Seeking Common Earth
Exploring potential at the heart of the former British empire
Short film by Jason Taylor (The Source Image)
In 2016, David was invited to participate in the Regenerative Development to Reverse Climate Change symposium at the Marlborough House in London, UK. After being asked "what makes a regenerative project?", he started assembling the map that became regen.earth.
The project was a catalyst and kickoff for founding Spherical. In May 2017 we went to London, dressed up, and held an 8-hour High Level Meeting back at Malborough House. David presented on planetary healing and Dawn was the acting chairwoman. We sat around an enormous tropical Ipe wood table ringed by policymakers, politicians, and legendary sustainability leaders. There was a leader of a country at existential risk of disappearing under the Pacific. There was at least one celebrity actor. There was a cameo visit from a royal and his press corps.
The policymakers were skeptical. They leaned back in their chairs. "Sustainable development", for many, has repeated old colonial patterns. Presentations on the potential of agroecology were met with surprise: this is how my grandparents farmed, said the representative of a Caribbean country, incredulous after years of contending with corporate agricultural monopolies.
Common Earth’s mission is to regenerate the wealth of Earth’s commons. It seeks to elevate and resource organizations that are doing large-scale ecological restoration and regeneration, to increase the biocapacity of the planet and draw legacy carbon down from the atmosphere.
Alongside the Commonwealth Secretariat and its partner NGO, Cloudburst Foundation, Spherical presented and introduced regenerative development to government leaders on a global stage, led strategic planning, and conceived of the Common Earth brand.
For additional context, see Daniel Christian Wahl's Human and Planetary Health: Ecosystem Restoration at the Dawn of the Century of Regeneration.
Press
Ben Quinn
Albert Bates
