ENROLLMENT IS NOW CLOSED
“The major problems in the world are the result of the difference
between how nature works and the way people think”
– Gregory Bateson
Green Building United, The Sustainability Nexus, and 7group, in collaboration with faculty from the Regenesis Institute for Regenerative Practice, cordially invite you to participate in Philadelphia’s very first The Regenerative Practitioner series.
This evolutionary program is an exceptional opportunity to broaden your understanding of regenerative practice and its application to your work and every aspect of your life. You will join with other practitioners from widely diverse fields of study to engage with a set of thought frameworks based in the principles of how living, regenerative systems live and function. The Regenerative Practitioner will transform the way you think so that you can more effectively transform yourself and the communities you serve.
Humans are a part of nature and as such have a role to play in the vigor of the greater whole of life. All human endeavors have the potential to augment and enhance the vibrancy of ecological and social systems in which we are embedded. This course is intended to plant the seeds for a regenerative way of thinking and being in the region. The participants in this first course will become an integral part of the early stages of the movement to encourage all of us to engage regenerative practices. The Philadelphia host team is delighted to offer this course as a means to affect a positive change in our lives and in the on-going vitality of the greater Delaware Valley region.
What is regenerative practice?
The Regenerative Practitioner is a distance-learning seminar series for practitioners interested in integrating regenerative development into their practice. The series introduces and explores proprietary regenerative development concepts and frameworks that have been developed and extensively field tested by Regenesis over the last two decades.
How does the series work?
The series consists of ten online videoconference sessions culminating in a three-day, in-person intensive workshop. The videoconference sessions include preparatory reading assignments and exercises. The sessions themselves combine live instruction with open group dialogue and one-on-one “fishbowl” time, where a single participant works with our instructors to explore a project they are actually working on as a way of bringing the frameworks to life for the entire group. The sessions are recorded and made available for download, so you can catch up if you miss a session. Participants typically spend between 5 and 7 hours per week preparing for and engaging in the sessions and course assignments while this portion of the course is underway.
The Intensive takes place at City CoHo, in the heart of Philadelphia. For each cohort the series is limited to 20 participants, so that everyone has the option to engage around his or her work.
Participants are organized into study cohorts that are encouraged to work on course assignments together as a group. Each study cohort receives two coaching sessions with Regenesis instructors.
Is this course right for me?
We encourage potential participants to self-select around whether or not this course is a good fit for you. To help with this, you might ask yourself whether some or all of these statements apply to you:
- You often see bigger potential than is being realized on the projects you’re involved in but haven’t found a way to help your collaborators and/or clients see and align with that potential.
- You know that sustainability will never accomplish its aims if we can’t change the way we think and work, but you’re not sure how to achieve this.
- Your work is important and meaningful to you, but you still feel the drive to learn and develop along a path so that your work and the essence of “who you are” become further and further integrated.
- You have a track record of accomplishment, and yet you continually see possibilities beyond the level that you are currently able to realize.
- Your schedule provides you the time necessary to commit to 5-7 hours per week preparing for and engaging in the sessions.
If so, you may be a good candidate for the series. If you are considering enrolling in TRP but unsure as to whether the course is right for you, you may request a conversation with a faculty member to mutually assess whether it’s a fit.
What material does the series cover?
- Greater ability to assess design and development practices for their regenerative potential
- A deeper understanding of how regenerative development unfolds at the project and community level;
- Greater ability to define how a regenerative approach would apply to various sectors and fields of practice relevant to your work;
- Increased capacity to manage complexity as a means to deliver greater value to clients and stakeholders;
- Strategies for growing a successful regenerative practice; and
- The support of a local learning community of peers and colleagues who share your commitment to creating profoundly innovative work in service to a healthier community and world.
For more information about the content covered in the series, you may download the course syllabus.
About our Intensive location
CityCoHo | Philly’s Nexus was founded in 2014 by green building and regenerative development educator, consultant, and entrepreneur Max Zahniser, as a project of the non-profit Sustainability Nexus. Nexus has the mission of amplifying the impact of environmental and social equity efforts in the Philadelphia region by developing and tending to the connective tissue of the movement itself. Our coworking communities provide headquarters and/or additional support space for nearly every environmental and sustainable business organization in the region, many of the area’s social equity and justice leaders, as well as a diverse array of technologists, entrepreneurs, and businesses.
CityCoHo is a coworking space that provides the infrastructure for established and emerging organizations seeking to change the world for the better. We seek to provide the physical space that can serve as the backbone to the growing body of work in Philadelphia’s impact and innovation economies, as well as the active programming to knit it together. Located in the heart of Philadelphia between University City and Center City, in a Gold LEED-certified building, and itself seeking LEED-Platinum CI certification. CityCoHo was created in response to the needs of an existing, evolving community, and we take serving that community very seriously, cultivating optimism, levity, creativity, and real capability to think through and aim work at the greater potential of our future.
Schedule for 2020 Philadelphia Series
All Videoconference sessions are held on Tuesdays from 3:00 – 5:00 pm EDT. The dates are as follows:
- Videoconference MeetUp: June 16
- Videoconference Sessions: June 30, July 7, July 14, July 21, August 4, August 11, August 18, August 25
- Intensive: September 10 – 13, CityCoHo. Participants should aim to arrive by 4:30 pm on Thursday, September 10, and make arrangements to ensure you can be fully present with the group until 4:30 pm on Sunday, September 13. See update below.
- Final Videoconference Session: September 22
Update, April 2: Due to the unfolding situation around the Coronavirus pandemic, we are preparing for the possibility of adapting the design of the Intensive to be compatible with virtual delivery over Zoom. We will make the decision about whether or not to adapt the delivery method depending on the relevant constraints around travel and group gatherings at the time. We will update all participants as details emerge, and will aim to begin communication with the cohort around this decision by mid July.
The schedule for the Intensive will not change. Regardless of whether the Intensive takes place in person or over Zoom, the weekend will be structured as a series of dialogues and exercises, with multiple opportunities for individual and small-group work.
Investment/Tuition Fees
Tuition for the Philadelphia series is $2700 USD including meals (opening dinner on Thursday night and breakfast, lunch and refreshments Friday – Sunday) during the Intensive. This fee does not include your personal travel expenses.
Update, April 2: In the event that the Intensive is delivered over Zoom, we will refund to each participant the per-person cost of the meals and refreshments served during the Intensive.
We are able to offer a limited number of partial scholarships to practitioners and organizations who require financial support as a way to promote inclusion, diversity and access for the benefit of the entire community of practice / group of learners. When you fill out the registration form you will be given the option to indicate that you are requesting a scholarship. All scholarship applications must be received by May 5.
Update, April 2: We recognize that many practitioners’ financial situations have been dramatically impacted by the Covid 19 situation. If you are considering taking the course but are faced with this situation, we encourage you to apply for a partial scholarship.
AIA members: This course is eligible for 46 CES LUs.
Reservation Process – Deposit Required
In order to confirm the series, we need to fill the cohort by obtaining a minimum of 20 reservations by May 12. There is a $100 deposit required to reserve a space and be counted towards this enrollment target. To reserve a space, you’ll need to fill out a registration form, pay the $100 deposit, and set up your preferred payment arrangement for the tuition.
Once we’ve notified you that the course is confirmed, your account will be billed automatically on May 20 for the remaining tuition, either in full or via a six-month payment plan, according to the arrangements you set up when you make your reservation.
In the event that the minimum enrollment target is not met and the course does not proceed, the $100 deposit will be refunded to you.
Update, April 2: The deadlines below have been extended.
- Reservation deadline: May 12
- Scholarship applications due: May 5
- Spaces confirmed: May 14
- Tuition billed: May 20
- Series begins: June 16
Photography credits: Aerial and skyline views of Philadelphia, courtesy Green Building United. LOVE sculpture, Robert Indiana, photo courtesy Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. CityCoHo interior, courtesy CityCoHo.
All illustrations by Ian Durneen.