Sustainable wellbeing and green living

The dérive is a psychogeographical concept coined by Guy Debord in 1956 in his work "Theory of the Dérive.” The dérive refers to an unplanned journey through a landscape (often urban) where participants "let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there." This concept was critical in the development of psychogeography which centres around playfulness and the exploration of urban landscapes. Dérive encourages participants to stray off the beaten path (both literally and metaphorically) and let their surroundings guide their movements. This type of movement and exploration facilitates experiential learning.

The best way to learn about a landscape is by immersing yourself in it. Letting yourself wander through an area gives you a tactical and rhythmic experience that cannot be replicated by looking at a map, viewing images, or reading about the area. Physically interacting with a landscape allows you to feel...

Today is the 50^th anniversary of the first Earth Day, and in this strange time of the global pandemic due to the Coronavirus, COVID-19, we are seeing decreasing pollution all around the globe as our travel has dramatically decreased, along with decreased economic activity due to the pandemic. I thought it might be a time to re-think Earth Day. It’s not that environmental issues have gone away; they are actually more relevant than ever. It is just that the conversation about environmental issues has expanded, as have many of the problems since those first Earth Day teach-ins in 1970.

Don’t get me wrong, I consider myself a strong environmentalist and have spent my entire adult life in environmental education and working towards sustainability. So of course, I love that we have at least ONE day a year when we are guaranteed some attention to promoting these issues. But it is only one day. And really, I think that we all know that a one-day feel-good event is not going to...

It can all be too much. The climate crisis, the great Pacific garbage patch, more tigers captive in Texas than there are in the wild. Can this be recycled? How can I get take-out sushi without more plastic? Can I even get sustainably caught sushi?

 Hit pause. Take a breath, and then another, long and slow. In and out. As natural as life itself. That’s all it takes. Slow things down, take a moment to connect. Connect with our bodies, with nature and with ourselves. When we do this we see that solutions are all around us.

The answers are in nature - in that breath. That unseen matrix that

connects us to all life, through all time.

 

“Invisible and indivisible, air is a place without borders or owners, shared by all life

on Earth. It is the rightful inheritance of all future generations, the matrix that has

shaped the course of evolution. Air binds us all together as a single living entity

extending through time and space. Each one of us, past, present,...