ID: The heads and feet of young Black children in an outdoor setting looking down at emerging plants.
As the first tentative buds push through winter-hardened soil and birdsong returns to fill our mornings, the season of renewal invites us to consider how we might deepen our relationship with both the natural world and one another. With Earth Day on the horizon, we're offered a meaningful opportunity to reflect on our connection to the planet we call home.
The effects of the winter lessons may still be present in your body. You may feel like you have not been able to fully experience the excitement and anticipation that the beginning of spring offers. That is where I am currently; still processing the lessons of winter. The lessons of direct communication, staying grounded in the face of fear and uncertainty and having a clear vision and sound mind. This article shares some of the practices that I am currently doing in this season.
Together we will explore how intentional earth connection practices can foster both personal renewal and community building. We'll examine simple ways to reconnect with nature's rhythms, discuss how these practices support our collective well being, and consider how principles of emergent strategy can guide us in creating more sustainable, relationship-centered communities. It is my goal to explore accessible pathways for honoring Earth Day in ways that benefit both the planet and your community.
Reconnecting with Earth as Practice
The annual celebration of Earth Day reminds us that our individual journeys are inextricably connected to something larger—the living, breathing planet that sustains us. This connection isn't abstract or merely symbolic; it's tangible and vital. When we step outside and feel spring soil between our fingers, breathe in the scent of new growth, or listen to the symphony of returning birds, we aren't just observing nature—we're remembering our place within it.
For me, this reconnection has become deeply personal and physical. I am getting into the dirt—refreshing my garden beds that lay dormant through winter and adding more mulch to nourish the soil. These aren't just gardening tasks; they're acts of relationship with the earth beneath my feet. Equally important are the moments of mindful observation I'm building into each day—five to ten minutes simply gazing upon freshly opened flowers or young green leaves emerging on trees. These quiet moments of witnessing spring's emergence have become a form of meditation, a way of synchronizing my own rhythms with those of the natural world.
Reconnection with earth doesn't require grand gestures. It begins with presence—with noticing the subtle shifts in your local ecosystem as winter releases its hold. It continues with gratitude for the air that fills your lungs, the water that quenches your thirst, the land that provides your food. And it deepens through regular practice—through moments of witnessing emergence, through tending a small garden plot or even a single potted plant, through committing to spend time outdoors daily regardless of weather.
These practices aren't separate from community building; they're foundational to it. When we reconnect with earth, we often discover a natural desire to share that connection with others—to create spaces where people can gather in relationship not just with each other, but with the more-than-human world that surrounds and supports us.
Building Community with Intention
As the environmental awareness season unfolds, we have an opportunity to re-ground our intentions as community builders. It's easy to see the outward benefits of community work without acknowledging the inner work required to ensure that our efforts are sustainable, genuinely inclusive, and relationship-oriented rather than merely transactional.
This is why I find such wisdom in the principles of Emergent Strategy from Adrienne Maree Brown. As we seek to build earth-centered communities, these principles offer valuable guidance:
Emergent Strategy from Adrienne Maree Brown
- Small is good, small is all (The large is a reflection of the small)
- Change is constant (Be like water)
- There is always enough time for the right work
- It's never a failure, it's always a lesson
- Trust the People
- Move at the speed of trust
- Focus on critical connections more than critical mass
- Less prep, more presence
- What you pay attention to grows
ID: A Black educator, Jameela Calloway guides several young Black children in watering soil outdoors as part of Ancestors' Seeds, a Montessori program.
These principles help us build accountability within our practice. They remind us that community building should be centered on understanding one another not built on short-terms interactions. They encourage us to resist urgency-based thinking as our primary motivation. When urgency drives our actions, we often move faster than connections and trust can form. Without the foundation of relationship building and trust, sustainability becomes elusive.
Beginning Where You Are
If you're wondering how to begin this work of reconnection with nature and intentional community building, remember that spring teaches us about the power of small beginnings. Just as a seemingly insignificant seed contains everything needed to become a mighty oak, your simple actions today can grow into something profound over time.
"Spring teaches us about the power of small beginnings"
You might start by:
- Finding or creating regular gatherings in outdoor spaces where people can connect with nature and each other
- Initiating conversations about sustainable practices within your existing communities
- Reaching out to neighbors to start a community garden or tree-planting project
- Organizing regular nature walks that combine observation of seasonal changes with meaningful conversation
- Creating spaces for skill-sharing around earth-centered practices like gardening, foraging, or nature art
ID: Ms. Calloway and her students are examining emerging plants outdoors.
Whatever form your beginning takes, approach it with the same intentionality that you've brought to your personal growth work. Move at the speed of trust. Focus on building genuine connections. Remember that what you pay attention to grows.
As spring unfolds around us and Earth Day approaches, may we honor both the challenging work of winter and the new possibilities emerging with the season. May we remember that reconnecting with nature is not separate from reconnecting with each other, but rather two aspects of the same essential healing. And may we move forward with intention, grounding our community work in the wisdom of natural cycles, knowing that even our smallest actions—like seeds planted in fertile soil—contain the potential for transformation.
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Ashley Causey-Golden
Ashley, an educator dedicated to her community in Atlanta Georgia, is the Co-founder of Gather Forest School, a school that runs entirely outdoors. She also founded Ancestors' Seeds a primary Montessori program for children 3-6 years. She is CEO of Afrocentric Montessori, which offers products, activities and lesson plans for Montessori communities around the world.
ID: A Black woman with glasses and a button down is smiling into the camera.