Introduction

Ecological knowledge is placed at the heart and learnings are embedded in ancient traditions of forest wisdom, which can enrich human life in times of ecological and personal crisis.

Our approach to guardianship is grounded on affective ecology, traditional knowledge and spiritual activism. Drawing on these perspectives, as well as an experiential understanding of treescapes across bioregions, you will learn how to develop collective action for green justice.

The work of our world-renowned forest guardians will inspire your everyday and professional lives. Whether you are interested in environmental journalism, communication, activism, eco-art, research, environmental law, advocacy, or simply looking for inspiration, this course is designed to change the way we understand our human relation to forests in an age of ecological crisis.

Why this course?

In this course, we ask: Is there a society where humans and trees can live together in harmony? We believe that there is. It is called “forest”. Forests are where humans and trees live together. Every member of that society must take on a responsibility for maintaining that shared and common interest, which is forest life.

Over the course of this journey, we learn what it takes to be a forest guardian. We will learn what it means to take responsibility, to care, to act and to devote yourself to that society we call forest.

Structure of the course

The course has been curated as a journey into the world of forests. We will start from a bodily perspective; that is, we will seek to base our learnings on what the body senses, feels, intuits. Trees are connected to the human body. We share many common physical properties—energy conservation mechanisms, common DNA, similar patterns of sexualisation (think of the use of tree perfumes, flowers, etc). We also share “dendritism” or the branched pattern of life forms, such as the branches of your veins or your brain and nerve system, which are structurally speaking, self-similar to the veins of trees. That is because we evolved from a common ancestor (the protist). Based on this embodied understanding of trees, we will be exploring somatic approaches— i.e. moving, breathing, eating, even swimming with forests (kelp).

From there onwards, we will focus on plant and tree wisdom—we will home in on specific trees such as oaks and yews, and we will learn how to read and recognise their particular characters and signatures, deepening our spiritual and cultural connection with particular trees. We will explore activities like walking with trees, tree-spotting, and thinking with trees.

Following on, we will focus on the idea of temporality, or how ancient trees teach us about the past and the future; how ancestral perspectives are vital to preserving the well-being of forests in years to come, and how we can honour this through ancestral wisdoms.

Forest Culture will be the next step in our journey. We will explore the importance of embedding forest guardian values in cultural practices and also artistic and creative work. We will focus on the work of indigenous peoples in Chile and New Zealand, who will share their traditional forest craft and culture with us. We will then travel to the Blue Mountains in Australia, where we will learn how forests are changing political culture in the Blue Mountains community. We will explore how trees can change the way we understand the culture of power and politics.

The next step in the journey is Forest Action. We will travel to Liberia, Kenya, Chad and Tanzania, to learn from leading lawyers, agroecologists, action researchers and academics, on specific forms of forest action. We will focus on two concrete forms of forest action: i) legal, we will be exploring how forest guardians can help protect forest and forests peoples by law, and ii) sustainable agricultural action.

In the next module in this course, entitled Land Justice, we will travel to the tropical forests of South America, where we will deepen our understanding of forest justice, and where we will explore some of the major threats and violations to forest life currently occurring in some of the world’s most iconic forests. We will learn from leading exponents of the rights of nature movement, as well as major indigenous leaders in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, on the demands of forest guardians, and the major struggles to fight for forest justice.

In the final module of this course, you will learn how to develop groups and community work as part of your forest guardianship learning process. We will travel to South East Asia, where we will learn about forest community building among indigenous communities in West Bengal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.