the rich, dark earth forming the organic substance of soil, created through the decomposition of plant and animal matter

We have to inherit the earth as it is given: a hot swamp of open-ended encounters, entangled in painful and beautiful histories, and visions of hopeful futures. Let’s feel around inspect the state of the soil around us.

This is the through line guiding our first thematic cycle.

The horticultural and landwork worlds are changing and adapting. New perspectives are entering and mingling with the practices and attitudes that have come before. Workers and supporters are demanding fair pay, indigenous land rights, and better biodiversity practices for example.

Focusing on these changing dynamics we will showcase the desires and politics of young people and early careers in these broad fields, providing a space for us to harness the growing potential of our energy.

Some questions that may guide an exploration of the humusphere:

~ Where are we at now? Where have we come from? Where are we headed?
~ What is working well? What isn’t working?
~ What change do you want to see or influence?
~ What rituals of becoming-together can we cultivate?
~ What is stirring, ready to sprout?
~ Where do we want to spread this nourishing mulch?

These are simply guides. We would like to encourage many forms of joy, rage, and contemplation. This theme and the suggested questions are the beginnings of mycelial thoughts that will twist and coil and evolve as they get passed on between stories and perspectives.

We are workers in and of the soil. How can we compost what we are given? How can we become with each other to create a soil where we, human and non-human, can all flourish together?