Christabel Reed
Christabel is a social and environmental entrepreneur and the Co-Founding Director of the Initiative Earth charity, which runs EcoResolution and Earthed; as well as Advaya, the holistic wellbeing and education platform. Her work and dedication are established on a deep belief that humans are capable of healing their relationships, falling in love with life and fulfilling their potential of being life-affirming regenerative forces in their communities and ecosystems.
Earthed is a nature skills platform that exists to make every river, city, farm and balcony burst with life.
Describe the nature around you at the moment.
I’m overlooking the River Thames at London's wonderful Southbank Centre.
Name a place where you feel most at ease.
Cornwall.
How can we see ourselves as part of nature?
With every breath that we take. As we inhale, plant life exhales. As we exhale, plant life inhales. There is not a single part of our lives that are devoid of the truth that we are nature.
What lessons have you learned through founding EARTHED?
That a peer-driven, mass-mobilised movement of people restoring their local environments is the only way that we will be able to bend the curve on biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse. I've learnt how desperate people are to access practical solutions, skills and networks that enable them to actively participate in the global ecosystem restoration and agroecology movements.
So many people think that these are specialist spaces but the truth is that we all can play a role in bringing back biodiversity, restoring waterways, regenerating cities and essentially assisting nature in doing what it does best - to thrive and flourish for all beings. The best thing about this is that getting our hands in the soil, watching a seed transform, facilitating greater biodiversity and working alongside friends and neighbours not only regenerates nature but revitalises community well-being and mental health as we carve our lives of meaning, purpose and belonging.
What are you interested in at the moment?
My life's passion is to explore the intersections of spirituality, biodiversity, ecology and cultural transformation so that we can step into our full human potential and co-create thriving futures. More specifically, right now I'm fascinated by Traditional Ecological Knowledge, the work of Lyla June Johnson, Jessica Hutchins and Julia Watson.
What do you hope guests take away from the EARTHED Summit?
That all the solutions we need to the climate and ecological crisis already exist. We cannot wait on governments or top-down.
What kind of ancestor would you like to be?
An imperfect, empowered, cosy ancestor that did all they could to uphold the honour of being human and that continued the work of carving out pathways towards cultures centred on freedom, nature and joy.
What question would you like to ask to the next person on #TNK?
What does freedom mean to you?
And could you suggest someone else or other organisations you admire that we could approach for #TheNatureKind?
All of the Earthed teachers or advaya speakers including Poppy Okotcha, John D. Liu, Derek Gow, Guy Singh-Watson, Geetie Singh-Watson, Camilla Fayed and Finn Harries.