In this issue we question what change actually asks of us, and how change happens.

After a series of underperforming albums, in 1971 David Bowie stood in front of a mirror and wrote himself a way out. With the song ‘Changes’, he urged himself to “turn and face the strange” – lyrics that many biographers have read as a manifesto for the reinvention that defined his career. 

It is easy to imagine change as something that begins somewhere else. It’s harder to recognise that it also asks something of us: that we loosen our grip on familiar ways of living. As writer Sophie Strand observed in the May/June issue of Resurgence & Ecologist, perhaps the strange is not some distant future, but sobriety itself – the clear-eyed recognition of how deeply our lives have become entangled in systems of extraction and separation. 

THEME: CH-CH-CHANGES

The soft body of the turtle

What if humanity's greatest strength is not competition but cooperation? Kate Raworth and Jeremy Lent explore the conditions that allow our 'soft bodies' to emerge – and how new economic ideas, democratic practices and living alternatives can help us build an ecological civilisation

CONNECTED LIFE

Stories do more than document change – they can help bring new systems into being. Looking back on ten years of the podcast Farmerama Radio, Abby Rose reflects on how telling the stories of ecological farmers has helped reveal an emerging food system that others have gone on to join

REVIEW

Upcoming events

Resurgence Talk: Sharon Blackie –

‘Why we need fairy tales now’

Wednesday 30 September • 6—7pm BST • via Zoom

Fairy tales arise from times of uncertainty and upheaval, and every fairytale heroine begins her journey with catastrophe snapping at her heels. Drawing from her latest book, Ripening, Sharon Blackie will illuminate the ways in which fairy tales reflect the realities of our lives today, helping us to see the new possibilities that rise to the surface when broken systems are cracked open.

Sharon is an award-winning author, speaker and teacher, and a psychologist with a background in mythology and folklore. She is the founder and director of the Nostos Institute, which offers a rooted, intellectually rigorous and deeply imaginative path to personal and collective re-enchantment.



Sharon is the author of seven books of fiction and non-fiction, including the bestselling If Women Rose Rooted and Hagitude. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and an Honorary Member of the UK Association of Jungian Analysts. Her much-loved publication The Art of Enchantment is a global Substack bestseller, reaching over 60,000 people.

Online writing course: ‘Landscapes’

with Craig Jordan-Baker

Thursdays 15 October • 7—8.30pm BST

to 12 November • 7—8.30pm GMT

via Zoom

Landscape is never simply a backdrop, never mere ‘scenery’, but is a canvas of human concerns: our aspirations, our worries and our ideas of who we think we are. Each session in this series combines an inspiring lecture with writing prompts and a chance to share your thoughts and words with others. Craig Jordan-Baker will explore how landscape reflects the most powerful human emotions, focusing on fascinating texts that speak to the themes of perfection, wonder, fear

and romance.

Craig is a senior lecturer in creative writing at the University of Brighton, with an interest in the representation of place, landscape and Nature. He regularly runs Nature-writing workshops and leads foraging walks for a variety of organisations.

Early bird tickets are available at 20% off until 18 September. Book now to secure your place.

Autumn Equinox celebration: meditation, ancient wisdom, reflection and

Nature connection

Tuesday 15 September • 6.30—7.30pm BST • via Zoom

At the Autumn Equinox, we cross the threshold into the darker, slower half of the year, when the nights are longer than the days. Let us greet and honour the darkness whilst nurturing lightness, contentment and gratitude within us so that we can be resilient and active stewards of the Earth. 



As the leaves begin to turn, let us release the old to make way for the new. As hedgehogs and dormice begin hibernation preparations, let us begin nurturing our ability to rest.

Embark on a journey that will bring you into greater harmony with yourself and with the natural world. We will honour the Earth and our place in the web of life through guided meditation, Nature connection, and self-reflection.

Georgie Gilmore has a deep love for the Earth. Her passion for the natural world, her grounded presence and carefully curated, Earth-inspired meditation journeys evoke insight, connection and change.

Resurgence recommends

Photography credit © Christopher John

Preston Manor & Gardens 

Preston Drove, Brighton, BN1 6SD

Step inside Brighton’s only historic country house and discover a world of Edwardian glamour, hidden stories and real-life drama.

Explore the elegant rooms of the Thomas-Stanford family, uncover the lives of the servants below stairs and see Brighton’s history from a whole new perspective.

Preserved by registered charity, The Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust, to keep local heritage alive, this historic estate offers an immersive blend of history, nature and visual art.

Emerging Earth

Monday 14 - Friday 18 September • 42 Acres, Somerset



Emerging Earth is a four-day gathering at 42 Acres in Somerset from 14 to 18 September, bringing together land skills, nature connection, spirituality, creativity and practical learning.

Across 173 acres of regenerative land, the programme includes foraging, wild food, medicine making, meditation, creative practice, music and conversation. A limited number of funded places are available, including for educators, alongside residential and day tickets.

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