Earth Laws Month 2023

Join us for a special presentation by the Honourable Justice Brian J Preston, Chief Judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court. Judge Preston will share insights into how legal concepts can be turned into reality, and how we can operationalise a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

OUR GUEST SPEAKER – The Hon. Justice Brian J Preston FRSN SC

Justice Preston is the Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. Prior to being appointed in November 2005, he was a senior counsel practising primarily in New South Wales in environmental, planning, administrative and property law. He has lectured in post-graduate environmental law for over 30 years. He is the author of Australia’s first book on environmental litigation and 152 articles, book chapters and reviews on environmental law, administrative and criminal law. He holds numerous editorial positions in environmental law publications and has been involved in a number of international environmental consultancies and capacity-building programs, including for judiciaries throughout Asia, Africa and the European Union.

Justice Preston is an Official Member of the Judicial Commission of NSW, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW and Honorary Fellow of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand. He was awarded a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) by Macquarie University in 2018 and a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by Western Sydney University in 2022. He is a member of various international environmental law committees and advisory boards, including serving on the Governing Council and as Vice President for Oceania of the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment and Chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA).

Justice Preston is currently a Visiting Professor at Durham University (UK), an Adjunct Professor at three Australian universities, the University of Sydney, Western Sydney University and Southern Cross University, and a former Visiting Fellow at Corpus Christi College and Magdalen College at Oxford University (UK).

OUR FACILITATOR – Dr Michelle Maloney, National Convenor, AELA

Join us as Andrew Skeoch shares his observations from decades of making sound recordings of nature. Andrew will discuss his recent book – “Deep Listening to Nature” – in which he explores our relationship with nature and what we can learn from listening to the wondrous communications within the natural world.

By tuning in to the sounds of creatures around us, Andrew will discuss how to identify species by call, interpret their communications and find empathy for their sentience. Andrew asks: What does listening reveal about how the living systems of nature function, and why do birds in particular negotiate their interactions in such lyrical and extraordinary ways? He concludes by suggesting we not only listen to learn about nature, but to learn from nature. He asks how, in our current environmental crisis, we may mimic what the biosphere has achieved in sustaining life as we move toward an ecological future and in doing so, form a deeper and more personal connection to Country.

OUR GUEST SPEAKER – ANDREW SKEOCH

Andrew is an educator, naturalist, environmental thinker and one of Australia’s best known nature sound recordists. Over the last twenty years, he has journeyed to remote locations in Asia, India, America, Europe, Africa and the Pacific in search of some of our planet’s most beautiful and fascinating sounds. Combining his areas of expertise with a deep curiosity, Andrew explores the crucial role of sound and communication in nature and evolution. He weaves the latest scientific understandings into a fascinating celebration of the natural soundscape around us.

Andrew’s website is here: https://listeningearth.com/andrewskeoch/index.html

And you can access some of Andrew’s recordings on AELA’s “Earth Arts” website here (scroll down the page to ‘Listening to Nature’): https://eartharts.org.au/

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

Links discussed during the webinar:

• BlackSpace Manifesto slide, shared by Yin Paradies: https://blackspace.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BlackSpace-Manifesto.pdf
• Yin’s Article, “Unsettling truths: modernity, (de-)coloniality and Indigenous futures”: https://doi.org/10.1080/13688790.2020.1809069
• Article on Indigenous Mathematics: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2212.02778.pdf

Please join this important event, that will explore how we can decolonise our thinking, feelings and actions. This workshop will explore key scholarship on Western culture, colonisation and modern societies, as well as explore how we learn about and understand Indigenous and non-western worldviews, perspectives and philosophies. We’ll then discuss practical actions that we can all take, to decolonise our actions and create new ways forward together in the Australian context.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS

ADJUNCT ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR MARY GRAHAM

Dr Mary Graham is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, and has written and spoken extensively about Aboriginal philosophy, ethics, politics and social issues. Mary grew up in South-East Queensland, and is a Kombu-merri person through her father’s heritage and a Wakka Wakka clan through her mother’s heritage. With a career spanning more than 30 years, Mary has worked across several government agencies, community organisations and universities. Mary has been a dedicated lecturer with the University of Queensland, teaching Aboriginal history, politics and comparative philosophy. Mary has written and published many prominent works, including – publications in the Aboriginal Encyclopaedia, training modules for Cross Cultural Awareness and a host of academic papers.

PROFESSOR YIN PARADIES

Professor Yin Paradies is an Aboriginal-Asian-Anglo Australian of the Wakaya people from the Gulf of Carpentaria. He is Chair in Race Relations at Deakin university. He conducts research on the health, social and economic effects of racism as well as anti-racism theory, policy and practice across diverse settings, including online, in workplaces, schools, universities, housing, the arts, sports and health. He also teaches and undertakes research in Indigenous knowledges and decolonisation. Yin is an anarchist radical scholar and climate / ecological activist who is committed to understanding and interrupting the devastating impacts of modern societies. He seeks meaningful mutuality of becoming and embodied kinship with all life through transformed ways of knowing, being and doing that are grounded in wisdom, humility, respect, generosity, down-shifted collective sufficiency, voluntary simplicity, frugality, direct participation and radical localisation.

DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle began her career as an environmental lawyer, and then broadened her work to include multi-disciplinary approaches to creating Earth-centred governance and systems change (Earth jurisprudence/Earth laws). Michelle now designs and manages educational and social change initiatives that promote bioregional stewardship and governance, reimagining law and economics, empowering communities, and learning from different cultural approaches to ecological care, Earth-centred ethics and the arts. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

Join us for a very special discussion with John Seed and Patricia Fleming. They are co-authors – together with Joanna Macy and Arne Naess – of the now seminal deep ecology text: “Thinking Like a Mountain – Towards a Council of All Beings (New Society Publishers)”. The book was first published in 1988 and has now been translated into 12 languages. They have collaborated together over several decades, empowering and supporting people to reconnect with nature, defend their local ecosystems and flourish as Earth-centred beings.

In this webinar, we’ll be ‘in conversation’ with John and Pat, who will be invited to share insights into the importance of deep ecology, their personal journeys and the evolution of their own work, and the impacts deep ecology practices continue to have, in the face of escalating climate breakdown. Now more than ever, we need to do ‘the work that reconnects’ us to the living world and to each other – so please join us for what will be an insightful and uplifting discussion.

OUR GUEST SPEAKERS

JOHN SEED

John Seed is a renowned activist and deep ecologist. With Joanna Macy, Pat Fleming and Professor Arne Naess, he wrote “Thinking Like a Mountain – Towards a Council of All Beings” (New Society Publishers). John is founder and director of the Rainforest Information Centre in Australia. Since 1979 he has been involved in the direct actions which have resulted in the protection of the Australian rainforests. In 1984 he helped initiate the US Rainforest Action Network which grew out of the first of his many US roadshows. In 1987 he co-produced a television documentary, “EARTH FIRST!” for Australian national television about the struggle for the rainforests. This has since been shown in many countries. He has created numerous projects protecting rainforests in Sth America, Asia and the Pacific through providing benign and sustainable development projects for their indigenous inhabitants tied to the protection of their forests. He has written and lectured extensively on deep ecology and has been conducting Councils of All Beings and other re-Earthing workshops around the world for 25 years. In the US, his workshops have been hosted by Esalen, Omega, Naropa and the California Institute of Integral Studies.

PATRICIA FLEMING

Pat has worked in several fields including counselling psychology, charity management, conservation botany and horticulture. Pat trained with Joanna Macy in 1983 and has offered ‘the work that reconnects’ and deep ecology practices with groups of people in many places ever since. She co-wrote “Thinking Like A Mountain” with John, Joanna Macy and Arne Naess and continues to collaborate with deep ecologists and communities around the world. Pat has just moved to Tasmania after many years living overseas.

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

As we explore ecocentric economics in “Earth Economics Week”, please join us for a thought-provoking presentation about the Indigenous Relationist Ethos and how it shapes a very different approach to law, governance and economic systems.

By focusing on Aboriginal philosophy and an ethic of ‘Caring for Country’ and caring for each other, this webinar highlights how ancient and emerging place-based, Earth-centred approaches can offer an effective, practical alternative to today’s extractive form of capitalism.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKER – MARY GRAHAM

Dr Mary Graham is an Adjunct Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Queensland. She grew up in South-East Queensland, and is a Kombu-merri person through her father’s heritage and a Wakka Wakka clan through her mother’s heritage. With a career spanning more than 30 years, Mary has worked across several government agencies, community organisations and universities. Mary has been a dedicated lecturer with the University of Queensland, teaching Aboriginal history, politics and comparative philosophy. Mary has written and published many prominent works, including – publications in the Aboriginal Encyclopaedia, training modules for Cross Cultural Awareness and a host of academic papers. Mary is a Director of Future Dreaming Australia, an Indigenous and non-indigenous partnership organisation working to increase cross-cultural ecological knowledge in Australia (www.futuredreaming.org.au)

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

Please join us for a discussion about a fantastic new book by Mark Diesendorf and Rod Taylor, “The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation: technological, socioeconomic and political change”.  In the webinar, Mark and Rod will discuss how we can transition to a new civilisation that is sustainable, socially just, healthy and less militarised. They’ll offer strategies and policies for avoiding the business-as-usual path to disaster and communicate recent science in a clear and accessible way.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS

MARK DIESENDORF

Mark Diesendorfis Honorary Associate Professor in the Environment & Society Group, School of Humanities & Languages at UNSW Sydney. Originally trained as a physicist, he broadened out into interdisciplinary energy and sustainability research. From 1996 to 2001 he was Professor of Environmental Science and Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at University of Technology Sydney. His previous books include Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change (2014), Climate Action: A campaign manual for greenhouse solutions (2009), Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy (2007); and Human Ecology, Human Economy: Ideas for an ecologically sustainable future (co-editor, 1997).

ROD TAYLOR

Rod Tayloris a freelance science and technology writer, journalist and broadcaster. His book, Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet (2020), has received strong positive reviews and been the subject of numerous public appearances. He is co-editor of the new book, Sustainability and the New Economics (Springer, 2022). His weekly science column and other articles have been published in Fairfax and now Australian Community Media masthead papers for over 13 years. One of his columns was featured in Best Australian Science Writing (2018). He has also written several pieces broadcast on national radio by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The authors’ website for the book is https://sustainablecivilisation.com/

OUR HOST – MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

What exactly is ‘degrowth’? And why are people advocating for it? Where does degrowth sit with respect to other alternative economic models and futures? Anitra Nelson and Terry Leahy will discuss Australian degrowth initiatives in a worldwide context.

Degrowth is a political, philosophical, social and economic approach to transform ourselves away from growth economies and build a society based on satisfying everyone’s basic needs within Earth’s limits, in a just, caring and commoning economy.

* This event is being co-hosted by the New Economy Network Australia (NENA) in partnership with the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) *

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS

ANITRA NELSON

Anitra is an activist-scholar affiliated with the Informal Urbanism Research Hub (InfUr-) at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Anitra has written several books and many articles about degrowth including:

• Beyond Money: A Post-Capitalist Strategy, Pluto Press,2022
• ‘Work for degrowth’ Green Agenda Quarterly Journal, 2022
• Beyond Money: A Postcapitalist Strategy, Pluto Press, 2022
• Exploring Degrowth: A Critical Guide, with Vincent Liegey, Pluto Press, 2020
• Food for Degrowth: Perspectives and Practices, with Ferne Edwards, Routledge 2021
• Housing for Degrowth: Principles, Models, Challenges and Opportunities, with François Schneider, Routledge, 2018

TERRY LEAHY

Terry Leahy is a conjoint at the School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle. Terry does research in social theory, the global environmental crisis and food security for Africa. Taken as a whole, his work is related to the project of non-market socialism and the gift economy. His current writing and research investigates sustainable agriculture and food security, the global environmental crisis, and the philosophy of the social sciences. His most recent publication is The Politics of Permaculture (Pluto Press, 2021).

See Terry’s website — https://gifteconomy.org.au/

Join us for a fascinating discussion with Daniel Christian Wahl, an internationally acclaimed thinker and catalyst for regenerative futures.

Readings and discussions shared by Daniel Christian Wahl during the webinar:

• An Interview with David W. Orr: Ecological Design on the Edge of a New Story, a Conversation between Daniel C. Wahl and Prof. David W. Orr, Oberlin, Ohio, 2006
  https://medium.com/activate-the-future/ecological-design-on-the-edge-of-a-new-story-f039a4d9a1ba
• Regeneration Rising Podcast
  https://www.thersa.org/oceania/regeneration-rising-podcast
• The New Alchemy Institute: pioneers of ecological design, by Daniel Christian Wahl
  https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/the-new-alchemy-institute-d0992ce33a68
• Exploring the History of Ecological Design, by Daniel Christian Wahl
  https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/exploring-the-history-of-ecologically-conscious-design-a1cedc8d74a1

DANIEL CHRISTIAN WAHL

Daniel Christian Wahl was awarded the Royal Society of Arts (RSA’s) prestigious Bicentenary Medal in December 2021 for his ‘outstanding and demonstrable contribution … to an equitable and regenerative world, where people and planet flourish in the long term”.

Daniel trained as a biologist, and holds degrees in Biology (BSc. Hons., Univ. of Edinburgh), Holistic Science (MSc.,Schumacher College) and Natural Design (PhD., Univ. of Dundee). He was the director of Findhorn College from 2007 to 2010, is a member of the International Futures Forum and H3Uni, an advocation partner of r3.0, and on the advisory councils of Ecosystems Restoration Camps, Commonland, the Ojai Foundation, Future Planet Europe, the Centre for the Future and the Overview Institute of Australia, as well as a Findhorn Foundation Fellow.

Daniel’s 2016 book ‘Designing Regenerative Cultures‘ has quickly gained international acclaim, his Blog on Medium is followed by over 20,000 people and his social media advocacy has a combined audience of over 450,000 people around the world.

Daniel teaches regularly on the the MA in Ecological Design Thinking at Schumacher College. He has been on the academic working group of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) and has been linked to GEN for almost 20 years. Daniel has worked closely with Gaia Education since 2007 and contributed to the development of their Design for Sustainability online course and co-authored the current versions of all four dimensions of the curriculum. He also wrote the content and developed the concept of Gaia Education’s SDGs Flashcards which with the support of UNESCO are now translated into 7 languages.

MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney (BA/LLB (Hons), PhD) is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA). Michelle began her career as an environmental lawyer, and then broadened her work to include multi-disciplinary approaches to creating Earth-centred governance and systems change.

Michelle now designs and manages social change initiatives that focus on law, economics, education, cross-cultural knowledge systems, community development practice, ethics and the arts. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science and History) and Laws (Honours) from the Australian National University and a PhD in Law from Griffith University. She is Adjunct Senior Fellow, Law Futures Centre, Griffith University; and Director of the New Economy Network Australia (NENA) and Future Dreaming Australia – an organisation created by Indigenous and non-indigenous leaders to promote cross cultural sharing of governance and ecological knowledge in Australia. Michelle is on the Steering Group for the International Ecological Law and Governance Association (ELGA) and the Advisory Group of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN).

Join us for a fascinating discussion with Professor Robert Costanza, about the role that ecological economics can play in shifting us away from the current system of growth capitalism, and putting care for the Earth at the centre of human economic activities.

Since the early 1970s, ‘ecological economics’ has been an important multi-disciplinary field, challenging growth economics and offering a viable model for economic policy and practice. To date most governments have continued to operate within the framework of neoclassical, ‘growth’ economics but the field of ecological economics has grown and offers a range of concepts and frameworks that can support nature based economies. Today, ecological economics, steady state economics, ‘Doughnut Economics’ and wellbeing economies are building a movement of powerful ideas for our future.

As background material, you’re invited to read the EcoSummit 2023 Conference Declaration: Building a Sustainable Wellbeing Future

ABOUT OUR SPEAKER – ROBERT COSTANZA

Robert Costanza is  Professor of Ecological Economics at the Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) at University College London (UCL). He is also currently a Senior Fellow at the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Stockholm, Sweden, and Honorary Professor at the Australian National University, an Affiliate Fellow at the Gund Institute at the University of Vermont, and a deTao Master of Ecological Economics at the deTao Masters Academy in Shanghai, China. He is a Fellow in the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in the UK, and is an Overseas Expert in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Professor Costanza’s transdisciplinary research integrates the study of humans and the rest of nature to address research, policy and management issues at multiple time and space scales, from small watersheds to the global system. His specialties include:  transdisciplinary integration, systems ecology, ecological economics, ecosystem services, landscape ecology, integrated socio-ecological modeling, ecological design, energy analysis, environmental policy, social traps and addictions, incentive structures, and institutions.

He is co-founder and past-president of the International Society for Ecological Economics and was founding chief editor of the society’s journal Ecological Economics. He currently serves on the editorial board of ten other international academic journals. He is also founding co-editor in chief of Solutions a unique hybrid academic/popular journal and editor in chief of the Anthropocene Review.

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

THIS WEBINAR IS PART OF ‘EARTH ECONOMICS WEEK’

The Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and the New Economy Network Australia (NENA) are co-hosting a week of webinars and discussions about Earth-centred economic ideas and practice.For more information about Earth Economics week, please visit: www.neweconomy.org.au or www.earthlaws.org.au

AELA’S “EARTH LAWS MONTH” – SEPTEMBER 2023

Join us in September, as the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) hosts a fantastic month of webinars, workshops and discussions, exploring how we can reshape human societies towards Earth-centred governance and create a healthy, safe future for all life on this beautiful planet of ours.

AELA’s mission is to increase understanding and the practical implementation of Earth-centred governance, with a focus on law, economics, education, Indigenous knowledge systems, decolonisation, ethics and the arts. We hope to see you in September – our guest speakers and discussions are not to be missed!

For more information visit our website: www.earthlaws.org.au

Get in touch anytime: aela@earthlaws.org.au

What’s the latest science on climate change and what does it mean for our local and regional communities in Australia? How can we best turn the most recent scientific information into a foundation for taking action in our work and in our personal lives? Where are the best sources of up to date information and future scenarios for our changing world?

Join Professor Brendan Mackey, hosted by Dr Michelle Maloney from AELA, as we explore the most recent scientific information, and discuss what it means in practical terms, policy terms and future action.

OUR SPEAKER – PROFESSOR BRENDAN MACKEY

Professor Brendan Mackey is Director of the Griffith Climate Action Beacon, Griffith Climate Change Response Program, and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility at Griffith University. He has a PhD in ecology from The Australian National University. Brendan has published extensively in the fields of climate change research, forest ecology and other topics in natural sciences, and was a Coordinating Lead Author for the 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC 6th Assessment Report, Working Group II – impacts, vulnerability & adaptation.

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

Join us for an important discussion about the role of women in leading and supporting Australia’s response to our environmental and climate crises. International evidence has shown that more women in decision making leads to better environmental outcomes. Women’s leadership is often collaborative, networked and responsive to communities, which are essential skills for our transition to a sustainable future. Our guest speakers will discuss amazing projects being led by women across Australia, and how we can work to overcome the barriers that still exist, that are stopping women from stepping into their leadership.

OUR GUEST SPEAKERS

LOUISE DUXBURY

Louise has a PhD in sustainability and technology policy, and experience in directing and managing landcare, farm forestry, watercare, bushcare, sustainable farming, revegetation, environmental protection and research projects in Western Australia. She also facilitates leadership programs, particularly for women working in environmental and community development fields – as she does at Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA) as the Lead Facilitator. Louise is a Director of Gondwana Link Limited and founder of Green Skills Inc, a not-for-profit environmental organisation focused on sustainability and integrating project management, training and employment programs for Western Australian industries.

ASMAA GUEDIRA

Asmaa is a catalyst wearing many hats: facilitator, consultant, artist, writer and designer. A Moroccan born French adopted digital nomad, she worked and lived in over 20 countries before moving to Byron Bay in Bundjalung Country in early 2020. She is Learning Experience Designer, WELA.

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

Join us for a fascinating discussion about the role of the arts in enabling us to see humanity’s impacts on the living world, with “The Toxic Sublime: A Photographic Exploration of Degraded Landscapes”.

In his presentation, Chris will outline a current photographic project entitled “Toxic Sublime” which explores the paradoxical beauty and mystery that is aroused in humanity’s destruction of the natural world. Using aerial images of coal waste sites, the project reveals the deceptively beautiful but destructive vistas of the Anthropocene which serve as stark reminders of the impact of industrial civilization on the planet.

OUR GUEST SPEAKER – CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT

Christopher Wright is a Professor of Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School and key researcher at the Sydney Environment Institute. His research focuses on corporate and political responses to climate change. In addition to his academic research, he is also a well-established landscape photographer with a strong interest in the natural environment and the sustainability of ecosystems and planetary health.

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

NOTE: This workshop was not recorded

Learn how to create your own nature journal with Julia Landford! Learn about nature journaling and start to see the natural world around you through mindfulness, observation, sketching, drawing and note-taking. This is the perfect way to slow down, explore the environment and get to know the plants and animals around you. Suitable for beginners through to advanced artists, nature journaling provides a structured and enjoyable way to record your observations in nature, with beautiful results to revisit over time.

Have your journaling materials ready (see the list below) and enjoy a 2 hour workshop of guided exercises, that will help you engage with deep observation and record your nature experiences.

ABOUT OUR WORKSHOP HOST – JULIA LANDFORD

Julia Landford is the Founding Director of NatureArt Lab. She’s passionate about environmental education, fostering human connections with nature through creative practices of art, photography and nature immersion tours. Julia won ACT Educator of the Year (AAEE, 2019) and Telstra Best of Business Award 2022 (ACT winner for Promoting Sustainability).

In her fantastic new book “Nature, Our Medicine: How the Natural World Sustains Us“, Dr Dimity Williams explores how western medicine is engaging with human-nature-connection as a treatment for many of today’s physical and mental health issues. Many of us know instinctively that being in ‘nature’ is good for us – but join us for a fascinating discussion with a wonderful woman, educated in the field of western medicine, and now connecting western medicine with ancient wisdom and ‘nature prescriptions’.

OUR SPEAKER – DR DIMITY WILLIAMS

Dr Dimity Williams is a mother, nature lover, and family doctor and more recently, an author.  Following her medical degree, she completed further training to become a fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. She has worked as a Family Physician for 25 years in inner Melbourne on Wurundjeri Country, and enjoys looking after the whole person from pre-conception to old age. Dimity has completed additional training in obstetrics, paediatrics and mental health, particularly mindfulness meditation.

She has worked in environmental advocacy with multiple organisations from grassroots community groups to large associations. Dimity is an alumna of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership, a co-founder of the Kids In Nature Network, and founder of Doctors for the Environment Australia’s Biodiversity Special Interest Group. Passionate about integrating nature into healthcare, she has written and spoken about the ‘nature: health interface’ in various forums and delights in issuing nature prescriptions.

Nature, Our Medicine is her first book – https://natureourmedicine.com/

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

Join us for an important discussion with speakers from the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) about the human right to a healthy environment. We will be hearing insights about the EDO’s Healthy Environment and Justice Program from the Director of the program, Nicole Sommers, and Senior Solicitors of the program, Frances Bradshaw and Isobel Brinin.

Download the EDO report ‘The Right to a Health Environment’ discussed in the webinar here: https://www.edo.org.au/publication/the-right-to-a-healthy-environment/

ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKERS

NICOLE SOMMER (Director, Healthy Environment & Justice Program):

Nicole leads EDO’s Healthy Environment & Justice Program, working in human rights and environmental justice. Her team of lawyers work across Australia, connected with communities in 8 locations. Nicole has almost 20 years of legal experience, appearing as counsel in Courts and Tribunals, and advising clients on a broad range of environment protection issues. Nicole sits on the Law Council of Australia’s Environment and Planning Law Group, the Board of Disability Voices Tasmania, and holds a Masters of Environmental Management.

FRANCES BRADSHAW (Senior Solicitor, Healthy Environment & Justice Program, ACT Practice):

Since joining EDO in January 2021, Frances has provided advice, law reform advocacy and community legal education to people in the ACT on federal and ACT environmental, planning, Aboriginal cultural heritage, human rights, and climate change matters. Frances also participates in a number of environmental organisations including the ACT Environment and Planning Forum, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, and the IUCN’s World Commission on Environmental Law.

ISOBEL BRININ (Senior Solicitor, Healthy Environment & Justice Program, ACT Practice):

Isobel recently joined EDO as a Senior Solicitor in the ACT Practice. Prior to joining EDO, Isobel worked at Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre where she advised and represented Aboriginal women and children in a range of civil and family law matters. Previously, Isobel worked as a native title lawyer in NSW, advising and representing Aboriginal people in relation to native title, Aboriginal heritage, property and resources.

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS OFFICE

Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is the largest environmental legal centre in the Australia-Pacific, dedicated to protecting our climate, communities and shared environment by providing access to justice, running groundbreaking litigation and leading law reform advocacy. https://www.edo.org.au/

As we face the impacts of the human and the ecological crises, we recognise that faith communities and the ecological sciences have much to learn from each other in the common interests of healthy flourishing Earth communities. This webinar will share some of the practices that diverse members of faith communities are engaged in as we listen, learn, reflect and engage in caring for biodiversity.

OUR GUEST SPEAKERS

ANNE LANYON is the volunteer Co-ordinator of the Faith Ecology Network and has been involved since it began as a work of the Columban Mission Institute’s Centre for Peace, Ecology and Justice in 2003. She has a strong belief that now is the time for the faith traditions and the ecological sciences to listen and learn from and collaborate with each other as we move rapidly into the technological age.

SUE MARTIN is passionate about loving Earth and seeking justice for Earth. Sue is working from the Ignatian charism and is active with the Faith and Ecology Network. It is about responding to Laudato Si’, connecting people to their local place, finding God in the other and caring for our common home together.

DAVID LOW is a member of the Australian Native Bee Association and North Shore Temple Emanuel, a progressive Jewish synagogue. He lives and works with his family and hive of stingless bees on Dharug and Guringai country. He also convenes the Envirohub for his kids’ primary school.

JESSICA YUILLE is currently managing the Brahma Kumaris Blue Mountains Retreat Centre at Leura. She leads retreats and meditation classes there and incorporates meditation into their garden maintenance. She has long been involved in interfaith activities in the Blue Mountains as well as in bush regeneration.

LIESJE BARRATT is a social ecologist, and the Mission Formation and ecological animator at Catholic Mission. She believes that a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of our world, and of sacred respect for spiritual values, is an essential part of re-establishing authentic human communities that value the inherent worth of all creation. Her work focuses on embodied spirituality, integral ecology, and creative practices that reconnect people with the natural world.

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA) and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle

Around the world, communities, lawyers and even some nation states are advocating for ‘ecocide’ to be recognised as a crime. While ecocide laws exist in around a dozen countries world wide, Australian governments are yet to engage with the concept of making extensive environmental harm a crime. Join us for an important update about the global movement advocating for ecocide to be recognised as a crime in international law, and to learn about the organisations and nations who are leading the way.

OUR SPEAKER – JOJO MEHTA

Jojo Mehta Co-founded Stop Ecocide in 2017, together with barrister and legal pioneer the late Polly Higgins, to support the establishment of ecocide as a crime at the International Criminal Court.  As key spokesperson and Executive Director of Stop Ecocide International, Jojo has overseen the remarkable growth of the movement (teams in 15 countries across 6 continents, websites in 9 languages) while coordinating between legal developments, diplomatic traction and public narrative. She is Chair of the charitable Stop Ecocide Foundation and convenor of the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide chaired by Philippe Sands QC and Dior Fall Sow.”

OUR HOST – DR MICHELLE MALONEY

Dr Michelle Maloney is the Co-founder and National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance and holds undergraduate degrees in politics and law (ANU) and a PhD in environmental law and regulation from the Griffith Law Futures Centre. Michelle’s books, journal publications, interviews, podcasts and speaking events can be accessed on her profile page: www.earthlaws.org.au/michelle