Earth has an enormous capacity for regeneration. It’s possible to restore Earth’s natural climate regulating systems through decentralized rain water retention, reforestation and regenerative agriculture. We realized that in times of perpetual government failure to do something about the climate crisis, this good news needed to be spread, urgently.

Trickster mythologies often teach us about the necessity for human culture to embrace and maintain a relationship with the marginal wilds of the natural world and the soul itself. In countless fairy tales, an ailing kingdom is revived by a heroine or hero taking a journey beyond its boundaries. The medicine needed most is almost always found in the dark forest, not in the comforting lights of home.

Economics is a scary word. It has this way of making basic, critical questions of life—How shall we spend our time? Who gets access to which resources?—seem impenetrable, none of our business and, of all things, boring.

Although the physical reforestation we undertake is, of course, important, it is secondary to healing the sacred relationship between people and Mother Earth. The loss of the sacred stems from the mistaken belief that we are separate—from Nature, from each other, from anything.

The ongoing creation of River Walk also speaks to the human element. It marks the confluence of ecological renewal, environmental and social justice, the underpinnings of the industrial revolution, and the vitality of a downtown.