Online Zoom Forum: Spirituality of the Land: Spiritual, Ecological, Ethical and Social Perspectives.
Date: Wednesday 2 December 2026.
Time: 7pm-9pm (UK time).
Event Description:
Format: There will be five talks, each of 15 minutes, followed by discussion among the speakers and the chair, followed by Q & A.
Chair:
Chanan Tej:
Bio: Chanan Tej is a Buddhist psychotherapist, community herbalist, and yoga teacher, dedicated to the harmonious integration of healing, nature, and spirituality. With over a decade of experience, she skilfully weaves together psychotherapy, yoga, sacred sound, and a profound respect for the natural world.
Her holistic approach emphasises the inseparable connection between spiritual and ecological well-being. Residing on a small farm, Chanan nurtures her bond with the land through practices such as foraging, plant medicine making, forest bathing, and nature resonance. These daily experiences continually enrich her understanding of the spiritual and ethical dimensions of our relationships with ourselves, our communities, and the Earth.
Speakers:
Cheryl Fisher, PhD NCC LCPC:
Title: Reclaiming the Land Within: Ancestral Wisdom, Ecological Belonging, and the Work of Decolonizing the Self.
Description: This talk explores how reconnecting with land, ancestry, and embodied presence can serve as a pathway toward healing in a world shaped by colonial disruption. Drawing from ecopsychology, ancestral wisdom traditions, and decolonizing frameworks, Cheryl Fisher examines how land is not simply a physical environment but a living relative — a site of memory, identity, and spiritual belonging. The presentation considers how colonial narratives sever individuals and communities from their wild self, ancestral self, and sacred self, and how reclaiming these dimensions fosters resilience, ecological reverence, and collective liberation. Through stories, research, and reflective practice, Cheryl invites participants to consider how uncolonizing the psyche and re-inhabiting relationship with land can transform personal healing, community well-being, and our shared ecological future.
Learning Objectives
1. Identify how colonial narratives disrupt relationships with land, ancestry, and identity, and how these ruptures manifest in contemporary ecological and psychological distress.
2. Describe the roles of the wild self, ancestral self, and sacred self in fostering ecological belonging and spiritual resilience.
3. Explain how decolonizing and uncolonizing frameworks support land-based healing practices across diverse communities.
4. Explore at least one land-based or ancestral reconnection practice that participants can integrate into personal or professional contexts.
Bio: Cheryl Fisher, PhD, LCPC, is a counselor educator, ecopsychology scholar, and author whose work centers on ancestral wisdom, land-based healing, and the reclamation of the wild, sacred self. She serves as Director and Associate Professor of the MA in Clinical Counseling program at Alliant International University and has written extensively on nature-based therapeutic practices, intergenerational resilience, and decolonizing approaches to mental health. Cheryl’s work invites individuals and communities to reconnect with land, lineage, and embodied presence as pathways toward healing and ecological harmony.
Dr. Sandra Styres:
Title: Radical Imagining Land-based Practices in Transforming Indigenous Education.
Description: This presentation draws upon the author’s work and the ways lifelong and holistic learning manifests within Indigenous land-based educational paradigms. The author also discusses radical imagining Indigenous education and the ways trauma informed dignity driven practices informs her work as a scholar with Indigenous and mixed EuroCanadian ancestry. Further, in this paper the author explores the concept of circularity as a foundational worldview that reflects the interconnected, relational, and resilient nature of Indigenous ways of knowing. She also considers circularity and the development of the 8 R’s as an anti-colonial/de-colonial framework that disrupts and resists colonial educational narratives within mainstream learning contexts. She then offers some insights in visioning forward in order to discuss where this work can be expanded. Additionally, this presentation serves to deepen and expand the ethical and transformative dimensions of Indigenous land-based practices with the context of education. The overall goal of this presentation is to radically re-imagine Indigenous education to build educational systems that honour Indigenous brilliance, uphold Indigenous sovereignty, and create spaces where all learners, and especially Indigenous students, can thrive.
Bio: Dr. Sandra Styres is of Haudenosaunee/French, English/Welsh descent from Montreal Quebec in Canada. Dr. Styres is a former Canada Research Chair and is an Associate Professor with the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Her research interests are: Land-centered education; Indigenous resurgence; politics of decolonizing reconciliation in education broadly; appropriate inclusion of Indigenous perspectives into teacher education programming and K-12 classrooms; Indigenous philosophies and perspectives; culturally aligned methodologies and theoretical approaches to Indigenous research; ethics and protocols that guide the work in Indigenous and non-Indigenous research collaborations and community engagement.
Dr Sandy Winterbottom:
Title: Re-energising Land with Sacred Intent.
Description: Indigenous cultures have been vital in driving environmental protections around the world. Traditions of land stewardship, plant-lore and the rhythms of nature passed down through generations, instil a deep sense of belonging and duty of care in those that inherit their place on Earth. But what happens when that culture has been lost or become profoundly fragmented? What happens when our land history has been re-written through a patriarchal and extractivist lens? How can we re-connect to land with sacred intent and re-ignite our belonging?
Bio: Dr Sandy Winterbottom spent two decades in academia researching and teaching in the earth and environmental sciences. She is now a writer and climate campaigner. Her first book, The Two-Headed Whale, is published by Birlinn.
Dr Michael Williams:
Title: Fields of Dreams: Memory, Land, and Spiritual Belonging.
Description: A commemorative bench in a Hamilton park names the surrounding land “Fields of Dreams.” For Michael Williams, those fields were part of his childhood and spiritual development. Returning to them through memory, Dr Williams offers a very personal exploration of his relationship—spiritual and otherwise—with the land he grew up on, an exploration which raises challenging questions. What does it mean to belong to a place, to feel spiritually connected and shaped by the presence of other stories that includes deep geological history, Indigenous presence, colonial settlement, as well as suburban development? How can we honour a personal bond with land while acknowledging histories that our childhood stories left out? Drawing on memoir, storytelling, and his own writing about the fields, Michael explores how attention to a particular place can deepen both belonging and responsibility as well become an integral part of one’s spiritual development. He invites participants to reflect on the places that formed them and the stories they have yet to learn about those places.
Learning Objectives:
1. Reflect on how childhood encounters with a place can shape a lasting sense of belonging and deep spiritual connections.
2. Consider how personal memory changes when we attend to the land’s wider history.
3. Explore writing as a practice of attention, honesty, and care for place.
Bio: Michael Williams, PhD, is a writer, oral storyteller, and memoir-writing coach who divides his time between Canada and Scotland. Through his work at Memoir Studio (memoirstudio.ca), he helps people explore the memories and places that have shaped their lives. His current writing examines childhood landscapes in Hamilton, Ontario, and the questions of belonging, responsibility, and spirituality they raise.
Dr Angela Mashford-Pringle:
An archive recording will be made for the EICSP archive.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: £10 Suggested By Paypal or Bank Transfer:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Account Name: Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace
Bank: Bank of Scotland
Bank Address: Edinburgh Royal Mile Branch
Account Number: 06131159
Sort Code: 802000
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GB70 BOFS 8020 0006 1311 59
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