Nature Connectedness Retreat: Exploring kinship, relationality and more than human pathways to sustainability
How can we deepen our kinship with the living world? How do our relationships with nature shape the way we understand sustainability transitions?
Join us for an immersive nature connectedness retreat, hosted by the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST), Stellenbosch University. This retreat offers a unique opportunity to engage with the conceptual foundations and practical applications of nature connectedness and invites us to engage with nature not as an external object but as kin, exploring the entangled, multispecies relationships that sustain both ecosystems and human wellbeing.
🌿 Guest Speakers and Facilitators
Tanya Uhnger Wünsche: Founder of Need for Nature, researcher, and experienced facilitator in nature-based wellbeing, Tanya will introduce us to the science and practice of nature connectedness, sharing insights from her research and work in the field.
Dr Miche Fabre Lewin and Dr Flora Gathorne-Hardy, co-founders of Living Justice, are artist-researchers who bring decades of experience in ecological arts, collaboration and liberation practices. Through creative inquiry and collective ritual they will introduce sympoiethics and relational sovereignty in recognition of our human-nature-cultural interdependence.
🌎 What to expect
- Introduction to Nature Connectedness Theory
- Guided embodied practices, exploring sensory, emotional, and cognitive pathways to nature connection.
- Reflective group discussions and sharing of personal and ancestral practices of kinship with the more-than-human world.
- Exploring diverse pathways to sustainability transitions — rethinking how we relate to landscapes, species, and ecosystems beyond human-centred narratives.
👥 Who can attend?
This retreat is open to students and staff from CST, as well as practitioners and facilitators interested in both theoretical and experiential dimensions of nature connectedness and kinship.
🌱 Commitment and logistics
- Mandatory attendance from 9:30am on Monday 24 February 2025 through 4pm on Tuesday 25 February 2025.
- Free overnight stay (single room accommodation) and all meals provided.
📅 The retreat takes place from 24 – 25 February 2025
📍 Mont Fleur Retreat Centre, Stellenbosch
🎟 Free of charge
🔗 Secure your spot and RSVP at https://forms.gle/RLMd45EdMAnfibst9
For more information, contact Prof Rika Preiser at rika@sun.ac.za. RSVP by Thursday 20 February 2025.
Explore kinship beyond species boundaries and reconnect with the entangled web of life!
