Yes, that was deliberately ambiguous. I’m sharing some aspects of a course I experienced in November with the Planet Shaftesbury network because it could be of wider interest. And I wouldn’t have wanted to participate in the course in the first place if it wasn’t relevant to the ways in which Planet Shaftesbury matters to me. My motivation first: an occasional course or conference, where you encounter new ideas and like-minded people, can provide a boost. It’s been some years since I found such an opportunity - until last month’s short course at Schumacher College. The role I play in the Planet Shaftesbury network was a factor in choosing this particular course, I’d really enjoy hearing from anyone who wants to explore Planet Shaftesbury’s needs after reading this! The course: ‘Creative Facilitation for Our Time’ was described as vividly explaining the predicament that we and the earth are in. It offered some practical means to collectively meet the challenge of volatile, complex issues. It encouraged exploration and practice of a wide range of catalyst and facilitation skills; and offered an opportunity to put them into practice in real-life tailored scenarios that would meet participants’ interests and needs. That was the sales pitch. If your response was something like “WTF?” you might find it helpful to know that: Dartington Trust, which includes Schumacher College, is a charity delivering learning programmes in the arts, ecology, and social justice; co-founder Satish Kumar speaks of “learning for the 21st century as opposed to the industrial age” and “learning from nature, about nature, in nature”. https://www.dartington.org/ (Group) Facilitation is the art of making it easier for a group to achieve its purpose. In a group of like-minded people facing an uncomplicated task, the facilitator may simply make sure each participant gets equivalent ‘airtime’. With a diverse group navigating its way through dynamic, ambiguous, interconnected, complex problems (for which the technical term is a ‘mess’) the facilitator requires a wider skillset. The processes and tools they use will vary according to the context, but they will always want to be non-judgemental, resourceful, flexible, creative and responsive to whatever emerges. See the basics here https://ica-uk.org.uk/ Group facilitation has been a significant part of what I’ve done since a career change in my early 40s. I found the role suited me, perhaps I learned something useful during many years of being an introvert who watched from the edge of groups I’ve been part of? Along the way, I benefitted from diverse trainings, by supporting and collaborating with other facilitators, and from enjoyable and rewarding work with different sizes of group in diverse settings. In the early years I’d have a contract with a client, well-defined groups to work with, and a clear purpose and timeframe for my involvement. In working with Planet Shaftesbury, the context is more open-ended than that. I wanted the course to provide a vantage point from which to take stock of what I’ve been doing in Shaftesbury. There was some ambivalence: I wanted to become more effective whilst also making my involvement less time-consuming. I wanted to connect with other facilitators. And I hoped it would be fun: I felt in need of a boost. The course ran from late afternoon on Monday 21st through to Friday 25th lunchtime and I was one of about 25 participants. The whole was very much greater than the sum of the parts and the experience exceeded my expectations. I’m not going to describe the week in detail but here are indications of aspects that will be of wider interest: The course was designed and led by Jenny MacKewn who I first encountered on a Transition Training perhaps 12 years ago. I remember that she introduced me to the idea of a connection between our loss of community and our addiction to consumption. The depth and breadth of her long experience was apparent in the way she had interwoven diverse elements, presenters and facilitators with very different styles together in this course. There were many valuable reminders and some new learnings here for me. Her next offering for Schumacher has a business focus: https://www.dartington.org/event/regenerating-business-as-a-force-for-good/ Rob Hopkins, co-founder of the Transition Network, joined us on Monday evening when he talked passionately about the need for positive stories about the future, the role of imagination, and the importance of encouraging the emergence of ideas. Rob’s TEDx Talk ‘What If?’, showed by Planet Shaftesbury at the start of the ‘Shaftesbury 2030 – choosing our future’ event last May, is still on YouTube and covers similar ground. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJVb5v4MnZ4 Reviewing selected elements of the course, I want to highlight Jenny’s inclusion of Joanna Macy’s work addressing our separation from nature and feelings of powerlessness. The ‘Work that Reconnects’ is a 4 stage journey leading from gratitude, to honouring our pain for the world, to seeing with new eyes, and to going forth … into the actions that call us. There are many different ways to guide people through the work which can be grounding, impactful, and empowering – as I experienced it with Jenny last month. More than one person in Shaftesbury has previously suggested that some of us might like to explore this work (sometimes referred to as ‘Active Hope’) together. Perhaps the time has come? Find out more through https://workthatreconnects.org/ Michaёl Doré was with us all week, supporting Jenny. He brought a different energy to the space - including, sometimes, music to accompany periods of reflection and songs to mark changes in focus and energy. He also provided a mini-introduction to the “Climate Fresk”. This is an innovative workshop that introduces lay people to the science of climate change. Multiple charts and graphs, based on IPCC reports, are summarised on cards along with a concise description and topical photograph. During the 3hr workshop, participants create a diagram to illustrate the relationships between human activity and its global consequences – building their individual understanding and motivation for behaviour change at the same time. The text has been translated from the original French into 45 languages and the number of people who’ve participated in a workshop is growing exponentially. Those on my course have set a date for doing an online version of the full workshop together. I wonder if we could bring it to the wider community in Shaftesbury? https://climatefresk.org/ Steve Chapman joined us on Wednesday evening and worked with us through to the end of the course. On his website he describes himself as ‘playful with not knowing’ and says he works with people ‘interested in finding creative and counter-intuitive ways to help free themselves from ever-tightening loops of common-sense where creativity, novelty and change are rather difficult’. Hearing about some of his whacky projects and then working (more like playing) with Steve was fun and, from my perspective, an integral part of what made the course successful in giving me the boost I wanted. Most of what I learnt from him defies description but has made a difference to how I feel - and that may be noticeable over coming months. Hearing of his 2021 ‘Lost Cat’ project got me wondering what wonky ideas may spread awareness of Planet Shaftesbury better than our more earnest approaches. Steve, (aka @stevexoh) has a website https://www.canscorpionssmoke.com/ We met Stephan Harding outdoors on the final morning of the course. A co-founder of the college and co-creator of the Deep Time Walk, he now coordinates Schumacher’s M.Sc in Holistic Science. Stephan talked movingly about science and Gaia, accompanying himself on guitar in what was part presentation and part guided meditation. A privilege to be in his company. https://www.deeptimewalk.org/ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/835914.Animate_Earth Being part of a course hosted on the Dartington Estate whilst participating in the community at Schumacher College enriched the learning experience. (Optional) morning meetings. Communal meals using local produce. Occasional work sessions in kitchen or dining room. The week was cold and wet at times, but some of our leisure time and several sessions were amongst the redwoods. Spaces and places to find solitude, to meet a tree, to tell our stories, to sit around a fire, to share in a ritual and to sing. There’s learning there for how we occupy Shaftesbury! Here we all are. A diverse bunch whose different paths crossed at this course. It wouldn’t have been the same without any one of them and I’m grateful that we’re keeping in touch! I’ve already said it. I’d love to hear from anyone who wants to chat about the relevance of any of this to Planet Shaftesbury. Through this Forum or by email: rachel.bodle@gmail.com

Michael Dower died on 7th November. He was a co-founder of the Dorset Climate Action Network and over the past couple of years several of us encountered him in action on Zoom calls, some of us worked more closely with him on D-CAN projects and some of us met him in person at D-CAN events. I recently found out that Angela King and Sue Clifford knew him from way back when they were establishing Common Ground and he was the very supportive Chairman of the Countryside Commission. Following his death, Planet Shaftesbury was invited to contribute to a photobook tribute being compiled by his close associates in D-CAN for his wife Nan and their family. I replied with the following message: "Only a few individuals in the Planet Shaftesbury network had the opportunity to work with Michael Dower directly, more of us 'met' him in online meetings. Individuals' comments include 'inspiring' and 'a lovely man'. But there's much more than that. The greatest impact upon our work in Shaftesbury has come from the wider connections which Michael's co-founding of the Dorset Climate Action Network has made possible. Participating in D-CAN led us to invite representatives of other Dorset groups to contribute to Shaftesbury events as well as enabling some of us to collaborate with like-minded others from the wider Dorset community. We've been inspired and we've felt supported. It makes a difference. I'm sending two images, one of the programme for an extraordinary event we hosted in Shaftesbury which couldn't have happened without the contributions of several other D-CAN groups, and one photo taken at that event and showing the session addressed by Mark Chivers of Zero Carbon Dorset. I'm pleased to offer this as our tribute to the difference that Michael made."