Introduction to Regenerative Design and Development

Healing the earth in 18 months? 

It’s a stretch - but possible. Place by place. Working in harmony with nature and each other - this is how rapidly we have seen health giving interrelationships take hold in whole social and environmental systems.  

Unfortunately, Western culture is trying to solve gigantic and existential issues with the same technically oriented mind that created them: working on fragmented problems, in silos of activities, addressing them in a generic way, and at an impossible-to-manage planetary scale. 

In complex living systems there are no simple cause and effect relationships.  Since what we are trying to sustain is life itself, let’s begin by working with the way life works. 

“The law is in the land, not in the people”  Anne Poelina a Nyikina Warrwa (Indigenous Australian) woman who belongs to the Mardoowarra, the lower Fitzroy River - during the launch of Regenerative Songlines Australia. 

Overview
In this weekly virtual learning series, we will explore and unpack the foundations of regenerative development and design.

3 x 2hr learning session via Zoom 8:00am -10:00am Sydney AEST  *this time enables participation from USA/UK check timezone

• Session 1: Aug 29th 2021 (Sunday)
• Session 2  Sep 7th 2021 (Tuesday)
• Session 3 Sep 14th 2021 (Tuesday)

In addition to the virtual session we will provide additional exercises and resources for those wishing to go deeper into this way of working and being (the additional time requirement to complete the exercises is ~2-3 hours per session). 

Note: This is a first of its kind pilot program. Both facilitators have extensive experience in delivering educational experiences and real life projects in regenerative development and sustainability, you will be taking part in a real life experiment around the program design and delivery. The program is designed to constantly evolve as our context and societal needs evolve.

This learning activity will be valuable to you if you:

• Are currently working in areas of sustainability, placemaking, design, innovation, community building and/or collaboration
• Have an interest to better understand regenerative development and design
• Are open and willing to challenge the way you think about design and creating solutions and experiences in the world

Outcomes

• Conceptual grounding on the topic of regeneration
• Understanding and awareness of how regeneration is applied to systems work
• Expanded vocabulary to identify and discuss regeneration
• Methods and processes to practice regenerative development and design
• Personal development for self in the system
• Provide an Invitation to shift from fragmented solutions to whole systems being
• Demonstrate that this work is not just idealistic, but a powerful way of practicing life 

Before you book:

In order to support and host a safe space for conversation and learning, your ticket forms your agreement to:

• Attend all 3 sessions
• Arrive on time (we’ll be commencing each session in small group discussions so we’ll need you to be present at the start time, ideally a few minutes before)
• Show up with curiosity and compassion 

This program will challenge the way you think, and require you to reflect on your role in place and systems. While you will be guided by two expert facilitators we would like to invite you to consider your capacity to engage in the nature of this type of process before registering.

What this learning series will NOT do:

This learning activity will not be addressing the full breath of regenerative design and development and its application. Whilst we would love to design a program to do all of this - in 3 sessions we simply cannot “do all the things”. This program is designed as an introduction to the principles and should be considered as a stepping stone into a deeper practice of this way of working.

Program:

Session 1: Introduction to the how and why of Regenerative Design & Development

• Introduction to concepts of restoration and regeneration
• Introduction to the 4 paradigms 
• Creating a connection amongst participants to unpack and explore this topic
• Take home activity for participants to apply between Session 1 and 2

Session 2: Introduction to the Principles of Regenerative Development

• Overview of the 7 principles of Regenerative Development
• Introduction to the law of 3 
• Working with wholes and nested systems
• Take home activity for participants to apply between Session 2 and 3

Session 3: Basic application of Regenerative Development

• Introduction to the task cycle
• Simple application of how to apply regenerative thinking to a real life situation or project
• Please bring a ‘case study’ with you to help ground and make tangible the concepts we will be working with. This could be a group, project, or organisation you have worked with in the past, or are working with in the present.

About the facilitators

Bill Reed is an internationally recognised planning consultant, design process facilitator, lecturer, teacher, and author in sustainability and regeneration. He is a principal of Regenesis, Inc. – a regenerative design, living systems integrator, and education organisation. His work centres on creating the framework for and managing an integrative, whole and living system design process. This work is known as Regenerative Development.

An author of many technical articles and contributor to multiple books including co-authorship of the seminal work, “Integrative Design Guide to Green Building”; he is a founding Board of Director of the US Green Building Council and one of the co-founders of the LEED Green Building Rating System. In addition to being considered one of the leading thinkers in this field, Bill has also consulted on over two hundred green design commissions – buildings and city master plans.  He is also a keynote speaker at major building and design events as well as a guest lecturer to universities throughout Europe, North America, and Oceania including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and UPenn.

Sara Rickards is a peer reviewed author and keynote speaker in sustainability, transformative education, eco-footprinting and systems change. She is an environmental engineer and renegade biomedical scientist, having spent over a decade working in the sustainability sector.

Sara's experience incorporates Education For Sustainability Manager at Macquarie University, TEDx speaker, Co-host for the Un-School of Disruptive Design, Program Manager and Coach for The Centre of Sustainability Leadership and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. She has also co-created various viral environmental campaigns such as #votefortheplanet, #attnscottmorrison and #climateactnow - all working toward a more accountable government with respect to climate change.

Sara is an award winning sustainability champion and designer now working as a Regenerative Designer with - and for -  our shared mum on various projects across sectors, both locally and globally. 

Program Cost

​​Large organisations (Paid for by the company) | 555 AUD 

Individual consultants & small business | 444 AUD  

Social impact (nonprofit & social enterprise) | 333 AUD

If you would like to request a payment plan - please email sara@futuregiving.co

Alternatively if you are seeking a scholarship please reach out directly as we have positions available and while places are limited we do not wish for financial contribution to be a barrier to entry. 

In addition to supporting indigenous education scholarships through Humanitix 5% of ticket sales will go towards Regenerative Songlines Australia.

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Special thanks to  Dr Seanna Davidson and Lina Patel for the structure that inspired this invitation - you can check out the incredible work they do here.

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We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land  - whose cultures and customs have nurtured, and continue to nurture, this land, since the Dreamtime - and pay our respects to Elders past, present and future.