Adventure Learning Grant

VIDEO

 

Sequoia Pullella-Barca

Exploring Venezuelan Migration in Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru

"The focus of my year on the ALG was to understand the experience of Venezuelan refugees as they left their homes and moved all over the continent. Additionally, I wanted to understand the perspectives of the people in countries that were receiving refugees (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru). I worked with two very different organizations in Ecuador, and learned so much about resilience, community, compassion, and culture. I was incredibly moved by the generosity of people that I met during my trip, and the sheer number of amazing things that can happen when you are open to adventure." 

Gloria Goni-Mcateer

Colonialism, Invasive Species, and Climate Change through the Fish Eye Lens

For my ALG grant I traveled to Patagonia, Chile and New Zealand. During this time I worked with scientist studying the impacts of salmon farms, I interviewed policy makers and Department of Conservation employees, I fished with local guides and indigenous tribe members, and I caught and released more fish than I can count! I learned about the dark roots of colonialism, the detrimental social and environmental impacts of introduced species, and how climate change and industrialization is impacting our fisheries.

Clare Casey 

The Dreaming- appreciating Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander expressive arts: Reimagining world-views through models of tradition and identity in a contemporary world.

Expressive arts can be used as a model in the appreciation of who we are, where we come from, and how we operate in a contemporary global worldview. Utilizing the adventure-learning platform, I will activate modes of listening and learning about the journeys of colonized indigenous peoples. This is my opportunity in juxtaposing assumptions, coming directly from a Western-influenced worldview, with the traditional ways of being in the oldest societies on Earth- that of Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders- deepening my understanding of the ‘other’ before and during colonization, and reimagining future modes of leadership and communication in social practice.

 

Speaker Name

Sequoia Pullella-Barca, Gloria Goni-Mcateer, and Clare Casey

Date

Quarter

Spring

Speaker Bio

Clare Casey     I travelled to Australia and Ireland as an divergent outcome of my initial proposal. I studied cultural relationships to story in the parallels of western-colonial landscapes. I spent 3 months in collaboration / volunteering with festivals + gathering spaces both indigenous/non-indigenous led and curated on the Eastern coast. I spent 1 month studying bush-craft camps for children and families as a modality for decolonization and "re-wilding" in present-day landscapes. I interned for a in-home preschool that emphasized Parenting-by-Connection as a pathway to engage with emotion and development in children. Expressive arts was my modality to engage with my personal stories of invasion, assimilation, and integration. This led me to Ireland for ancestral story-work of the colonial overlay. I volunteered with forest schools as a model reconnect youth to natural, healing spaces in Ireland.