A living laboratory for a sustainable human future.

Naia’s Garden at Earthaven Ecovillage

Courtney Brooke: It’s a beautiful Wednesday morning garden session over here at the Gateway neighborhood. That’s some little garden gnome over here…

Good morning yarrow! Good morning snapdragons! Good morning oregano!

Sam: Wow! Like a little special plant kind of in the mix you know what this plant is right here?

Naia: What?

Sam: That’s  a little carrot so we’re going to let it grow. Just it’s so small but you can start to see its little carrotness kind of poking out of the soil there….. yeah……so we’ll let it grow…….

Naia: It’s okay we can eat it when it grows…..

Courtney Brooke: What’s this, Naia?

Naia: Kale!

Courtney Brooke: Kale, wow….and what’s this?

Naia: Uhhh, Chickweed!….

Courtney Brooke: Do you like eating chickweed?

Naia: Uh huh….

Courtney Brooke: Me too. should we eat some?

Naia: yeah……

Sam: What’s what’s your idea about how to use the chickweed later today Naia?

Naia: Like put it in this smoothie……

Sam: Put in the smoothie for the kids play group today….

Naia: yeah!

Courtney Brooke: Wow, that’s so special. Morning NikiAnne……

NikiAnne: Hey!……

Courtney Brooke: What are you taking care of?

NikiAnne: Reclaiming the laundry line from the elderberries.

Courtney Brooke: Wow, look at those beautiful elderberries…..Yeah.

NikiAnne: They like the sun but so does my laundry and in this space I want the laundry to win.

Courtney Brooke: Fair enough fair enough. Good morning birds! Hearing those birds songs!!!!

NikiAnne: Hey bee! You’re up early…. so cold out for you.

Naia: What???

NikiAnne: There’s a bee. Well i don’t even know where it went….

Courntey Brooke: oh honey bees…. honey bees….Naia, do you love honey bees? Do you love honey

Naia: Uh yeah!

Courtney Brooke: Yeah me too. Thank you to the bees!

Sam: Yeah, I kept bees for maybe ten years and the biggest and best honey I ever got was the summer that Naia was born. And then we still have that honey, so the the thought is like maybe every year of Naia’s life we can give her a dose of the honey so she can have the essence of the flowers that are blooming at the time of her birth.

Courtney Brooke: That is so special.

Naia: When I was a baby?

Courtney Brooke: Good morning Lena…

Lena: Good morning.

 

children, Garden


Courtney Brooke

Courtney Brooke (she/her) is an ancestor who was a Social Ecologist, Regenerative Designer, and educator whose work aims to reconnect people with a sense of belonging to place. Her work in the world aims to address the root cause of today’s overwhelming ecological challenges – that humans are starved of a sense of belonging to the places they live. Courtney Brooke was raised on a small farm in North Georgia, and has been guided by a lifetime of living close to the land. Her greatest teachers have been the Appalachian Mountains, the land of Aotearoa, and Selu, the Corn Mother. She holds a degree in Ecology from the Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, and has 10 years of experience facilitating earth-based education, ecological landscape design, women’s rites of passage, and cultural healing. Courtney Brooke has taught and facilitated environmental education curriculum, Deep Ecology, Permaculture Design Courses, hands-on craft and farming workshops, and Holistic Management to a wide range of audiences in nine countries from toddlers to adults and everyone in between. Deeply committed to spreading the healing that comes from belonging to the places we live, Courtney Brooke is passionate about designing learning opportunities that celebrate life. She lives at Earthaven Ecovillage where she tends the land, raises food, participates in communal ritual agriculture, swims in wild water, enjoys the mysterious blessing of being alive, and tends her own wild Hearth. She loves cooking home-grown and wild foraged foods, playing her flute to the sunrise, running on mountain trails, making compost piles, crafting from natural materials, and bringing people together to create beauty that feeds the holy.

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Upcoming Events

Virtual Earthaven Tour

June 27, 2-4 pm, Recording available now

There’s nothing like experiencing ecovillage life first hand, but taking a virtual tour of Earthaven is a close second! 

The tour highlights ways in which Earthaven is striving to be a holistic, sustainable culture. The introductory overview tour examines the concept of sustainability at Earthaven through social, ecological, and economic lenses. Not only will you get a glimpse of what has worked through time, but also hear about what has been challenging. And you will have a chance to ask questions!

Compassion Camp

July 13-16

Our annual event focused on Nonviolent Communication, featuring classes and experiential learning. An experience designed to foster compassion and connection in our hearts, communities and world, and to spread the seeds of justice and love.

Earthaven Ecovillage Experience Week

July 30 – August 5, 2023

Join the homesteads, farms, and businesses of Earthaven Ecovillage for a hands-on, skill-building immersion in sustainable and climate-resilient community life. A residential service learning immersion in our unique community laboratory.

Boys with chickens

Eco-Explorers Adventure Camp

July 31 - August 4, 2023

This day camp is designed to develop ecological literacy, gain practical life skills, and build meaningful friendships, and is also open to commuters.

Commute or bring your 6-12 year-old kids to Eco-Explorers Adventure Camp for an age-appropriate ecovillage experience while you participate in Earthaven Ecovillage Experience Week.