Story of Place
Finding core patterns process & purpose
Why Collaboration trumps competition
What do regenerative relationships feel like?
What is The Power of Place?
“As humans we have a very powerful role to play on this planet. All we have to do is remember it and develop the capability and will to do it.”
Pamela Mang, Regenesis.
There has never been a more important time for us to understand how to transform the way in which we inhabit planet earth. One of the critical questions we have to answer is how, what and where we are going to change the significant impacts our global economy has had on our life support systems. Finding ways to create vibrant, resilient local economies is a key strategy to achieve that aim.
The power of working in Place brings us to the most vibrant, visceral and tangible interface between natural and human systems.
One of the most destructive things we do on this beautiful planet, is to think about and treat everything everywhere generically. As if everything was the same. When we treat economic systems, people, soil, ecosystems as if they are the same all over the world, we cause them to be over simplified and fall apart.
Life itself works at an ecosystemic and bioregional scale. Life changes and emerges in new forms in particular places in particular ways that are biologially unique to that Place. That has always been the case for 3.8 billion years.
Every Place is not the same. New York is not Shanghai. The Danube is not the Ganges. The boreal forest of Canada is not the Amazon. The wildlife of East Africa is not like that of the Galapagos.
The way in which we can work most effectively to find ways to reinhabit our world regeneratively – is Place by Place by Place. It’s where we can find something concrete and tangible to work on. It’s where we can form coherent and systemic images of how a place works.
If each Place on the planet is healthy and we can build positive relationships between the people in a Place and the natural systems that surround them, we have an opportunity to create healthy Places where the sum total of all those Places might just be a healthy planet. It is an approach that also gives us the opportunity to ensure the ongoing differentiation of culture – and economies.
The Story of Place is our core process that helps bring a regenerative future to life. In your Place.
The Story of Place Process.
The Story of Place is a regenerative development process created by Regenesis Group which we use to surface the evolutionary role any Place can play in its future. As qualified regenerative practitioners who have all completed many learning journeys with Regenesis, we apply our own knowledge of systems, pattern literacy, strategy and storytelling to their robust, rigorous technology.
We do this by exploring long term patterns of ecology, geology, culture and economy in each Place and subsequently by imaging how those core processes and values translate to a core purpose that can shape the future of the culture and economy that wants to emerge there.
Story of Place processes are living workshops where people come together to sense into the deep patterns that have been playing out for millennia, and feel into the true essence of a Place. That thin red invisible thred that has consistently given rise to cultures and economies that were resilient, lasting and alive.
We explore together to understand more deeply how nature and people have truly thrived here. To find where the boundaries of our Place begin and end. To know how our Place connects to its nearest living systems. To sense into how the relationships work harmoniously across the ‘edge effect’ where innovation and evolution happens.
We share old Stories. We understand today’s Stories. We create new Stories.
Story of Place Workshops
Do you want to find solid ground on which to build the future economy, narrative or identity of your Place? Looking for fresh inspiration to guide the masterplan?
Our Story of Place workshops are intensive design charettes usually run over a number of days. We work with you and your community of stakeholders to collaboratively co-create a future vision you all want to work towards.
You come with stories to share. You leave with an inspiring Story of Place which captures the biological and cultural uniqueness of your particular Place. This inspires the community to come together in collaborative action and serves as a reference template for future decision making.
You’ll know ‘how big is here?’ You’ll find a way to express ‘what kind of here are we?’. You’ll see the previously invisible thin red thread that is the pattern which has shaped your place throughout all its evolutions. You’ll have solid ground on which to stand to be able to craft a living, thriving future in which all life fulfils its true potential.
Whether you are a city or a construction company. Whether you’re an economic shaper or a destination designer. Whether you’re an earth regenerator bringing life to our food systems, forests and fields. Or an educator creating places in which people can learn through experience. We all need to root our work in something deep, real and authentic.
Finding the core patterns and processes that have always worked in your Place will help you shape the core purpose that means your Place can play its part in creating a regenerative future for future generations.
If Story Of Place piques your excitement – and we hope it does – book an exploration call with us to see how we can help you imagine the future you want.