Earthrise over the moon

Hi Barb, 

Yesterday was Earth Day. Most of us want to protect the earth, whether we aim to clean up messes from the past or to prevent them in the future.

But lately I've been feeling challenged by the many things I "should" do to protect our watery planet. What I did in my career at the Wisconsin DNR and what I do now as a business owner still seems like just a drop in Lake Superior compared to what is needed now. 

Still, I don't want to give in to despair. All those small actions we take do add up and make a difference. They include the ways we care for ourselves as well as the earth. For example:

• Reusing and recycling paper and cardboard saves trees, energy and water.
• Buying locally grown organic food saves transportation, limits the release of pesticides and herbicides, and is healthier for us.
• Going to bed earlier uses less electricity and gives us more rest

One new way for me to care for myself is taking breaks more often. Every couple hours, I walk outside, breathe fresh air and look at trees and observe animals. Going outside also helps me appreciate the earth and calms me down. 

Sometimes, what I see makes me laugh. On Monday, this mallard duck stood on my car for about 10 minutes. Apparently, he wanted to register a complaint about how we had had duck for dinner the day before. Note the duck tracks, emphasizing the point. 

    

How about you? What small simple things do you do that care for the earth and yourself? 

Please share one by replying to this email, I'd love to hear about them and, depending on how many reply, I can include them (anonymously) in the next newsletter.  

Warmly,

Barb Bickford

Reimagining Conferences: More Connection, Less Lecture
-- Online, Wednesday, May 14th,  6 - 7:30 EDT / 5 -6:30 PM CDT / 3-4:30 PDT (no cost)

Conferences are full of potential—so why do they often feel flat and forgettable?  Or worse, overwhelmingly stressful? How can we foster more connection and less passive listening in large meetings?  

In this interactive session, we’ll uncover what gets in the way of authentic engagement and generate practical ways to make conferences more participatory and energizing.

Whether you run events, attend them, present at them or influence them from the sidelines, you’ll leave with ideas worth sharing and implementing. Sign up and mark your calendar! 

RestUP: How to Get Just a Little More Rest 
-- Online, Thursday May 8, 2025, 6:30 PM CDT -- For anyone (90 minutes)
-- Online, Thursday May 15, 2025, 6:30 PM CDT -- For caregivers of persons living with ALS (90 minutes)

Are you dragging and feeling overwhelmed? You're caring for everyone and everything, and frankly, you need caring for, too!  

But being well-rested isn't just about getting a good night's sleep. In this 90 minute workshop, you'll learn about eight types of rest, experience several of them, take an inventory of your rest and make a plan for getting just a little more rest.

Register for the May 8th event here. 

Register for the May 15th ALS caregiver event here.  

Vitalizing Health, Care, and Community with Liberating Structures
-- Online, May 8, May 29 and June 12, 2025 

Liberating Structures (LS), simple yet powerful methods that change how people work together, has deep roots in health contexts. Much of the earliest development and testing of the methods took place in healthcare settings.

In three sessions, you will delve into the relationship between LS and health, examining its potential at every level—from personal well-being to community resilience and the broader structures that shape care. There will be a lively mix of direct practice, novel experiences, and animating stories and examples that expand everyone's sense of what might be possible.  Sign up here! 

Related blog posts
-- How to create more engaging conferences
-- Balancing conversations and presentations in science conferences
-- From stoning to building: How to energize science meetings
    (this is a guest editorial I wrote for the professional journal Ground Water)
-- How can leaders get just a little more rest?

Our upcoming events, workshops and courses

Transitions and New Beginning retreats - save the dates!
-- February 4-8, 2026 in Sun City West (near Phoenix), Arizona
-- April 17-19, 2026 at St. Anthony's Spirituality Center, Marathon City, Wisconisn

Breathe before meetings

Today's tip is simple to do: before attending a meeting, pause and breathe.  It will help you focus on the meeting. And if you are leading the meeting, it will encourage everyone else to breathe too! 

Donna McGeorge, author of "The 25 Minute Meeting," advises "Take a moment at the beginning of the meeting to gather yourself and your thoughts. Take three breaths and set your intention for how you plan to participate in the meeting." 

You might reinforce this habit by coupling it with an action you always do before a meeting starts. 
--In person, you might take those three breaths immediately after you sit down. 
--Online, you might breathe just after you click to join the meeting.  

And, be sure you congratulate yourself after you've breathed and set your intention. Celebrating even a little bit will reinforce any habit you want to adopt. (Learn more from BJ Fogg about creating tiny habits.) 

Want even more tips? Access Ten Tips to Foster Online Engagement.

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Photo Credit: NASA and Barb Bickford