ECOLOGY STREAM WORKSHOPS

Let nature thrive on your community land

Day One: July 14 2026
We are going to dive into the impact of an ecovillage on their natural surroundings and far beyond the borders of their piece of paradise. I’ll share insights of what I have seen while discovering different ecovillages. I walk you through the struggles linked to nature restoration. By sharing this I want to challenge you and help you to have a positive impact on your land.

This workshop is not about permaculture or syntropic farming/food forests. It’s about ecosystems and their dynamics, diversity of species, genetics, human impacts, slowing down and really observing what you have in front of you so that the we all, from the tiniest microbe to the biggest tree, can thrive.

EERD THAENS

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I am a true nature lover and I try to be conscious about how I live my life. I’m a critical thinker, forever learner and observer who loves to help people to become aware of their impact on the planet and to make them see the beauty of their surroundings. Helping nature to reach its full potential is why I’m here.

AURÉLIE PICARD

l’Arbre qui Pousse

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Hello wonderful human !
I'm Aurelie, 35 y/o belgian fellow nature lover. Born in Brussels.
Now 12 years of dirty fingers, worked and learned with passionate people :
Veggie market gardening in Belgium + kids activities on the field
Permaculture design course, WWOOFing on biodynamic pedagogical farms in Australia
Working for biointensive seed savers and tree nursery apprentice in New Zealand
Mine reforestation in Fr.Guyana
Last 6 years lead planter in an 6ha ecovillage in Belgium.
Loving it !

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Fruit hedges and the ease of propagating life

Day Two: July 15 2026

In this workshop like to share with you how easy it can be to contribute to edible reforestation with fruit hedges.

  • l’Arbre qui Pousse ecovillage, a story of how a vision gets materialized through collective intelligence and diversity of profiles.
  • Overview of the transformation of a land from overgrazed pasture to abundance of ecosystems in just 6 years
  • Humans and non-humans are in the same team, Dare to trust Nature and be surprised !
  • Seed hunting and creating your own tree and plant nursery onsite
  • Where to find resources : crowdfunding – subsidies – plant sharing – conservatory orchard
  • Tree geeks networking
  • Joyous planting parties & community work
  • Future potentials

How can the living world inspire the way we live as humans?

Day Three: July 16 2026

What are the principles that sustain life over time, and how might they guide the way we relate to ourselves, each other, and the more-than-human world?

Drawing inspiration from Deep Ecology, systems thinking and dynamics, and The Work That Reconnects, we will question our inherited mindsets and ways of relating while exploring what Nature can teach us about living well in times of uncertainty.

Together, we will deepen our understanding of living systems and explore how their wisdom can inspire more resilient, regenerative and meaningful ways of being.

This is not a lecture on ecology or sustainability. It is an invitation to think, feel and experience these ideas through the Head–Heart–Hands pedagogy of Schumacher College.

AURÈLE DESTRÉE 
& TEREZA ČAJKOVÁ

L’Arbre qui Pousse

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Aurèle Destrée facilitates learning journeys exploring our relationship with the Earth and our place within the living world. Through Schumacher Sprouts, a Belgian non-profit association, she accompanies university teachers in the pedagogy of transition and supports the emergence of new learning spaces. With a background in policy analysis and international projects on food and agricultural systems, she developed a passion for systems thinking and the exploration of interconnected living systems. She lives at L’Arbre qui Pousse, a Belgian ecovillage where she contributes to collective transition through education and facilitation.

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Tereza Čajková is an educator and facilitator whose work is grounded in studies of psychology and decoloniality, with a long‑term focus on designing learning programs that expand imagination and deepen sensory perception. She is a core creator of the experimental long‑term program School of Dissolving, Expanding and Connecting Imagination, where she develops experiential formats of embodied, practice‑based learning. Tereza works with the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno, and facilitates workshops across international networks in collaborative art‑based education initiatives.
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SILVANO RIZZI

Tamera

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SILVANO RIZZI studied nonprofit management and worked in disaster relief while searching for regenerative solutions. In 2012 he discovered Tamera, permaculture and Water Retention Landscapes. Since then he has focused on ecosystem restoration, helping communities design decentralized water systems that restore water cycles and build ecological resilience. He teaches and supports regenerative land projects internationally.

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Building Trust with Water Retention Landscapes

Day Four: July 17 2026
In this workshop we explore how Water Retention Landscapes can become a foundation for ecological abundance and resilience. Based on the work at Tamera, we examine the broken water cycle at the root of many ecological and social crises caused by human impact. We look at how disrupted watersheds lead to floods, droughts and land degradation, and why restoring them is a key act of regeneration in times of climate instability.

We introduce core principles of Water Retention Landscapes and how entire catchments can be restored to resilience. By slowing, spreading and sinking water, landscapes begin to buffer climate extremes and reweave local water cycles, soils and ecosystems.

“I leave this volunteering experience knowing… that we can regenerate not only lands and resources but also human relationships through open and honest communication.”
Dream Team volunteer 2025