Reflections from The Gathering
As the co-chair of the 2023 Gathering, planning this Gathering was a huge leap of faith. The process was enlivening and, at times, brought me to my own thresholds of personal and professional development. This reflection is a simple story of trust and faith as I dared to dream.
2023 Gathering Attendees
Front: Rose, Lorena, Elise, Michael Bill, Alex, Daniel, Alissa, Marcus, Heather, Anna, Ambar, Soraya, Rubina, Paige
Back: Karen, Mark, Garrett, Karen, Ian, Neal, Mark, David, Jay, Dakota, Meredith, Jeff, Vince, Eric, Ifeoma, Cynthia
Not pictured: Bill, Drew, Mel, Annie, Melissa, Evan, Ero, + David
Co-creation has always been at the heart of our values and spirit within the regenerative real estate community.
Our 2023 Gathering committee formed in the early days of February this year. We called in Ambar Margarida and Isabel Affinito from outside of the Latitude community to serve and I am thankful for their time, willingness to get in the mix, and bring their experience to the process.
My aspiration was for the Gathering to serve as a time of restoration and playfulness for everyone—a moment in the summer season to celebrate the fruits of our collective and individual labor under the late afternoon sun and in the refreshing waters of the Saco River. I believe we successfully achieved the noble goal of providing restoration and playfulness while advancing the field of regenerative real estate.
Attendees soak up the morning sunrise on the dock at the Saco River.
This Gathering was nothing short of potent, beautiful, cathartic, activating, and playful. It was a deep dive into the field of people who are in their places dreaming and doing alongside of us.
“My soul is brighter. My full plate looks leafy and green instead of thorny. I didn't know how much I needed that Gathering.”
“Feeling peership, evolution of conversations, nourishment and time off.”
One of my big takeaways is that the wisdom exists within the group. This is also a value we hold within the community and it was evident this year. My co-creators at Latitude - Mark Voss, David Todd, Paige Buda and Neal Collins - joined forces to contribute, share, and put their own wisdom into practice, which reverberated throughout the entire program.
Ritual was central to our time together.
Introducing land-based ceremonies into the realm of real estate acknowledges the sacred, which has long been forgotten and is now being called for by so many. The Lantern Walk to the River, the Full Moon Ecstatic Dance, the Biodynamic Stir, the Opening and Closing ceremonies, and the Clay Pinch-Pot handwork were all avenues through which we embodied this work. Here's how the wisdom manifested:
Lantern Walk
It's not by chance that Mark, David, Neal, and I are parents of children who have attended, or are currently attending, a Waldorf School. The idea for a lantern walk emerged when David exclaimed, "Let's organize a lantern walk!" Our immediate response was a resounding "YES!" Had it not been for our children and their dedicated teachers, who taught us the art of ritualizing the seasons, we might never have experienced the Lantern Walk to the River this year.
Ecstatic Dance
Our friend and fellow Change Agent Micah Swabb introduced Ecstatic Dance to us at the first Gathering in 2021 (this is a practice that has changed my life so much, that I now find myself at Prayer Body on Sunday mornings with live drumming and didgeridoo on Whidbey Island). Our planning conversation went something like this:
"We must have an Ecstatic Dance this year!"
"When is the full moon?!"
[pulls up electronic calendar]
"August 30th!"
"That's when we'll do it."
As the golden orb of the Super Blue Moon rose above the treeline, and our bodies moved rhythmically in a field moistened by earlier torrential rains, a chorus of primarl howls emerged from the people.
The dance serves as a way to connect with the ancient rhythms of life, offering a distinct departure from the typical agenda of a conference.
Biodynamic Stir
In January, Mark Voss visited Whidbey Island, and his presence and wisdom greatly enriched our experience on a farm where we were staying. During his visit, he graciously offered to guide us and the landowner in a biodynamic stir.
After spending an hour and twenty minutes together, creating a vortex, I became deeply moved to incorporate this practice into my own homestead life. Consequently, biodynamic stir naturally found its place on this year's agenda. It served not only as a means to strengthen our sense of community but also as a gift to River Bend Farm and the land itself, imbuing it with the power of potentized water.
Nature inspired altar from attendees.
Keynotes and Guided Conversations give form to the field.
This year, we delved into the areas that gave the attendees the knowledge to start a project. People were able to go beyond imagining "what could be" and witness that it’s emerging in all corners of the United States.
“There is simply no substitute to spending time with quality people passionate about regeneration.”
We learned about:
Regenerative frameworks, covered in a two-part workshop spanning two days led by Bill Reed.
Legal and governance structures, with insights from Ian McSweeney of The Farmer's Land Trust.
Finance and capital flow for innovation, presented by Neal Collins, David Leon, ED of Farmers Footprint, and Drew Dumsch, CEO/President of The Ecology School, in a live recording of the Regenerative Real Estate Podcast.
Engaging case studies from practitioners actively implementing regenerative real estate and development in their communities, featuring Ifeoma Ebo, Mel Meagher, Ambar Margarida, and Drew Dumsch.
Neal Collins, host of the Regenerative Real Estate Podcast records a live interview with David Leon, ED of Farmers Footprint and President/CEO of The Ecology School Drew Dumsch on “Deep Green Finance”.
It's All About the Process
“It’s great to see thing are moving from “wish/try” to “working on and in process”. It’s inspiring to someone who is just entering the regenerative conversations to understand the how.”
What remains clear to me is that regenerative real estate is indeed taking root. Regenerative practices are making their way into various realms, including real estate, architecture, design, planning, community building, sales practices, and beyond.
At its core, this work is process-oriented.
As Bill Reed would emphasize, "Buildings aren't alive. The people inside of them are." Regeneration focuses on the living systems that shape our world, rather than fixating solely on the end product or structure itself. We are in the process of learning how to appreciate and honor the journey and the incremental changes that occur, rather than merely the products we consume.
The first step is our own evolution in thinking and behavior, individually and collectively. Engaging with these frameworks and doing the inner work is crucial. Only through this internal transformation can we approach clients, projects, and our own homes with a different mindset and a renewed approach. There is no shortcut to this part of the journey..
Lastly, a huge shoutout to The Ecology School for hosting again, the attendees who took a leap of faith, and the gathering committee that served the movement David Todd, Mark Voss, Soraya Schneider, Daniel Hason, Ambar Margarida, Isabel Affinito, and Jeff Matteis.
I look forward to witnessing our community embark on and continue their unique processes throughout this coming year
Looking forward to the next Gathering. Date and location TBA.
