Special appearance by His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Jon Young (Author of What the Robin Knows, Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature and founder of the Wilderness Awareness School.)
Richard Louv (Author, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.)
David Suzuki (Author, activist, and host of Canadian public television’s The Nature of Things.)
Stephan Schwartz (Senior Samueli Fellow for Brain, Mind, and Healing of the Samueli Institute, a research associate of the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory of the Laboratories for Fundamental Research, and a columnist for the journal Explore.)
April Blair & Matthew Bibeau (Founders and teachers of Mother Earth School, a Waldorf-inspired all-outdoor preschool and kindergarten in Portland, Oregon.)
Denis Hayes (National coordinator of the first Earth Day when he was 25, one of Time magazine’s “Heroes of the Planet,” and president of the Bullitt Foundation, founders of the Bullitt Center—the world’s greenest commercial building.)
Jeffrey Cramer (Notable Thoreau scholar and author of many books, including, The Portable Thoreau, Viking/Penguin, 2012.)
Jacqueline Freeman (Biodynamic beekeeper, farmer and teacher, Friendly Haven Rise Farm.)
Richard Ryan, PhD (Professor of psychology, psychiatry, and education, University of Rochester. Lead author of “Vitalizing effects of being outdoors and in nature,” Journal of Environmental Psychology.)
Elizabeth K. Nisbet, PhD (Psychology Department, Trent University, Ontario. Researcher on individual differences in subjective connectedness with nature--nature relatedness--and the links with health, well-being/happiness, and environmentally sustainable behavior.)
Dennis Klocek (Founder of the Coros Institute, dedicated to dialogue between individuals in the sciences, the arts, and business with a commitment to spiritual values arising from the contemplative life; director, Consciousness Studies at Rudolf Steiner College, CA; international lecturer; author of many books including, Climate, The Soul of the Earth; The Seer's Handbook; Drawing from the Book of Nature and his most recent book, Sacred Agriculture.)
The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham (Rev. Bingham has brought widespread attention to the link between religious faith and the environment through her work on The Regeneration Project and the Interfaith Power & Light campaign. As one of the first faith leaders to fully recognize global warming as a core moral issue, she has mobilized thousands of religious people to put their faith into action through energy stewardship. She serves as Canon for the Environment in the Episcopal Diocese of California and is the lead author of Love God Heal Earth. In 2012, Rev. Bingham was awarded the Audubon Society’s Rachel Carson Award for her environmental leadership.)

Here is some of what the film will explore:

Most of us look at our relationship with nature simply in terms of environmental issues. But our connection (or disconnection) with the natural world goes far beyond a material relationship.

Someone once said that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Gaining a new and different point of view is where a nature connection can really benefit us.

Concerns we face in society revolve largely around money, time, scheduling, reputation, and fulfilling a myriad of material desires, whereas what matters in nature is balance, living life in the moment, understanding one’s place in the surrounding environment, and finding satisfaction and fulfillment with what already exists.

April Blair of the Mother Earth School in Portland explains how, when a child climbs a tree, there is nothing uniform in the tree. Branches are at different angels, strength, and distances, so a child's brain-body connection has to deal with this in a much more creative way than when he or she is on a playground, where the jungle gym is uniform and of consistent strengths. Nature connection triggers a different creative process, which is why so many of the great thinkers spent time in nature for inspiration.

By increasing our relationship with nature, we double our ability to problem solve. We already have access to the knowledge and wisdom that our society has to offer, and as we increase our connection with our natural environment, we add to that the vast amount of knowledge and wisdom available in nature.

The scientific community is discovering that spending time in nature reduces stress and aggression, improves self esteem and creativity, and strengthens community.

In this clip, Richard Ryan, PhD talks about how even seemingly

inconsequential exposure to nature can have dramatic effects.

THANK YOU