Description
Our world needs scalable, systemic change, and now. But most of us don’t have the time and space in our daily lives to deeply reflect on what our contribution to solving the climate crisis might be.
The Climate Readers’ Retreat is an opportunity for people with a passion for climate and democracy to work through ideas and solutions for their communities together.
We’re thrilled to partner with Hollyhock, a Retreat Center nestled on the shores of Cortes Island, British Columbia. Hollyhock is a hub for holistic learning and leadership, offering transformative programs that foster personal growth and connection with nature. Together, we aim to inspire meaningful change through the shared exploration of stories, self-discovery, and collective renewal.
Alongside the wild beauty of Cortes Island, participants will enjoy multiple small-group talks with Pulitzer Prize finalist John Vaillant, author of The Golden Spruce and Fire Weather, as well as participate in structured and collaborative discussions with award-winning climate communications strategist Zoe Grams and celebrated environmental journalist and conservationist Ian Gill.
Let’s move beyond platitudes into a space of rigorous contemplation and commitment. This is an opportunity to explore how to move from despair or mourning into organizing; to discuss tough questions about action and complicity; to discover and share techniques for renewing your energy for change; to find out how we can talk about the current political reality in order to galvanize people to action; and to create a plan to transform how you contribute to our shared futures.
If you’re seeking inspiration to stoke your work in the months ahead, to find tools for deepening your work in climate action, this is a unique opportunity. In a time when new narratives are essential, the Climate Readers Retreat supports those searching for—and creating—new stories of renewal, regeneration and resistance.
John Vaillant is an author and freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and the Guardian, among others. His first book, The Golden Spruce (Knopf, 2005), was a bestseller and won several awards, including the Governor General’s and Rogers Trust awards for non-fiction. His second non-fiction book, The Tiger (Knopf, 2010), won the B.C. Achievement Award for Non-Fiction, was a bestseller selected for Canada Reads, and has been published in 17 languages. In 2014 Vaillant won the Windham-Campbell Prize, a global award for non-fiction. In 2015, he published his first work of fiction, The Jaguar’s Children , which was long-listed for the Dublin IMPAC and Kirkus Fiction Prizes, and was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. Vaillant’s latest book, Fire Weather, is a #1 national bestseller that won Britain’s Baillie Gifford Prize, a global prize for English language non-fiction, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the U.S. National Book Award, the PEN John Kenneth Galbraith Non-Fiction Award, the Writers‘ Trust Nonfiction Prize, and Britain’s Wainwright Prize. It was named one of the ten best books of 2023 by The New York Times, among many other prominent publications. In Canada, Fire Weather won the Shaughnessy-Cohen Prize for Political Writing, the Dafoe Book Prize, and the Hubert Evans Prize for Non-Fiction. Of particular interest to Canadians may be that it was heartily recommended on twitter by both Catherine McKenna and Andrew MacDougall (Stephen Harper’s former head of comms).
Zoe Grams is an award-winning strategist and organization leader who works at the intersection of storytelling and environmental and social justice. She is founder of Zg Stories—a B-Corporation communications agency; co-founder of Upstart & Crow, a creative non-profit; and former Chair/Co-Chair of multiple boards including WISH Drop-In Centre Society and KidSafe (amongst others). She has provided advocacy strategy and large-scale communications outreach to non-profits, municipal governments, Indigenous Nations, and purpose-driven companies across Canada and the US for more than a decade. Born and raised in Scotland, she holds an MA in Philosophy from The University of Glasgow and an MSc with Distinction in Politics and Communication from the London School of Economics.
Ian Gill is an Australian-born author, journalist, critic, conservationist and co-founder of the bioregional initiative Salmon Nation and storytelling initiative the Magic Canoe. Ian worked for almost 20 years as CEO of Ecotrust in Canada, the US and Australia, and has extensive experience in community and economic development in coastal communities along North America’s west coast. He is co-founder of Upstart & Crow, a literary non-profit, and is a contributing editor at The Tyee. His book on Haida Gwaii, All That We Say is Ours, was re-released in paperback in 2022.
