2042 Today: Young Leaders Re-Imagining Conservation
A 7-Day Retreat at Knoll Farm in Fayston, VT
July 28 - August 3, 2012
 

A growing movement of environmental change leaders are thinking about the exciting significance of 2042  -  the date when demographers predict that every metropolitan statistical area will be predominantly populated by persons of color. But few resources are in place today to equip conservationists with the leadership skills that enable us to engage difference of all kinds. From July 28 - August 3, 2012, the Center for Diversity & the Environment and Center for Whole Communities will bring together a cohort of young leaders to re-imagine and re-tool a more resilient conservation movement.
 
About the nomination and selection process:
 
Please nominate yourself or someone you know for the next 2042 Today Retreat! We invite you to submit nominations for as many candidates as you feel are matched for this program. Anyone can nominate themselves or someone they know for this retreat. This program is designed for emerging leaders in conservation and social change, ages 20-35, whose work touches both land and people.
 
Retreat participants are selected through a thorough process by Center for Diversity & the Environment and Center for Whole Communities. Participants are awarded a Fellowship to attend the retreat, which covers the cost of the program, room, and board. Select travel assistance scholarships are available to help cover participants' travel costs. If you were nominated in the past and are still interested in the retreat, we invite you to nominate yourself again because the composition of, and gaps within, retreat groups shifts and changes every year.
 
You can find the nomination form at www.surveymonkey.com/s/2042TodayNomination  
 
The nominations process closes March 4, 2012.

2011 Cohort, Facilitators, & Retreat Staff
 
About the 2042 Today retreat:
 
Center for Diversity and the Environment (CDE) and Center for Whole Communities (CWC) have partnered to develop an innovative leadership development program for young conservation leaders (ages 20-35) from all backgrounds and sectors to strengthen our collective work.
 
Together we will explore the following questions and more:
How will conservation be integrated - or not - into the needs and values of a changing American public?
How do conservationists learn to ally themselves with and learn from other movements for change?
How can the conservation field diversify itself?
And, how are we defining the "conservation movement"? Is it a definition inclusive of movements and change initiatives in the United States?
Our work springs from the belief that the environmental and the social are inextricable - that no action intended to benefit the land, whether wilderness designation, land conservation, or biodiversity preservation, will succeed in the face of a suffering humanity. Nor will any project to alleviate human suffering ultimately succeed on a damaged or poisoned land.  This collaborative retreat will offer the opportunity for those of us working toward wholeness in our communities to come together, create a safe space for dialogue, nurture our deepest wisdom, and begin to build meaningful bridges as we re-weave our world - for ourselves, our communities, and our land, air, and water.
 
The 2042 Today Retreat is a 7-day residency at Knoll Farm in Fayston, VT, and brings together about 20 individuals from organizations and communities connected to conservation to strengthen our collective work by:
 
STRENGTHENING LEADERS
Providing individual support to leaders endeavoring to change their organizations and spheres of influence
Deepening equity, diversity, and inclusion knowledge and skills, as they apply to the conservation movement
 
STRENGTHENING NETWORKS
Establishing a vibrant and diverse network of peer leaders who can support and learn from one another
Building collective understanding and awareness of historical context and diverse approaches to conservation
Introducing new definitions and measures of success that foster greater collaboration and link social and environmental objectives
 
STRENGTHENING CONSERVATION
Creating a deeper understanding of the nation's changing demographics which have already begun to impact the effectiveness and relevancy of all forms of conservation
Establishing a process for shared visioning and the development of a more compelling public narrative for the future of conservation

Bringing together diverse perspectives
 
The 2042 Today retreat allows diverse people to come together and hear one another's stories while working through the contradictions and holding the tensions that are created by divides. While attention is paid to the challenges created by divides, we focus equally on the bonds that hold us together. We aspire to help build a shared vision for an emerging future that depends on us.
 
We strive to ensure that each retreat's faculty and participants reflect the diversity of those working in careers connected to land and community in America, whether that diversity is cultural, racial, professional or otherwise. We recognize that our capacity to learn and innovate together depends entirely on the trust that we build and the diversity of perspectives in each retreat. Individual participants are never expected to "represent" a group, whether that group is their organization, the ethnic group with which they identify, a community in which they reside, or even a religion they practice.
 
Learn more about Center for Whole Communities, 2042 Today Retreats, and Knoll Farm at www.wholecommunities.org.
 
Learn more about Center for Diversity and the Environment at www.environmentaldiversity.org
 
Contact Tatek Assefa with any questions at (802) 496-5690 or
tatek@wholecommunities.org
   

Sincerely,

Marcelo Bonta
Executive Director
Center for Diversity & the Environment
www.environmentaldiversity.org