Why One Resilient Earth?

Most humans are not prepared to live in a world of climate instability. Addressing the impacts of climate change is critical to the health and wellbeing of all the living, and is vital for the most marginalized. To reduce harm at scale, we need to tackle the root causes of today’s climate emergency, and the time is now.

For our team, the climate emergency is both the result and the accelerator of a deeper relational crisis, which stems from a vision of the Earth as resources to tap.  We need to transform together, so that we move away from exhausting ourselves, others and nature for some temporary gain, relief or satisfaction, and start protecting and regenerating all the ecosystems we host and belong to. Only then can we ensure that we cut down greehouse gas emissions and become more resilient to unavoidable climate instability. We do not have much time before damage to the Earth ecosystem becomes irreversible. And even if we had more time, the team has not found a more fulfilling nor joyful work than fostering resilience and regeneration.

We believe that a change has to happen within individuals’ minds and bodies, in how we relate to living beings, time, and space, to foster the transformation we need. We also believe that individuals are resilient, in the sense that they can recover from hurt and trauma, and have the ability to learn and grow continuously. Last, we believe in creativity and daring actions to transform the way we think and act, and give rise to regenerative organizations, movements and cultures.

What do we do?

Our mission is to grow the climate resilience of individuals, communities and ecosystems through learning, so that we can enhance our agency despite climate instability, and are equipped to foster transformation and regeneration.

We support innovative cultural, scientific, and educational projects that are transdiciplinary and nurture belonging, so as to develop and share knowledge, tools and methods for resilience-building. We partner with artists, cultural organizations, scientific institutions, international organizations, local civil-society organizations, and others. We enjoy co-designing projects with partners who are open to growing their inner resilience as they engage into the re-building of communities and/or the regeneration of ecosystems through context-specific initiatives. We mobilize traditional ecological knowledge and modern science, work across disciplines and generations, integrate new technologies when impactful, and value art as a powerful channel for transformation. Last, we are building a transnational community of learning and support to grow our resilience together.

Most of our work today focuses on transformative learning for climate resilience and regeneration, which we co-create both online and in person through our Resilience Nests and the We are One Resilient Earth online community. Other areas of work focus on: new questions & inspiration through Tero magazine; local action & global connection through the Tapestry programme for resilient local communities; and collaboration for cultural & organizational transformation through our Waves of change programme.

You can check our annual reports (2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020) and see our introduction video below:

Who are we?

Laureline Simon

Laureline Simon has been working on climate change mitigation and adaptation at the international level since 2006. At the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, she supported the setting up of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples’ platform, a task force on population displacements related to climate change, and coordinated Resilience Frontiers, an inter-UN agencies collective intelligence process on long-term resilience, which brought together thought leaders in the fields of new technology and sustainability. She started her career with the women-led Indian NGO SEWA, in the Kutch desert, where she learnt a lot about resilience. She draws inspiration from nature and her two children, who help her daily take better care of the Earth. Laureline is the founder and executive director of One Resilient Earth.

Shefali Mehta

Dr. Shefali Mehta is an economist, statistician and coach who supports individuals and communities in reaching their full potential.  She founded and leads Open Rivers Consulting Associates, a science & technology and management consulting firm that emphasizes the environment and holistic wellness.  Dr. Mehta most recently served as Deputy Under Secretary of Research, Education and Economics and Acting Chief Scientist of USDA. She previously served across a variety of private, public and non-profit sectors including McKinsey, Syngenta, and the National Corn Grower’s Soil Health Partnership. Dr. Mehta earned her PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics, MS in Statistics from the University of Minnesota, and MPhil in Economics from Cambridge University.  She advises One Resilient Earth on strategy and operations.

Gwendoline Ducros

Gwendoline Ducros (she/her) studied environmental change at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (the Netherlands) after a bachelor’s degree in economics, and studied abroad at the University of Kansas (US). Her desire to pursue work in climate change was ignited while performing conservation work in nature reserves in Australia. She is passionate about exploring and building climate resilience, and helping raise awareness of the impacts of the climate crisis on mental wellbeing. Based in Denmark, she supports One Resilient Earth with project coordination and research.

Niyanta Shetye

Niyanta Shetye is a graduate from the Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus, Germany, in Environmental and Resource Management and has research interests in climate change communications, with an emphasis on social media. During his studies, he worked with the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat and the UNU-FLORES as a research cross-cutting communications intern, and he now works as a Scientific Assistant at the chair of Public Law, with a focus on Environmental and Planning law. Niyanta is also a passionate landscape and cityscape photographer, and is determined to explore the cosmos of digital photography. Niyanta supports One Resilient Earth in the field of communication.

Jakob Wondra

Jakob Wondra (he/him) studied sustainability science at Lund University (Sweden) and Leuphana University (Germany). His research focused on holistic transformation processes towards sustainability, with an emphasis on artistic and contemplative practices. He founded Fluid Festival, an art and music festival, believing in the power of creative communities and self-organisation. Based in Berlin, Jakob is currently working on building regional organic food supply chains and supports One Resilient Earth in researching, designing and facilitating learning journeys on climate resilience and creative action.

Autumn Trainor

Autumn Trainor (they/she) is a mental wellbeing and climate justice advocate, researcher, activist from Mi’kma’ki and residing in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal, Canada). They have been active in the climate and social justice movements for over a decade. They have taken the knowledge they have gained from their studies and activism, and are working to raise awareness of the effects of the climate crisis on mental wellbeing. They hope to help foster a better understanding and expression of our emotions and enable a healthy progression to regenerative cultures through art-making and care. Autumn supports One Resilient Earth with the Youth Climate Circle, and with research on mental health and climate change.

Clare Celeste Börsch

Clare Celeste Börsch is an international artist whose immersive installations are evocative of our planet’s threatened biodiversity. She is endlessly fascinated by the connections between organisms, the intricacies of ecosystems, the complexity of nature and its resilience and beauty. Clare holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA, and is dedicated to raising awareness and action around the ecological crisis. Her work has been featured by the Guardian, Deutsche Welle, Oprah Magazine, UNESCO, This is Colossal, The Jealous Curator, and My Modern Met. She lives and works in Berlin with her husband and son. Clare advises and supports One Resilient Earth with art, design and Tero Magazine.

Loes Damhof

Loes Damhof was elected Lecturer of the Year 2016 of all higher education in The Netherlands for her innovative practices and passion for teaching at Hanze University. As part of the UNESCO Chair on Futures Literacy in Higher Education, she consults and trains staff of UN organizations, NGOs and corporations on Futures Literacy as a capability to make better informed decisions. As a Futures Literacy Expert, she designs, develops and facilitates Futures Literacy Labs that raise fundamental questions on gender equality, migration, climate change and technology. Currently she is building The Emergence Academy; new school for new activism, that fosters a new attitude towards complexity, uncertainty and the future. Loes supports and advises One Resilient Earth on educational projects.

Leslie Davenport

Leslie Davenport works as a Climate Psychology educator and consultant, integrating social science insights into relevant resources for organizations often exploring the intersectionality of climate, economics, and policy. She helped shape the document by the American Psychological Association, EcoAmerica and Climate for Health: “Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance.” She is the author of four books, including Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change and All the Feelings Under the Sun: How to Deal with Climate Change, and serves as an advisor for the climate nonprofits Project InsideOut and the CO2 Foundation. She is on faculty with the Department of Professional Psychology and Health at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Leslie advises One Resilient Earth on the topic of climate change and mental health.

Who are our supporters and partners?

We are grateful for the support as well as for past and present collaboration opportunities with the following organizations and networks:

Where do we work?

We work all around the world with a network of inspiring people and partner organizations. One Resilient Earth is registered as a non-profit organization (i.e. gGmbH) in Germany and as a 501 (c)(3) charity in the United States. As of now, the team, volunteers and advisors are based in Africa, Europe and North-America.

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Art by Pierre-Emilio Gandini