Credit: Wil Stewart, Unsplash

"Every one of us is a memorial to long-dead stars. Every one of us was quite literally made in heaven.” – Marcus Chown, The Magic Furnace

I invite you to step inside the Stardust Society and join a nourishing community of starry-eyed learners. Together we will embark on virtual seasonal adventures each of which deepen our connection with and belonging to an aspect of nature – from fungal networks deep in the earth to fiery stars billions of miles away.

Each expedition will take us on a journey of learning and discovery through science, creativity and mindfulness through art and connection to the earth and each other through community. Guided by me, Agnes Becker, in this Society we are all equal in our learning. We support each other to make space for more moments of wonder in nature. We inspire each other with our discoveries about and creative expressions to the Earth and our place in it. We collectively deepen our sense of belonging.

At the end of each seasonal adventure, you’ll feel enriched and more deeply connected to the area of natural wonder we have explored, as well as having met a group of like-minded, lifelong learners.

Stardust Society members join anew for each seasonal adventure.

- SIGN UP TO THE STARDUST SOCIETY WAITING LIST -

What will joining the Stardust Society will gift you?

• Before we start you’ll gather your kit for your adventures and receive your seasonal we are stardust welcome box
• A guidebook of journaling questions and short creative exercises that will help you:
• discover more about the seasonal topic
• create and play through words, pictures and drawing 
• connect 
• A safe space and supportive community to connect and share your findings from each week’s prompts and creative exercises with like-minded starry-eyed learners
• Inspirational posts – quotes, videos, links, Pinterest boards
• Bonus talks and workshops with Agnes Becker and guest speakers

Who is the Stardust Society for?

The Stardust Society welcomes you with open arms if:

• You want to enrich your experience of being in nature with learning and creativity but don’t know where to start
• You want to connect with the Earth and all her living beings more deeply but never find the time or headspace to do this
• You love learning about nature from all disciplines and people but have never found a community where learning is free of judgement
• You want to learn more about the world through science but feel what you read when you look things up is too complicated and overwhelming or believe you aren’t clever enough
• You want to respond to your experience of being in nature with creative art projects but don’t know where to start or believe you are “rubbish at drawing/writing/making”

The Stardust Society may not be the best place for you if:

• You want to learn technical terminology and get very specific about scientific methodology
• You want a step-by-step guide to exploring the world through science and art
• You are looking for a very directed course with a leader to take you through learning about an area of nature (I will act as more of a guide, encouraging others to share their findings and creations)
• You feel some areas of learning about the world are superior to others, e.g. science is 'better' than art

PILOT AUTUMN 2020 ADVENTURE - NOW CLOSED

Rooted | Adventure under the ancient forest

- where trees and fungi talk -

Under the earth of the ancient forests is a deep network of roots, connecting, interweaving, whispering, supporting, competing, nourishing. Explore this mycorrhizal network of roots and fungi under the earth of our oldest woodlands through Autumn and Winter. Guided by me, Agnes Becker, this adventure will deepen your knowledge and awaken your creativity and playfulness all with the support of a community of fellow starry-eyed learners. 

What will we explore?

Week 1: Enter The Forest | Notice

Over the three weeks we gift ourselves time in the forest. But once inside, the noise in our heads is loud – the ‘to do’ list tumbles around our minds and we hardly pay attention to what to the trees overhead and the fungi under our feet. Through nature journaling we start to record and take notice of what is around us. Trying the creative ideas in the guidebook sees us starting to experiment and play.

Week 2: Under The Forest | Wonder

Noticing is the start. Knowledge gives us a deeper understanding of the forests, leaving us filled with wonder. Listening to the podcast, I guide you through the science stories of the mycorrhizal (fungi-root) networks under your feet. We awaken our curiosity and creativity through nature journaling prompts in the guidebook. We share our findings and learn from books, quotes and videos created by fungi scientists. 

Week 3: Emerging From The Forest | Belong

As we begin to return home from the forest, we explore how our deeper understanding is something we can take with us into our everyday lives. We look at how mycorrhizal (fungi-root) networks have changed the way we think about nature - our sense of individuality starts to blur and we realise how interconnected we also are. We acknowledge our belonging in nature - indeed we are literally part of nature - and how we can continue spending time in the forest as an act of self-love. We share our creations and reflections to be documented in our community creative project – the ‘Rooted’ chronicle.