Building Capacity to Care Wildly
Expanding the web of compassionate relationships with each other and the Earth, in order to take collective action, on our ecological crisis.
Halcyon Education was founded on 15+ years reading, listening to podcasts, and attending workshops and community events with friends, family, and students discussing YA Cli-Fi novels, speculative fiction, Poison Ivy Comics, LARPing in after school programs, ideating using
Emergent Strategy, taking in
NOAA climate data,
NAAEE's Guidelines for Environmental Education Excellence, EPA Environmental Justice maps (downloaded...), and way too many non-fiction climate research we thought we should be reading that made us anxious and depressed but motivated us to take collective action.
Centering the
multi-generational wisdom from the queer and colorful community from which it was born, Halcyon Education supports anti-racist intersectional environmental literacy and justice education, strengthening our human end non-human ecosystems! This type of
"Environmental Literacy" (E-LIT) is fostered through
liberation pedagogy that transforms science education and
builds global citizenship and democracy, creating fractals that repeat
hope and radical joy, channeling ancestral muscle memory.
Our Mantra
When we ground in place and reflect on our own lived experience
When we call in community
When we make the outdoors all our spaces
When we dance and sing with the natural patterns of the Earth
When we center those most marginalized and impacted by our ecological crisis ----
We are ready to make informed action together because we care wildly.
How do we build capacity to do this? At Halcyon Education, we work with clients to learn how to work in partnership with their community, centering those without the most power - young people - to care wildly and build capacity to take action on the ecological crisis. We do this in a few ways: consulting on curriculum and instructional plans, partnerships and programs to align your mission, standards, and mandates with liberated ELIT!
Let's have coffee or tea and walk and talk (virtual or IRL) about your liberated ELIT goals. We offer the ecosystem services below and more! "Ecosystem Services" are defined as indirect or direct contributions that humans derive from Earth. Let's change this idea. What if we defined it differently by bridging Western Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Let's center our bodies, spirits, and contributions to each other and work collectively to get in right relationship with the Earth. The most sustainable environmental action is LOVE.
*Our services are offered at a sliding scale or we can support by getting a grant together. Get a quote, after setting up a free 30 minute check-in call below.
Coaching & Community
Direct to participant(s) 1:1 or small group coaching to incorporate ELIT into your project. Opportunities for LIVE modeling and observations and scaffolded support. Connect to others doing this work with us locally and regionally. Build a web of compassion through a liberated ELIT community.
Curriculum Integration
Integrate ELIT into your curriculum or course or start small with a unit/lesson. We specialize in interdisciplinary, place- based, student-led, project based liberation pedagogy. We have tried and true templates for guided inquiry, student-led PBL for schools, clubs, or non-formal providers.
Thought Partnership
Envisioning a larger integration of the liberated ELIT in your ecosystem using emergent strategy? We specialize in building networks, grant writing, and equity in qualitative evaluation methodology.
Sounds nourishing, but not sure where to start? Let's do some visioning together!
Workshops
We offer single or series workshops no matter where your starting point is, we will get you closer to liberated ELIT. Whether you are a forest school, bike community, a non-profit or a school district - we will discuss your needs and collaborate, centering Universal Design for Learning and other best practices to meet your goals.
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Behold the Belted Kingfisher or rather it's Latin name alcyon. An incredible fisher and one of our favorite birds, we find on the coast in New England, where we grew up.
Alcyone is also one of the seven sisters in the constellation Pleiades, only seen in the winter sky in North America. Alcyone is the biggest and brightest and second sister in the story.
In another story, Alcyon the Greek goddess has a beautiful, yet tragic love story with her mortal lover that the gods turned into kingfisher, or "halcyon bird".
We now have a phrase, the "Halcyon Days", meaning peace and serenity in the middle of the storm. This term came from the idea that Alcyon and her forbidden mortal lover could only can nest safely in the middle of winter on the sea.
You may also might be interested to know another example of just how queer nature is. This gorgeous belted kingfisher below is a femme babe. She is more brightly colored than the male - an example of reverse sexual dimorphism. We will leave it up to your curiosity why Earth made her that way and celebrate this counterculture powerful symbol of hope and liberated ELIT!
Testimonials
"Thank you for the work you and your team does to enable greater environmental stewardship at our schools and truly give students voice."
School District
"WOWOWOW! I'm inspired to hear about the "ripples" of our time together. The Reflection + Evaluation tool is really fantastic. "
Organizational Partnership
"This partnership has transformed our classroom's learning into action, empowering students to make a tangible difference in their own schoolyard while building critical thinking and teamwork skills that will last a lifetime"
Educator
"You worked with our Student Environmental Action Showcase to totally elevate the programming and get more educator and community buy in, that centers young people!"
Student Environmental Action Summit Partner
We are currently located in tiny, cabin camper outside PVD, RI growing herbs, lowering our Carbon and Water Footprint, and strengthening our relationship with ourselves and Mother Earth, having simplified our living immensely to just our necessities.
Write us a message to say hello or leave us feedback below.
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