Common Earth Staff Got Together, We Dreamed Big, and We Made a Plan

In mid-August, the core team packed up and headed to Orillia, Ontario for four days together. It was part retreat, part strategy session, part “let’s remember why we love doing this work” reset. Importantly, it was the first time some of us were able to meet in person! There was an art-in-nature session, a Three Principles conversation with George and Linda Pransky, sound therapy, a songwriting workshop with Luc Reynaud, a passive-house visit, plenty of laughter, good walks and good food, and some genuinely deep planning too.

The big question we kept coming back to was this: how does Common Earth grow its reach in a way that brings our alumni along as real partners — not just graduates, but collaborators, mentors, and movement-builders?

Here’s where we landed.

We dreamed first, then got practical

The process moved through four stages: dream big (Visioning), name what’s in the way (Barriers), brainstorm responses (Proposals), and finally — narrow it down to what we’re actually doing next (Priorities & Action). That last part matters, because it means this wasn’t just a nice retreat with good vibes and no follow-through. It produced six concrete priorities, each with an owner, a timeline, and a way to know if it’s working.

The six things we’re focused on now

1. Growing course demand. Getting clearer on who we’re for, sharpening how we tell people about it, and leaning on our fantastic alumni to help spread the world through recruitment mailings and testimonials.
2. Trying out new ways to learn together. Some early ideas include more monthly alumni events, the launch of a new short course to foster conversations around the climate (coming in October), and the early trial of an in-person intensive program for going deeper together.
3. Expand our relationship network to 100 partners, collaborators, and allies. We are aiming to expand our reciprocal relationship network to 100, including partners, collaborators, and allies that will be worked actively and tracked openly so that we can demonstrate what Robin Wall Kimmerer means when she says that all flourishing is mutual.
4. Advancing the demonstration of the post-carbon caring society – There will be lots more to come on this in the near future but for now you should know that we have a well-designed plan in motion to create a community that will demonstrate what the post-carbon caring society looks and feels like in action. Actions, as they say, speak louder than words.
5. Building a new way of working together. Behind the scenes, we’re adopting a lighter, more transparent team structure (sociocracy-inspired, if you’re curious) so priorities stay visible and nothing falls through the cracks.
6. Telling our story, better. Including David committing to writing a book!

What this means for you

Some of what came out of this retreat speaks directly to our alumni: helping shape what “graduate leadership” looks like. But just as much of it is an open door to the whole community: being part of the 100 relationships we’re building, joining us in the in-person experiments, or simply helping us tell the Common Earth story in your own words.

This retreat wasn’t about the staff team going off to plan around you. It was about figuring out how to build with you, all of you, more intentionally than before.

We don’t have the whole map yet. As one of us put it during the retreat: “We don’t have the whole map. But we have the people in this room.” Now we’re hoping to say the same about everyone reading this.

More to come as these priorities move, including how to plug in if any of this sparks something for you. For now: thank you for being part of this with us!