11 minute read
Nature re(connection) for designers
Nat Hunter and John Thackara
Why was this our theme?
Nature reconnection shifts our understanding of our place in a living world. It reminds us that all life is interconnected, and equally important. This awareness is the heart and soul of our work on systems change.
“The destruction will stop when we see nature differently, relate differently, understand our purpose here differently.”
When the Spanish philosopher Raymond Pannikar wrote these words in 2010, connection with nature was not a priority for the design world. The launch of “Design for Planet” is a signal that our culture is shifting. The idea is gaining hold that our highest purpose is to create conditions for life.
If this new mindset is indeed emerging, a novel question arises: under what circumstances would the majority of designers design for all of life, and not just human life?
Our answer to that question - our theory of change - begins with an observation: telling designers how to think, or what to do, is counter-productive. What’s needed is less advocacy, and more embodied experiences of being connected with all of life - and on a mass scale.
Our theory of change then builds on some good news. Millions of people - of all ages and backgrounds - are already seeking a connection with nature through diverse practices. We are not starting from scratch.
Nature reconnection is not experienced in the same way everywhere. People understand the word ‘nature’ in diverse ways. For some, connecting with nature takes place in a distant natural park. Others find meaning engaging with weeds in an urban brownfield site. The relationship people have with nature - or not - is shaped by class, culture, lived experience and identity.
Access to nature can be a political issue: not all communities have equal access. Similarly, not everyone experiences nature as benign. Some people fear nature, and find security in being separated from it. Others perceive the presence of nature as disquieting evidence of disorder.
With these caveats in mind, we believe this flourishing ecosystem of projects represents three opportunities for design.
First, by exploring myriad experiences for themselves, and finding what works for them, designers can expand their understanding of the interconnectedness of life.
Second, they have the perfect skills to broaden and diversify the number of people connecting with such transformative experiences.
And third, they can help their clients and employers too - by connecting them with local projects that do social and ecological good.
Connection with nature is also an essential complement of the Design Council’s work on systems change. We believe that by making designers curious about “what we’re inside of”, in the words of Nora Bateson, they will be motivated to explore a whole-systems understanding and experience of the world.
As a complement to systems thinking, ecological design practice brings designers into contact with real-world biotic communities - from sub-microscopic viruses, to the vast subsoil networks that support trees.
Learning about these worlds - at different geographical and temporal scalesalso brings designers into contact with novel disciplines: climatology, hydrology, geography, psychology, history and many more. These new disciplines and actors enrich the systems change ecosystem that designers are now part of.
We believe that a combination of the latest insights of systems thinking and complexity science, together with wisdom traditions from other places and times, will help designers connect with living systems emotionally, as well as rationally.
Our desired outcome
Life-first design is not yet mainstream, and we wanted, in this workshop, to understand two things. What kind of nature connection activities work well for designers? And what it would take for them to have these experiences on a mass scale?
Key insights and takeaways
Nature connection has significant potential for policy makers engaged in system change work. It can be a cornerstone of the move towards rights to nature access for all.
The contribution of nature experiences to health and wellbeing is confirmed by a growing body of evidence. Public investment in social prescribing is an affordable way to enhance public health. Investment in skills training can benefit not just the voluntary sectors already doing this work, but also site owners such as farmers and foresters.
Enabling nature connection is a relatively easy way for companies to meet the demands from their staff, and clients, for meaningful climate action.
Connecting with nature is a journey, not an action. When Copernicus proved that the earth revolves around the sun rather than vice versa, it took a further 100 years of resistance and argument before the news really sunk in. On such a fundamental issue as our place within nature, learning to think and feel our way into an ecological world view, and daily life practice, is a lifelong journey.
We are not starting from zero on this journey. It is now 50 years since “Limits to Growth” was published. Today, nature reconnection is a fast-growing global phenomenon.
Connecting with nature is as much about attention, as it is about action. A culture of attentiveness to nature is the best way to sustain a sense of ecological responsibility towards future generations.
Connecting with nature is ideally experienced in places. The natural world - including urban locations - is a site of experiential learning, and a teacher, in its own right. Lifelong learning about interdependence, interconnectedness, and diversity should be situated learning.
The Me, and the We, and the Both, matter equally.
Cognitive Justice means recognition of the plurality of knowledge, and the right of the different forms of knowledge to co-exist. It’s important to understand different ways of knowing, of communicating and of what intelligence might mean. These include embodied intelligences that are shaped by place.
Time to think: we all need to slow down in order to experience the world from an embodied place. Workshop participants thanked us for providing space to hear themselves think, and to take time to connect to each other, and reflect together on what they might want to do next.
A case-study example from the workshop
Our workshop explored our feelings about our connection to nature. Without even venturing into the outside world, we were able to engage with emotions which lay beneath the surface and turn them into meaningful action.
The main exercise of our workshop was based on Joanna Macy’s “The Work That Reconnects”. This particular exercise was based Macy’s idea of “Active Hope” - a practice we can apply to any situation.
The practice starts by taking a clear view of the reality we face, and what we feel about that. We then identify what we hope forin terms of the direction we’d like things to move in, or the values we’d like to see expressed. Finally, we commit to take a step, however small, that moves us or our situation in that direction.
The workshop was in Zoom, and we created breakout rooms of two people. We each took it in turn to speak for a minute, prompted by open sentence starters. Open sentences are prompts: there is no right answer. Participants were encouraged to just feel into the first thing that comes into their head and say it aloud.
The seven open sentences were as follows, with participants taking a minute for each sentence before swapping over.
1. What I love about nature is ...
2. I’d like to thank nature for...
3. Looking at the future we’re heading into, my concerns include...
4. What inspires me is....
5. Looking at the future we’re heading into, what I deeply hope for is...
6. A part I’d like to play in support of this is...
7. A step I’ll take towards this is...
At the end of the exercise there was a fiveminute period for solo reflection. We then came back to the group and shared our thoughts for another few minutes.
The overwhelming feedback from the exercise was one of gratitude. Participants cherished the opportunity to stop, feel and think. The open sentences created an intimate space in which we listened to ourselves think and feel, and witnessed our partner doing the same. It felt spacious and insightful, creating clarity about a step that we each individually wanted to take. The whole process took only 30 minutes.
When we started planning our workshop, the idea that designers might embrace the idea that all life is interconnected, and of equal value, seemed far-fetched. A few weeks later, this awareness felt like a very natural part of our work on systems change.
Top-tips for designers
Go on a walk. Pay careful attention to nature. Find a ‘sweet spot’ you can easily return to. Consider adopting a weed.
Focus on connections in systems, rather than discrete elements. Consider ways to enhance relationships between people, place and nature.
Self- awareness and self-development are a key part of all of this - but we don’t have to do this work alone. Find a coach, a guide or a journey partner.
Embodiment is not so easy for those among us who were raised in a culture that praises left brain rational thought and dismisses intuition, hunches and inspiration. Don’t be discouraged! It may take a little perseverance and practice to relearn how to connect to and trust those parts of ourselves.
Create space and time in your life to be away from the computer, preferably amongst nature - however tiny.
Further reading and resources
Work That Reconnects Network
Books, lectures and debates are not enough by themselves. Based on systems theory, spiritual teachings, and deep ecology, The Work That Reconnects is a pioneering form of group work that demonstrates our interconnectedness in the web of life. Its methods are described in “Coming Back to Life”. workthatreconnects.org
Emergence Magazine practice booklets
Emergence Magazine’s practices are simple but meaningful ways to connect with the living world:
emergencemagazine.org/practice/ befriending-a-tree
emergencemagazine.org/practice/ listening-for-silence
emergencemagazine.org/practice/ navigating-a-shifting-world
emergencemagazine.org/practice/ arriving-with-every-step
emergencemagazine.org/practice/ listening-to-the-language-of-birds emergencemagazine.org/practice/beingwith-the-dark
“Kinship: Belonging In A World of Relations”
From The Center for Humans and Nature, a collection of essays, interviews, poems and stories of solidarity that highlight the interdependence that exists between humans and nonhuman beings. humansandnature.org
“The Web of Meaning”, Jeremy Lent
Once we shift our worldview, another world becomes possible. “The Web of Meaning” offers a coherent and intellectually solid foundation for an alternative worldview based on deep interconnectedness, and shows how modern scientific knowledge echoes the ancient wisdom of earlier cultures.
“Ways of Being”, James Bridle
James Bridle is an artist, technologist and philosopher. This book explores different kinds of intelligence - plant, animal, human and artificial. For many people, the book transforms their understanding of humans’ place in the cosmos.
“Sacred Instructions”, Sherri Mitchell
“Sacred Instructions” is a narrative of Indigenous wisdom. It provides a road map for the spirit and a compass of compassion for humanity. Sherri Mitchell is an Indigenous elder and also an attorney and activist. Her book is about decolonisation and recovery of an Indigenous worldview.
“Braiding Sweetgrass”, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Potowami professor of Botany, Robin Wall
Kimmerer’s hugely influential book describes the role of Indigenous knowledge as an alternative to Western mainstream scientific methodologies.
“Sand Talk”, Tyson Yunkapora
Dr. Tyson Yunkaporta is a researcher, arts critic, poet and traditional woodcarver. In this book, which looks at global systems from an Indigenous perspective, we humans are no more important than rocks.
Back To The Land Reader
This reading list is for students on the summer course John Thackara runs together with Konstfack, in Sweden. These texts span how to be, as well as what to do, in an urban-rural context. thackara.com
Some examples of UK nature connection experiences that designers can try for themselves:
Deep Time Walk - explore Earth history and geological time deeptimewalk.org
Morethanweeds - change your perception of urban plants morethanweeds.co.uk
Nature Connection Retreat - make an inner journey in the great outdoors sharphamtrust.org
Learning Farms - connect with 120 School Farms in the UK farmgarden.org.uk
Connect to Nature - various natured-based airbnb experiences airbnb.com
Vision Quest - soulmaking in nature wildrites. uk
Soil Care Network – “Rediscovering Soils” workshops soilcarenetwork.com
Soil Voices - collect stories and memories about soil soilvoices.org
Quench - Nature Connection in Urban Environments lancaster.ac.uk
Wild Minds Collective - nature connection retreats, vision quests, online journeys dandelion.earth
Circle of Life Rediscovery - work with experienced pioneers in nature-based practice circleofliferediscovery.com
Embercombe - reconnect to your wild self embercombe.org
Schumacher College Short Courses –progressive college offering ecological studies in the classroom, the gardens, the kitchen campus.dartington.org
Centre for Alternative Technology Short Courses - day and short residential courses covering a range of sustainability issues cat.org.uk
Rewilding Academy – training and courses in rewilding rewilding.academy
Pishwanton Wood Project - Life Science Trust inspired by Goethe garvaldedinburgh.org.uk
Work That Reconnects Spiral - hear sounds of the Earth crying whiteawake.org
Walking The Forest – project exploring the connection between women, activism and trees walkingforest.co.uk
