News & Events
Get updates about what we are doing, thinking, and learning here.
Amber Smith – I Am Enough
Amber Smith made her way from a blue collar town in Central Illinois to a 53,000 acre ranch in Montana. She explains that the image of the lonely cowboy is not today’s reality where, instead, women are not only managing ranches, but leading civic…
Award Winning “Designers of Paradise”
Designers of Paradise, hosted by Erik van Lennep and produced by Mind & Media, won the 2020 Award of Excellence for Podcasts from Communicator Awards. Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts. Launched in 2018,...
Josh Whiton – Compost Together
The experience of composting with friends helped Josh Whiton realize that being kind to the planet could lead to a change in consciousness. Josh described to Designers of Paradise host Erik van Lennep how this realization led him to launch MakeSoil.org, a global…
Sara Wolcott – The Listening Heart
Sara Wolcott is a healer, minister, artist, and storyteller. She (and a turkey) joined Designers of Paradise host Erik van Lennep for a conversation that touched on giving and receiving, Reiki, the process of regeneration, healing, and the search for the divine. They…
Bruce Kania – Nature’s Wetland Effect
"It is sticky and attracts particulates" is how Bruce Kania of Floating Island International explains the biofilm that serves as the glue for the floating islands his company produces. Bruce, during his conversation with Designers of Paradise host Erik van Lennep,...
Nicole Masters – Soil is More Exciting than Great White Sharks
"Imagine how different our planet would look if we were teaching children whole systems". This is how Kiwi, soil siren, author, and Regenerative Agriculture Coach, Nicole Masters explains transformative thinking in a far-ranging interview with Designers of Paradise...
Melissa Ruckmick – Be There for Somebody
It has been about a year since Designers of Paradise host Erik van Lennep spoke with communication specialist and self-described herbal plant provocateur, Melissa Ruckmick. In this episode they discuss the connection between healing ourselves, healing civilization,...
Duncan Crowley – Design is the Framework, Not the Goal
Regenerative community practitioner and eco-architect Duncan Crowley shares a fascinating and inspiring overview of his evolving work as a community facilitator where architecture moves to city planning, then community design, opening the way for community organizing and activism.
Maddie Akkermans – Bringing Back the Rain
Regenerative soil practices are starting to attract more mainstream attention, and hold real promise for restoring the natural capacity for land to moderate water content and quality, store excess carbon and improve local human economies. Progress is being made...
Didi Pershouse – Healthy Soil is Like Bread
Compare a pile of flour to a loaf of bread and you will begin to see the difference between dirt and healthy soil. How do you move from flour to bread or dirt to soil? Add microbes. There is plenty of life (including that metaphor) in the conversation between...