Today’s meeting was inspiring and productive. Just past the half way point of the 6 month Bioregional Learning Journey course, we are diving deeper into the action taking phase, sensemaking, asking questions to define who we are, what unifies us, what is our unique offer to attract others to support the support work to fund the regenerating a Bioregion in Cascadia, and what are our next steps.
Birthing BLCs – A learning journey dedicated to the birthing of Bioregional Learning Centers. Began March 19, 2024.
Who Came and Zoom Recordings
Present were Brandon, Clare S, Brian, Cory, Beans, Julie W, Annaleike, Larry and a few others I will edit this and add. The Zoom recording and AI summary will be added here soon. Meantime, here is my own on the fly write up I did in the Design School followed by the Zoom chat notes.
Who Are We?
Coherence is more important than comprehensiveness
We talked about what is the unqiue attraction for wanting to be part of or use or participate in RC. Might the biggest draw be funding cooperative Bioregional regeneration work, for societal transformation as well as land restoration? Might our most powerful support and draw be outreach tools to support others work on the ground or how to start a local hub of diverse interests and projects, how and who to gather people into a wholistic hub design that can connect and sense make for all important needs of a local community? As opposed to specific projects like Climate Change, or Salmon Restoration, or Selfsufficient local Food-sheds that are not extractive (BigAg, logging, etc), for examples. I am working on getting the Zoom recording on the Regenerate Cascadia website. and mark certain parts I thought were very interesting. I hope we can open up ongoing dialogue and attract our first land based hub to support. If coherence is more important than comprehensiveness, (which feels right to me), then we may have to start with who is active and expand from there, aiming at connecting more and siloing less, move to be more inclusive and diverse, more wholistic.
Finding Our Way, Sense-Making, Constellation Invitation
Listening into our Cascadia cohort Zoom today, was Annelieke Verkerk who offers constellation work. I ask her and you who attended or you the reader and watcher (Zoom Records coming soon), did you hear any constellation worthy themes to suggest? I would love others to consider a constellation to help us find our way forward. Here is her Constilation offer at the Design School. Perhaps Cory and Lisa (designing new onboarding spaces), Brian and Clare Strawn and Brandon. Beans at the end said he will look for interesting doers for me to interview for collecting stories for Voices of Cascadia. I need sense making for this Voices-Stories project: who will want their stories shared, who wants to suggest or outreach stories we/you want included? What are the interview questions and who decides?
Zoom Chat Notes
(More coming later – these is my own saved chat and I arrived late)
09:57:04 From Cory Sevin, on land of the Coast Salish people to Everyone:
guilds fo culture and knowledge?
09:57:22 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Hubs: Structures on the Land
Guilds: Culture/Topic/Issues/Knowledge/Skills
Projects: Taking action the ground
09:57:44 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Hub: Geolocated center of activity that may be diverse – collaborative, breaking down the silos
10:00:28 From Clare Strawn – Eugene (Ki/Kin) to Everyone:
Port Townsend 20/20 isa great example and model of a hub
10:00:58 From Brian Melville – Columbia Plateau to Everyone:
Replying to “Port Townsend 20/20 …”
Thanks Claire10:02:03 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Basic Human Needs!
10:02:05 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Foodsheds
10:02:09 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Watersheds
10:02:16 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Fibersheds / Firesheds / Airsheds.
10:02:27 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
How do we create whole system lens for our foodsystems?
10:02:49 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
local building materials
10:02:57 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
place appropriate technologies/building types
10:03:35 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
get beyond the THIS IS MY FENCELINE – to this is us together
10:06:20 From Beans to Everyone:
I’m running a test run of Mike’s seeds
10:06:32 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Replying to “get beyond the THIS …”
adding to this what Clare S was saying ... to scale up to feed the actual population.10:06:38 From Annelieke Verkerk to Everyone:
Reacted to “get beyond the THIS …” with 💚
10:07:09 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Reacted to “I’m running a test r…” with ❤️
10:09:30 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Reacted to “adding to this what …” with ❤️
10:09:59 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Cory and Lisa are envisioning onboaring materials? Im interested
10:10:36 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
They met… in person!!! no less
10:11:15 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Layers:
– What do people want right now?
– What are materials that are helpful?
– Audiences?
10:11:48 From Brian Melville – Columbia Plateau to Everyone:
One layer – a support structure for people telling their story their connections to the land and each other.
10:12:42 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
What do we need for….
– People who never heard of Regenerate Cascadia + Activation Tour or DS/Joe
- People leaned in who may want to learn more about Regenerate Cascadia, bioregionalism, mapping.... etc etc.
- People who are involved with RC and want to be more involved/get active/next steps? connect a project/or start a group, hub, guild etc.10:12:59 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
How can we connect, support and partner with projects already happening in the landscape that are inspiring?
10:13:05 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
stories of regeneration.
10:13:59 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
For the public –
Stuff for a table?
A tool for people hosting a potluck? such as videos, info etc. First steps for a group?10:14:20 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
branding, style guides, illustrations
10:14:23 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Reacted to “They met… in perso…” with 🙏
10:14:53 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
what do people NEED?
10:15:55 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Communicates: What is held by this work? – people should say I should be part of that. or this project is part of that.
10:16:13 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
We NEED A MAP OF WHO IS DOING WHAT WHERE
10:16:38 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
STORY MAP of regeneration. Case Studies?
10:21:47 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Ability and ownership to send an INVITATION
10:22:05 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
What is the end goal of the relationship building and partnerships?
10:22:42 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
inviting people to “add themselves to the map”.
10:23:57 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Connecting the land
10:24:00 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
partnering to the land
10:24:04 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
working for the land
10:24:15 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
We start with the land, and invite people to partner around that….
10:25:26 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Online Form:
– Personal/Group: Submit a Partner/Ally we are directly working with, or that they add themselves to
– Group: Can create directories of groups/resources – divide by topic/location
10:25:35 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Coherence is more important than comprehensiveness
10:25:49 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Reacted to “Coherence is more im…” with 💗
10:25:52 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Everything should have a focus, a point, and be relevant. Loses it when it tries to grow beyond.
10:26:10 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Supoort structures. the initial scaffolding
10:26:58 From Clare Strawn – Eugene (Ki/Kin) to Everyone:
Tension between focus point(s) and interconnected relational movement building.
10:28:05 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
What are the support tools?
10:28:10 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Clear place for people to land
10:28:14 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
and a clear WHY
10:31:09 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Do we have a hub yet? yes maye pre hubs
10:32:05 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
But why onboard?
10:32:40 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Organizers kit for hubs. good
10:33:41 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Emergence Strategy by … who?
10:34:27 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
onboarding I think is the materials that is:
- Joes Presentation - context
- Being able to know & present Bioregionalism, Cascadia, movement, bioregion, mapping - What is regenerate Cascadia?
- Have clear understanding for next steps and is empowered to get involved with the next steps... whatever that is10:34:44 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
movement building: Aligning a shared mission, goals, and principles/values.
10:34:51 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
and the ability for people then to plug in and make it happen.
10:34:57 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
myrmyration.
10:35:41 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
community agreements when people join I think is also important. How we work together!
10:35:51 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Collective sensemaking, goalmaking
10:36:30 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Maybe outreach tools
10:36:45 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
thats maps and directories of orgs
10:37:40 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
We could do a miro board of the things we WANT. and priorities of the most simple. Just start knocking them out.
10:38:01 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Make a list of the 5-10 people to get together
10:38:03 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
for a dinner
10:38:21 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
knows a time for aligning the initial core team organizing groups….
10:38:53 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
start knocking out the simple things. one pager. video etc
10:39:50 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Design sessions… a good idea!
10:40:34 From Cory Sevin, on land of the Coast Salish people to Everyone:
iteration is what surfaces emergence!
10:41:39 From Cory Sevin, on land of the Coast Salish people to Everyone:
One thing I would love for us to have is a picture or batch of pictures of each person’s place-where you live!
10:42:12 From Cory Sevin, on land of the Coast Salish people to Everyone:
Photos of different regions in Cascadia for us to use
10:43:26 From Cory Sevin, on land of the Coast Salish people to Everyone:
if I drop off my laptop ran out of power
10:44:43 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Are we a movement?
10:46:55 From Beans to Everyone:
I’m applying for my local “hyampom community service district” election so I can get involved more with the local politics
10:47:09 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Reacted to “I’m applying for my …” with ❤️
10:47:14 From Brian Melville – Columbia Plateau to Everyone:
Reacted to “I’m applying for my …” with 🧡
10:49:03 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
systems for society that does not destroy the landscape
10:49:08 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
MORE than just landscape regeneration
10:49:18 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
the cultural, the economic, the political
10:49:22 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
as well as the ecological
10:49:33 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Reacted to “I’m applying for my …” with 💗
10:49:44 From Cory Sevin, on land of the Coast Salish people to Everyone:
Taking a wholistic systems approach to regenerating a bioregion is also unique I think-with land being the core driver
10:52:46 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
I really like the importance to name these things, beyond landscape regeneration
10:53:18 From Cory Sevin, on land of the Coast Salish people to Everyone:
and human systems are very important and not the only beings of importance
10:53:32 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Reacted to “and human systems ar…” with 💗
10:55:03 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
“a bioregional movement”
” a social, cultural, economic, political and ecological movement” – to regenerate the Cascadia bioregion and create the conditions for a regenerative culture and movement to thrive….. etc etc
10:56:05 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
HEEEY! Hi Keala!
10:57:59 From Annelieke Verkerk to Everyone:
It is more important to get it going, than about getting it right
10:58:27 From Brandon Letsinger (he/him) – Cascadia, Salish Sea, Seattle to Everyone:
Reacted to “It is more important…” with ❤️
10:58:34 From Brian Melville – Columbia Plateau to Everyone:
Reacted to “It is more important…” with 🧡
11:01:26 From Annelieke Verkerk to Everyone:
if you want to get a better sense of how Regenerative Constellations can support your initiatives in the watersheds and beyond, you can check out: https://design-school-for-regenerating-earth.mn.co/spaces/14631685/page
11:02:06 From Julie Wolf – Tahuya – Cascadia to Everyone:
Reacted to “if you want to get a…” with 🙏
