Plant Initiative's YouTube channel of the online program "Microcosms: Sharing the Inner Lives of Plants - a conversation with Steven F. White and Jill Pflugheber" held October 22, 2024. Access the one-hour video directly here!
You can also access the 2-minute music video with images from Microcosms that was shown at the webinar here.
The video recording is now posted on The Plant Initiative's YouTube channel of the online program "A Call to Council - Conversation with Maria Thereza Alves & Giovanni Aloi" held September 11, 2024. Access the one-hour video directly here!
The video recording is now posted on The Plant Initiative's YouTube channel of the online program "Rewilding and the Art of Plant Whispering - A conversation with Rachel Corby" held July 24, 2024. Access the one-hour video directly here!
The video recording is now posted on The Plant Initiative's YouTube channel of the online program "Conversing with Leaves: plants, politics and more-than-human witnessing - A conversation with Uriel Orlow" with Giovanni Aloi held May 14, 2024. Access the one-hour video directly here!
2023 was the third full year of The Plant Initiative and we experienced a lot of growth in our programing this year as is described in this report. This included online events, grants, our monthly e-mail newsletter, podcasts, a report, social media, and collaboration with Networking with Plants in the Anthropocene.
A big thanks to Plant Initiative board member Mya Hummel for donating the design for the report and to Betsey Crawford of The Soul of the Earth for allowing us to include her beautiful photos of flowers. Also, thanks to Vegan Printer for their generous discount on the printed version of the report .
As an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff, we have done a lot with a modest budget. Thank you for all of the support and interest you have shown over the past year!
Learn more about our work by reading or downloading the report here or by clicking on the report cover..
A December 2023 Plant Initiative report Toward a Plant Advocacy Movement is available now for download. This report presents reasons why a plant advocacy movement is timely, outlines challenges that such a movement would face, considers what can be learned from the animal advocacy movement, and suggests potential approaches that could be useful for operationalizing a plant advocacy movement. Access it free here.
Join the new Plant Networking site on Hylo!
This new free Hylo networking tool is a special interactive web site set up for those interested in the human-plant connection supported by The Plant Initiative and Networking with Plants in the Anthropocene. It's a space for sharing active research, collaborations, art, and any forms of humans and plant relations. Use this page to collaborate, share, and to connect with others interested in thoughtful ways of relating to plants.
Visitors to The Plant Initiative's web site are especially invited to join this online community!
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