Learn Critical Nature Skills with Earthed! EMA's Conversation with Co-Founder Christabel Reed

At EMA, we champion actionable solutions. Words mean little unless we follow them with consistent action. On the other hand, we relate with individuals who feel overwhelmed by our many environmental issues. Thankfully, taking individual action as part of the collective impact can help ease climate anxiety. 

That's why we're happy to share a resource where individuals can learn nature skills from leading minds. Earthed is the nature skills platform where you learn to grow! We spoke with the Co-Founding Director of Earthed, Christabel Reed, about the site and how people can make the most of its incredible information. 

What is Earthed, and how did it come to fruition?

Earthed is a nature skills platform for a global community learning to grow. It's here for everyone who wants to restore the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we farm, and the food we eat. The platform hopes to ignite imaginations and empower real-world action through practical education to restore ecosystems, revitalize communities, and regenerate local economies.

Earthed is a charity (part of Initiative Earth) that my sister (Christabel and Ruby Reed), our old friend Cara Delevingne, and I set up. After working on our first climate action campaign, EcoResolution, we realized that while ecological awareness is essential, we need to build the mechanisms that enable people to transition from awareness into action to create futures where humans and nature can thrive in harmony.

As a team, we fell in love with the transformative potential of ecosystem restoration and set out to build a go-to platform for anyone who wants to restore nature and learn to grow. On the platform, members donate what they feel to access high-quality nature skills courses,

community forums and live events.

The donations then support Earthed, the Earthed Teachers, and their projects, and, as Earthed grows, the creation of an Action Fund from which members can access the funds they need to start and scale their local projects.

In essence, Earthed is removing the obstacles preventing a mass-mobilized, peer-driven ecosystem restoration movement: access to skills, networks, and funds.

Is Earthed accessible for someone with little to no ecological knowledge or for people looking to expand their skills?

Earthed is for everyone! We have courses for every level of learner, with a wide range of teachers and locations to learn from. Whether you organize a community clean-up of your nearby river, support your neighborhood farmer's market, grow tomatoes on your balcony, or want to start a permaculture farm from scratch, Earthed courses are designed to enable everyone to be part of helping ecosystems thrive.

We also know that many people need more time or skills to engage in ecosystem

restoration, but you don't have to quit your job and go off-grid to reconnect with nature (although you're welcome to!). All our courses are one hour long and are on demand, so they fit around your life at a pace that suits you.

Even if you're not quite ready to start growing and restoring, Earthed is also a great way to connect with local and global nature learners and start sharing your ideas, questions, experience, and encouragement.

I'm taking the Food Forests with Manisha Lath Gupta course because I find permaculture fascinating! What is your favorite video so far?

Manisha's course is amazing. Filmed at Aanandaa Permaculture Farm, it's incredible how a previously empty plot of land has transformed into such a wealth of biodiversity and abundance. It's hard for me to pick a favorite because each teacher brings a unique approach and personal passion for their project and location.

Right now, my favorite is Building Biodiverse Gardens with Mitch McCulloch. Filmed in an area of land the size of an average UK garden, this beautiful course offers so many exceptional practices, tips, and tricks that go into supporting wildlife and pollinators, bringing more biodiverse plant species into your garden, and even diversifying the varieties of fruit and vegetables you're growing. I recommend it to anyone with a small garden or access to a patch of land who wants to plant in a way that produces abundant and exciting produce while supporting the local ecosystem and wildlife nearby. 

Your blog states, "In the past 60 years, 60% of the Earth's ecosystem has been degraded, and 69% of wildlife has been lost." Why is it critical to get everyone involved, not just environmental experts, to restore what we've lost?

The answer is twofold: firstly, we need everyone to get involved. The United Nations reports that 1 billion hectares of land must be restored in the next eight years. The only way to achieve this is to enable local people everywhere to act: to start actively restoring ecosystems and engaging with regenerative growing.

Our ecosystems aren't just the extensive sweeping forests or deep coral reefs we see in pictures and videos. Our gardens are an ecosystem; the trees lining our city streets are an ecosystem; from a smallholder community vegetable plot to an expansive agricultural area, these are all ecosystems vital for the health of the water, soil, wildlife, and humans. And so, if we're going to restore, regenerate, and protect all ecosystems, we will need all of us to participate.

The second answer is that restoring ecosystems is a joy, so why shouldn't it involve everyone?! Growing tomatoes on our balconies, clearing litter from the local river, or creating a small pond for local wildlife are all natural skills that revitalize our planet. 

Engaging in nature skills helps us to feel more connected to the environment around us; it reminds us of the beautiful relationship between humans and nature; it can connect us to our local communities; it can provide delicious, nutritious food; it can make us feel empowered to take further action for the things we love; and it can even massively improve our physical and mental health.

That's why Earthed is all about creating an accessible and inclusive way for everyone to be involved, not just because it's critical but because it's beautiful.

 What are a few exciting courses on the horizon?

So many! We have launched ten courses this year, but we plan on releasing up to two a month within the following year. This Fall, we will release our course, Building Earthships, with Michael Reynolds. Filmed from the desert in New Mexico, it is so incredibly interesting and inspiring to hear from the creator of Earthships himself.

We will soon release our course Localization with Helena Norberg-Hodge, another pioneering thought leader and practitioner in creating fairer, more resilient ecosystems. This more theoretical course allows all our members to sit down and listen to Helena's incredible learnings and wisdom. Or if you're looking to get your hands in the soil and start growing, another exciting course on the way is Microgreens and Mushrooms with Jack Hodgson.

Finally, what gives you hope for our planet?

Earthed comes from a place of hope, and that is because we base it on the knowledge that humans have a vital role to play within our ecosystems, with great capacity not just to restore but actively regenerate. So often, we come across the narrative that 'humans are the virus.' While it is undeniable that there are human-created systems and actions currently causing significant damage to our ecosystems, humans also have tremendous power and capability to build thriving ecosystems.

Through Earthed, we all feel so blessed to be continuously discovering amazing new Nature Leaders: humans growing food, growing biodiversity, restoring coral, regenerating soils, building community, and actively working towards flourishing ecosystems day in and day out. This is what gives me hope!

On 11th November 2023, you can join Earthed, EMA, and a host of nature leaders for inspiring & practical talks, workshops & panels at the Earthed Summit 2023. Tickets are now available - click here for more details.