The People We Meet

October 10, 2025

Easily my favourite part of hosting workshops is the people I meet.

Teachers, lawyers, artists, dads, medievalists, students, entomologists, civil servants, farmers, scientists.

There’s a famous quote from Mr Rogers, who was in turn was quoting his mother: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

Living alongside the woods, I see scary things in nature all the time. Not bears or bats, coyotes or snakes or fishers. There’s nothing scary there. But I do have to watch the effects of a climate in freefall, of blights and bugs and droughts. Dry where there should be wet. Brown where there should be green. Green when it is time for brown.

But when I run a workshop, or attend a naturalist walk, a different spin on this very good quote goes through my mind: “Look for the people who care. You will always find people who care.”

Because the workshops and walks, they are always, always, filled with people who care. And gathering with these people to marvel at everything that is still very much here is a balm to my own ecological grief.

I don’t know yet if we can turn this wheel to spin the other way — away from destructive overconsumption and towards admiration and respect. But at these events I am reminded, I know, that a lot of us are pushing the wheel in that direction really, really hard.

– If you’d like to try painting with plants in person, there will be more chances! Most immediately, Sammy Tangir has a workshop coming up in November. 👍 – Thank you to Krista from Department of Illumination both for making us an Acorn of Unusual Size to play with, and for taking photos (like this one) to share.

Have a wonderful weekend folks! 🌱💚🌈