Earth Dialogue

Discover how to connect with the land and wild nature of the South Downs, with Charlotte Du Cann of the Dark Mountain Project

Half day workshop
Sunday Feb 4th, 2018 - Saddlescombe Farm

Sold Out - Email for Wait List

Learn how to connect and communicate with the non-human world, and feel at home in the wild places of the Earth. 

Earth Dialogues are essentially communications between the natural world and your own physical intelligence. 

Part discussion, part encounter, part perception exercise, an Earth Dialogue is an opportunity to engage, individually and as a group, with a wild place - the Downs, at a certain time of year - the time of emergence, sometimes known as Imbolc, as well as the challenging times we are living in. 

It enables you to shift your attention away from a busy mindset and sense of isolation, and instead behold the planet as a key participant.

An Earth Dialogue is a way of experiencing the Earth not as ‘landscape’ or ‘the environment’ but as a meeting place of many elements, in which human beings form one particular strand. Its core act is learning how to swiftly tune into and physically connect with a place and all its inhabitants - plants, creatures, wind, stones. 

It involves sharing your experience afterwards, using the tools of listening, speaking, holding space, keeping time and remembering; and finally, turning those insights into images or words and creating a collaborative 'dreaming map' of the day. 

The day will start inside by the fire with introductions and instructions for making contact with the land, followed by an hour of solo time outside. You will then return to the fireside to discuss your encounters and together we'll create a shared map. 
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Working as a group allows us to makes more sense of the land we live in together and strengthens our connections, as well as our presence, within it.

The Earth Dialogue is one of a set of practices developed over a decade that explore the territory of dreams, myths, places and plants. It has been shared with people in many locations: up a mountain in California, around a loch on Rannoch Moor, in the Calder Valley in England, in the depths of a winter forest in Sweden. 

Once learned it can be practised anywhere with anyone. All you need is time.
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Part of this session will be outside, so bring warm clothes and something to sit on in case of wet ground. And a winter picnic lunch to share afterwards!
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Earth Dialogue is being led by writer and editor Charlotte Du Cann of the Dark Mountain Project on Sunday 4th Feb 2018, 10am to 2pm.

• Wear suitable clothing.
• Bring food to share
• Tea and biscuits included
• Suitable for adults aged 18+ 
• The cost is £35
• Numbers limited to 16 people max, so book early! RSVP essential as we need to know numbers, thanks.
• It's being held in a private location inside Saddlescombe Farm. Full directions and parking info sent on booking.
• We encourage car sharing, please indicate when booking if you need, or can offer, a lift.

​Book now to secure your place! 

Sold Out - Email for Wait List

Charlotte Du Cann
Charlotte DuCann is a writer and editor and part of the core team behind The Dark Mountain Project. She teaches collaborative writing and re-connection with the living planet. After working as a journalist during the 1980s and travelling in the 90s, she settled in Suffolk and began to document grassroots arts and activism in response to climate change. She is the author of 52 Flowers That Shook My World – A Radical Return to Earth, swims in the North Sea and the River Waveney, and makes a mean nettle pesto. Read more here.

Nature Connection Courses & Classes​