Image courtesy of The Guardian

On Monday, the governments of nearly 200 countries reached a historic agreement to protect 30% of the world’s lands and waters by 2030. Read more about the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework here.

Journey of the Universe Project Manager Sam King joined the Shan Shui Conservation Center at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) for an exhibition on Traditions, Contributions, and Future of Local Communities in Biodiversity Conservation.

His talk focused on the importance of Indigenous land sovereignty in biodiversity conservation with a case study on the Adivasi people, who for millennia have stewarded the Hasdeo Arand forest in central India, a haven for elephants, leopards, sloth bears, and many other endangered species.

Learn more about Adivasi forest keepers here.

On December 5th, Sam King spoke with Grant Wilson, Executive Director of the Earth Law Center, about Rights of Nature and the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework in advance of The United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Montréal, Canada.

Watch the recording here.

The 43rd annual Winter Solstice Celebration, in the form of a video retrospective, is now available to watch for free on YouTube.

Entitled Solstice Saga, this epic three-hour journey interweaves iconic performances from the first four decades of this event at New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Reimagining the Classroom
with Dr. Theodore Richards

“Dr. Richards’ provocative book asks us to reconsider some of our basic assumptions about teaching and learning. It helps parents and educators question and recast these assumptions and practices while providing concrete, tested activities and ideas that will help readers reimagine educational spaces rooted in the notion that classrooms—and the stories we tell in them—are a metaphor for the world we hope to create.”

-Wiley 

Reimagining the Classroom: Creating New Learning Spaces and Connecting with the World
By Theodore Richards
Wiley 
Released December 8, 2022
Order here. 

-Counterpoint Press

Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe
By Brian Thomas Swimme
Counterpoint Press, 2022

Read an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about the book here, and order here.
 

Where Do I Come From and Where Do I Go? A Turtle's Creation Story
By Ben Berry
Released November 3, 2022
Order the book here.

Inspired by a dream, a baby sea turtle goes on a journey through the ocean to discover where we come from. Guided by Grandmother Turtle, who tells the story of creation: from the Turtle's ancestors, all the way back to the beginning of the Universe!

Image courtesy of NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)

News Articles

“COP15: Nations reach 'historic' deal to protect nature - BBC News”
By Helen Briggs. BBC News, December 19, 2022.

“Crucial Talks on Preserving Nature Are on Now. Here Are the Key Issues.”
By Caitrin Einhorn. The New York Times, December 16, 2022.

“Two Exoplanets May Be Mostly Water, NASA's Hubble and Spitzer Find”
NASA, December 15, 2022.

“Artemis I Update: Orion Offloaded from USS Portland in Preparation for Transport to Kennedy Space Center”
By Tiffany Fairley. NASA, December 14, 2022.

“A year only lasts 17.5 hours on the ‘hell planet’”
By Ashley Strickland. CNN, December 8, 2022.

“Can We Save Nature?”
By Manuela Andreoni. The New York Times, December 6, 2022.

“Discovery of ancient bronze statues in Italy may rewrite Etruscan and Roman history”
By Silvia Pogiolli. NPR, December 3, 2022.

“A pair of lizard ‘kings’ from the old, old West”
By Jim Shelton. Yale News, November 29, 2022.

“Family Ritual: Celebrating Cataclysm and Gratitude”
By Jennifer Morgan. Deeptime Network, November 28, 2022.

“Standing on Holy Ground: Thomas Berry’s Primary Revelation”
By Betsey Crawford. The Soul of the Earth, November 27, 2022.

Ecology Workshop in Beijing

Orion Magazine

Every year at this time, Orion runs a 20% discount off gift subscriptions. 

“Orion magazine invites readers into a community of caring for the planet. Through writing and art that explore the connection between nature and culture, Orion inspires new thinking about how humanity might live on Earth justly, sustainably, and joyously.”

To gift a subscription to Orion Magazine, click here.

Deeptime Network
 

During this giving season, please consider a donation to the Deeptime Leadership Scholarship Fund, enabling students from around the world to participate in the Deeptime Network’s  Deeptime Leadership and Wellbeing Program. This program is transforming lives and helping to create a flourishing future for our planet in many fields from education, ecology, government, therapy and so much more.

Read student profiles and donate here.

Journey of the Universe film screening
Cosmic Convergence Festival
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
December 30, 2022 - January 1, 2023
Learn more about the festival here.

“A Gaian Discussion of Journey of the Universe”
Gainaism Community
February 15, 2023
Learn more about Gaianism here.

“Applying the New Cosmology” 
Module 2 of the Deeptime Leadership Program
Deeptime Network
January 11 - March 24, 2023
Register here.

“Contemplative Cosmology” 
With astronomer Stephan Martin and Marianne Rowe, MS, LMFT 
Friday, December 2
Listen to the recording here.

“Deeptime Leadership & Personal Empowerment Program”
September 2022 - June 2023

The nine-month Deeptime Leadership and Personal Empowerment Program, with or without certificate, began September 21st.

Three Modules:

• Introducing the New Cosmology
• Applying the New Cosmology
• Deeptime Leadership Practicum

For more information, contact hello@dtnetwork.org.

In Memoriam

We mourn the recent passing of Larry Edwards, a gifted cosmic storyteller who for many years taught with his wife Jean Edwards at Genesis Farm.

In this InnerView, Dr. Larry Edwards speaks about the wisdom that age has brought to his cosmology teaching, as well as the impact of Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme on his life.