Retreats as a Pathway to Impact
VCI was founded in response to what was recognized as a gap in climate action - the need to focus simultaneously on direct (solutions) as well as indirect (relationships and capacity building) as equally critical pathways.
Our retreats are the foundation of our commitment to this approach.
VCI convenes six retreats a year. Each retreat invites 30 individuals to co-create the conditions for nature-based work that supports mitigation, resilience, biodiversity, and equity at scale.
Guided by highly skilled facilitators, and located in beautiful settings where nature can inform our cadence and potential, the retreats index on slowing down, increasing awareness, expanding perspectives, and fostering collaboration so that together we step up to the pressing challenges of our time.
Retreats
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Advancing Reforestation for Climate, Biodiversity, Equity and Communities
June 2024
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Elevating the Profile of America’s Grasslands
December 2023
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Developing Agroforestry Coalition Capacity
October 2023
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Learning Teaching and Collaborating for Change
September 2023
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Enabling the Future of Land Stewardship in the Hudson Valley
June 2023
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Reconnecting the Carbon Cycle
April 2023
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Diet for Climate, Land, & People
March 2023
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Scaling Diversified Regenerative Agriculture
November 2022
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Urban Forestry & Equity
October 2022
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Scaling Agroforestry in the United States
June 2022
“This retreat allowed me to participate fully, to listen with heart and mind, to have generative conversations which have inspired creative action in me and my organization. This has helped illuminate the path forward, and inspired me to step forward and be the leadership I want to see.”
–Retreat Participant
retreat Participants
VCI retreat participation is by invitation only, and there is a great deal of intentionality that goes into the selection of the people in the room. Once a retreat topic is identified, we convene a small cohort of planning partners that represent a cross section of related stakeholders. Together we identify candidates from across our respective networks who:
Represent different industry perspectives
Are diverse in terms of ethnicity, role, geography, age, and world view
Are willing to be present, without a major agenda, listen, and have an open heart and mind
Furthermore, VCI retreat participants represent a mixture of roles including people who:
Are actively engaged in topic-specific work
Offer topic-specific or related / analogous perspective & guidance (scientists, academics, artists, changemakers from other fields, etc.)
Support or inform relationships & implementation (elders, funders, etc.)
Invitations
Our invitation to retreat participants is to take the opportunity to actually retreat. We cannot step up to the challenges of our time without stepping back on occasion to reconnect with our motivation, source new inspiration and partnerships, check in on our approach, and recharge our will to act.
VCI Retreats are designed to enable:
For individuals
Nourishment
Inspiration
Focus
for the network
Connection
Learning
Support
for the planet
Prioritization
Partnership
Healing
“This retreat was important for all the right reasons. It brought together an incredibly passionate group of leaders in their communities and work spaces. Our time here provided an opportunity to amplify actionable ideas that will help the climate.”
–Retreat Participant