Silent Transformations
Engaged Mindfulness and Ecological Education for the Environmental Crisis
Silent Transformations is an educational cooperative bringing together mindfulness, ecopsychology, environmental justice, and climate education into transformational programming.
The objective of Silent Transformations is to support and educate individuals, communities, and institutions experiencing the psychological stresses and injustices of the environmental crisis. Our process aims to turns eco-anxiety into eco-responsivity.
Silent Transformations has successfully run numerous full-day and weekend workshops and online events connecting or collaborating with:
- The Sierra Club
- The World History Center at the University of Pittsburgh
- The School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University, “Future Lab"
- Carnegie Mellon School of Art
- Phipps Conservatory
- Awaken Pittsburgh
- The Museum of PostNatural History
- One Earth Sangha
- City of Bridges High School
- The Climate Healing Incubator (with a grant from the Heinz Endowment)
Silent Transformations is a participant in the multidisciplinary “The Epoch of Loss” project based out of the University of Pittsburgh.
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As the climate crisis intensifies and ST develops, we plan to offer “Train the trainer” workshops for leaders of nonprofits, schools, churches etc. This would empower our community partners to take ownership of the process and encourage local resilience.
- Silent Transformations serves any individuals or institutions that are concerned with the impacts of the ecological crisis. This includes, especially, front-line activists, social workers and healing professionals, and those in industrial development, the fossil fuel industry, and business connected with environmental issues. This also includes institutions, such as Phipps Conservatory or universities that deal with ecological and climate themes. Alternative versions could orient towards adolescent populations who increasingly face anxiety and depression regarding the climate crisis.
- The personnel involved would include a director to oversee and design the initiatives (Dr. Lobel), curriculum/workshop development and an administrative assistant to work with marketing, communications/media, and scheduling. We are currently working with four-five local experts in ecopsychology, mindfulness, and ecological issues who will be hired per program offering.
- This would be a groundbreaking initiative. Yet comparisons could be made to Joanna Macy’s “work that reconnects,” The Pachamama Alliance, HOLOS Institute, Schumacher Institute initiatives, and Andy Fischer’s Radical Ecology.