Ma Earth Retreat hosted at Mangaroa Farms, New Zealand
A Full Season of Stories From the Field
It's been a busy stretch since our first edition of Field Notes. New conversations recorded across five continents, a growing Learning Lab community, a gathering in Aotearoa New Zealand, and some meaningful collaborations with friends in the regenerative philanthropy space. Here's a look at what's been unfolding...
From the Land
This season's Learning Lab sessions have taken us from Appalachia to Aotearoa to India. What connects them is practitioners doing grounded, patient work to restore the relationship between people and the ecosystems they belong to.
Appalachian Rekindling Project
In eastern Kentucky, Cherokee-descendant Tiffany Pyette of the Appalachian Rekindling Project shares how her organization purchased 63 degraded acres out from under a planned federal prison, and is now preparing to bring bison home to central Appalachia for the first time in generations.
The session covers bison as ecosystem engineers, an indigenous women-led governance model, and the unexpected local alliances that formed around the project, including neighbors who paid for roadside billboards reading "Bison Belong Here." Watch »
Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
Kate Lundquist of Occidental Arts & Ecology Center’s WATER Institute traces two decades of working to restore beavers to their ecological role across California's waterways, including the state's first beaver translocations in nearly 75 years, carried out in partnership with the Tule River Tribe and the Maidu Summit Consortium. Watch »
Mangaroa Farms
At Mangaroa Farms in Aotearoa New Zealand, permaculture expert Zebulon Horrell describes what happens when an 800-hectare sheep and beef farm starts asking what the land wants to be — and then acts on the answer. 105 fruit tree varieties, a composting system built on relationships with local breweries, and a potato-growing co-op designed to make regenerative food accessible to local community. Watch »
Naturophilia India
In India, Dr. Debarati Chakraborty of Naturophilia India teaches the Learning Lab community about the deep connections between seeds, soil, and cultural memory. We learn about blue turmeric, Indian farmers’ ongoing struggle for sovereignty in the face of Monsanto's continued operations, and ways for younger generations to protect the cultural heritage stored in seeds. Watch »
BioFi Project
Other conversations zoom out to the systems level, exploring how money, trust, and coordination can better serve the communities doing the work of regeneration.
Samantha Power of the BioFi Project shares how bioregional finance is being designed alongside the 30 Indigenous nations of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance, supporting both an Indigenous bioeconomy from the ground up, and the policy work needed to stop extractive pressures from distant actors. Watch »
Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance
In a special Learning Lab recorded during Climate Week, Sophia Rokhlin sits down with Uyunkar Domingo Peas, president of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance, for a conversation in Spanish about their efforts to protect 35 million hectares of forest, Amazonian bioeconomy, and the role of sacred plants in ecological stewardship. Watch »
Regenerosity
In our series, The Regeneration Will Be Funded, Faith Flanigan and Ruth Andrade of Regenerosity shared radical experiments in flow funding and redistributing power to grassroots initiatives. Watch »
Moving Money in Service of Life - Webinar Series
In early April, Matthew Monahan of Ma Earth joined Lynn Murphy (Transition Resource Circle, co-author of Post Capitalist Philanthropy), Tim Freundlich (ImpactAssets), Jennifer Astone (Collective Action for Just Finance), and Renata Minerbo (Be the Earth Foundation) for a webinar in the Moving Money in Service of Life series.
The conversation explored a persistent paradox in philanthropy: how the majority of philanthropic capital remains invested in extractive systems, even as grants aim to resource transformation. Practitioners shared what it takes to align investment portfolios with purpose, and the structural and emotional barriers that stand in the way. Watch »
Regenerosity flows trust-based funds to grassroots initiatives that protect and regenerate territories and communities.
Upcoming: Learning Lab
Our next Learning Lab features Holke Brammer, founder of Hypercerts Foundation and co-creator of Certified, on Tuesday April 21st at 11:00 EDT. Holke first joined us on The Regeneration Will Be Funded to discuss impact funding networks. He now returns to Learning Lab to explore how open technology can empower land stewards with tools for verification, trust, and transparent impact tracking. If you can’t make it live, register anyway and we will send the recorded session.
Friends of Ma Earth
Ma Earth is part of a broader ecosystem of organizations, practitioners, and friends working toward the same questions. Here's what's been catching our attention lately.
BioFi Deep Dive
Holke Brammer from Hypercerts Foundation will also be presenting with Matthew Monahan on the upcoming BioFi Deep Dive on April 23rd, to discuss how we can move beyond isolated platforms toward a shared impact ecosystem. Register »
Rhizome Fellowship by Culture Hack Labs (Last Call)
Are you working at the intersection of culture change & regenerative solutions? The nine-month Rhizome Fellowship by Culture Hack Labs equips practitioners, artists, activists, and organizers with tools and community for narrative-led systems change. Rooted in the Culture Hack Method, fellows are supported to design and launch narrative interventions that challenge extractive models and seed regenerative futures.
Application deadline: 16 April 2026
Learn more & apply: culturehack.io/rhizome
Nature’s Echo
Tom Crowther from Restor just released a new book, Nature’s Echo. For anyone overwhelmed by the climate crisis and searching for a path forward, this book aims to replace despair with grounded hope and conviction.
Lifeworlds
Alexa Firmenich of Lifeworlds and Naia Trust interviewed Dr. Rosa Vasquez Espinosa, a National Geographic Explorer and conservation scientist, about the stingless bee – a 65 million year old resident of Earth. At the heart of a pioneering conservation movement, the stingless bee recently secured the world's first legal recognition of the rights of an insect. Watch »
Papawhakaritorito Trust
Papawhakaritorito Trust hosted a Mana Wāhine Seed Sovereignty Wānanga, asking what would a Mana Wāhine approach to looking after our seeds entail? Jessica Hutchings recorded a series of interviews on this kaupapa, which we’re excited to see.
Gathering on the Whenua (Land)
Earlier this year, our team gathered with stakeholders and friends at Mangaroa Farms and Biome Trust in Aotearoa New Zealand for our Ma Earth Retreat. Over a week on the land, we shared upcoming platform plans with land stewards, explored the nature market stack together, and let the conversations shape what comes next.
Also Worth Catching
A few more conversations from the past few months:
🌿 Abdul Semakula on recommoning a wetland in Uganda with Obuntu principles. Watch »
🌿 Tom Elliott of Restor on how geospatial technology can support the global nature restoration movement. Watch »
🌿 Matthew and Sophia on the origins and vision of Learning Lab itself. Watch »
What's Next
Something is taking root. More soon. 🌱
Until next time,
Ma Earth
