sustainability | Page 2 of 2

Blog: Wangari Maathai: A Vision of Hope, One Tree at a Time

by Judith | Apr 17, 2020 | Book, forests, sustainability

Sustainable and edible landscapes capture our attention and our creativity. Sustainability is a buzz word. It’s how we conserve resources and protect our environment. Yet we seem to favor unsustainable practices in managing our landscapes, our yards, our municipal lands. What’s the difference?

Let’s look at Sustainability: Sustainability means using our resources with the intent of replacing them better than when we began, so we leave something viable for the next seven generations, as my elders would say. One of the primary areas we can change today is the use of our personal yards, front or back, and create, bring in more diversity to improve the overall picture of global warming’s effects. That means we need to rethink lawn. And rethink how we approach nature. Is she something we use regardless of consequences? Or can we see nature as an intelligent entity, that has had 3.8 billion years to refine and define operating systems, so she thrives? How do we fit in as humans managing her resources and gifts? In the big picture, we are a young species.

My podcast guest this week, Dr. Jean Shoinoda Bolen, an activist for women’s rights, mentions Wangari Maathai is her book: Like a Tree. Intrigued I looked up this courageous woman and felt inspired to share her story with all of you. The above movie portrays Wangari Maathai’s vision. She started the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and helped plant thousands of trees turning barren land into a verdant landscape that rebuilt soil, improves water conditions, and gave the community pride and dignity. More importantly, she took one simple action to her community and made a difference.

Sustainability is a vital and invaluable component of getting back to creating holistic environments.

As you look through garden and seed catalogs, rethink your spaces. Research an edible shrub or tree to add food for you and wildlife. Plant a few different native plants to keep our wildlife thriving.

I hope you feel as inspired as I do by one person;’s vision and action that changed her community and left a wonderful legacy. Together we can create a sustainable world and enjoy the journey. We love hearing from you and hope you’ll share your stories with us. Thanks. Judith

Podcast: Holistic Nature of Us: Meet Dr Jean Shinoda Bolen, Psychiatrist, Jungian Analyst, Activist, Author

by Judith | Apr 14, 2020 | forests, Holistic Nature of Us, Podcast, sustainability

Description: It’s a privilege to introduce you to Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen world-renown author, and speaker. Dr. Bolen, a psychiatrist, a Jungian analyst is known for her contributions to our understanding of archetypes, symbolism, and goddesses/gods as well as her activism working for women’s rights globally.
Her book, Like a Tree, How Trees, Women, and Tree People Can Save the Planet began with personal experience, one that led her to discover ‘tree people and tree huggers’. She weaves their stories within the life of trees: how trees contribute to our environment and more importantly to our culture as one of many species living on this planet. Dr. Bolen relates deforestation to the many waves of abuse women still suffer today.
Join us for a deep and timely look at culture, the COVID-19 virus, trees and us.

About My Guest: Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst and an internationally known author and speaker. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a former clinical professor of psychiatry at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California Medical Center and a past board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women, the International Transpersonal Association, and the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. She is the author of thirteen books in over one hundred foreign editions. She is a NGO Permanent Representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women from the Women’s World Summit Foundation (Geneva), also represents Pathways To Peace, The Millionth Circle, Earthchild Institute, Women’s Perspective, and the International Public Policy Institute. She is in three acclaimed documentaries: the Academy-Award winning anti-nuclear proliferation film “Women – For America, For the World,” the Canadian Film Board’s “Goddess Remembered,” and “Femme: Women Healing the World.