We are in a unique time in human history. We can order an item from around the world and receive it at our doorstep in a few days. We can live our entire lives indoors. We can exist without interacting with other humans. Unfortunately, this separation from each other and from Nature makes it easier than ever to exploit and destroy nature for our own purposes. The good news is...we are actually in a position to salvage what few wild areas still exist on the planet. There is however, an expiration date on that offer.
Ayana Young is a podcast and radio personality specializing in intersectional environmental and social justice, deep ecology and land-based restoration. Young has a strong academic background at the intersections of ecology, culture, and spirituality. Young lives among the coastal redwood and salmon habitat in Northern California. She established a native species nursery and research center, spearheading the 1 Million Redwoods Project, the most backed farm project in Kickstarter history. Young is also a budding filmmaker. Her debut film, When Old Growth Ends, is an ode to the irreplaceable Tongass National Forest during its last stand as a distinctly wild place in Southeast Alaska. Young is the Founder and Executive Director of millennial media organization and nonprofit For the Wild. Her podcast, For the Wild, has featured over 100 guests, including Chris Hedges, Sylvia Earle, Vandana Shiva, Jill Stein, Winona La Duke, Terry Tempest Williams. Young approaches the mission of "For The Wild" with critical thinking, deep reverence and artistry.
Standing up and speaking out for the Earth is not the easy path...but no one is going to lay on their deathbed regretting caring about and working to protect the Earth. Devoting ourselves to something outside ourselves is what makes us truly worthy.
Ayana's experience creating a farm and a food forest
Soil building
Shattering her own conditioning and the origin of For the Wild Podcast
The connection between the human inner landscape and Earth's landscape
Taking responsibility for what it means to be a modern human
How modern human disconnection from Nature makes it easier to exploit Nature
Being wary of greenwashing solutions and token consumerism as distractions from the ecological disaster that is happening now
Addressing our own addiction to consumerism and entitlement is the first step
Buffers that keep us satisfied and distracted from processing what is actually going on in our world right now
It's okay to slow down and not "do" something. It's the times when we are quiet, especially in Nature, that we can hear our inner voice
If we want clean water, if we want clean air, if we want a future for our children...we have to act, and expect to be engaging for the long haul. We need to be in relationship with each other and with the work of standing up for the Earth, rather than only focusing on getting to the finish line.
Strategies for sustainable activism
forthewild.world (info on For The Wild Podcast, 1 Million Redwoods Project, Tongass Campaign)
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook: @for.the.wild
connect@forthewild.world
Emergent Strategy and Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown
A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California by Laura Cunningham
Terry Tempest Williams
Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God by Rainer Maria
