As we approach the end of 2023 and Giving Tuesday tomorrow, I have been reflecting on all I am grateful for and wanted to share a brief recap of OneNature’s exciting year.
Over the last year, OneNature worked closely with our partner, the Happiness Alliance, to refine the “Wild Happiness” well-being approach (designed to assess life satisfaction based on many domains of well-being, including health, community, economy, social support, and individual and community values for the wildlife around them) and tested it! We did a pilot project with IFAW in collaboration. Currently, we are exploring several exciting partnerships with various conservation partners to expand the work to different communities, most notably with communities in Rwanda and Nepal focusing on mountain gorillas and snow leopards, respectively. Developing our understanding of how different communities live with and value wildlife can help us not just support these communities but also expand the way we, as a society, value wildlife and nature in our lives.
There is a critical need to include this community well-being approach in climate change projects, too, and we have collaborated to research and develop a practical, data-driven approach to securing the rights of communities and understanding how they feel about their lives and the benefits of the project. Again, the lessons learned here can support communities in these projects and a societal shift. We don’t have to be afraid of the changes that will make the climate more sustainable if they are done in a way that can help us lead happier lives.
I was honored to have several opportunities to share OneNature’s work over the past year. I was named one of the Explorers Club 50 (50 people the world needs to know about) and was invited to present at several academic conferences. I gave the keynote dinner speech at the Animal Grantmakers annual meeting. I also produced and moderated a session on human-wildlife coexistence, “More than an Aspiration: Stories and Lessons of Community, Ancestral, Cultural, and Spiritual Ties to Wildlife,” with amazing panelists at the Jackson Wild Conservation Summit and Film Festival in September. OneNature also became a member organization of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and I became one of the Co-chairs of the Strategy and Policy Subcommittee of the US National Committee.
We have also led, co-authored, and published several peer-reviewed collaborative research papers on stories of spiritual and cultural connections with wildlife. These stories have been a vital part of many Indigenous and traditional cultures, yet some of these traditions are disappearing as these communities focus on competing in a global economy. Deep relationships with animals and nature have been vital to protecting wildlife and wild places for generations, so understanding and documenting these stories is critically important. We continue to enjoy working with local conservation and community partners to capture these stories, understand common themes, and recognize how these relationships can improve conservation and inspire and inform people who may not have grown up in these traditions.
I am especially grateful for the support of our staff, interns, board, and advisors in 2023, as well as followers and supporters. We have only accomplished this work through the tremendous contributions of like-minded, generous, and passionate people!
Our goal in 2024 is to partner with more conservation organizations to better understand, monitor, and improve community well-being in conservation holistically and from the communities’ point of view. We will continue to amplify stories of connection with wildlife and nature. And we hope to achieve financial sustainability in 2024 so we can keep this work going!
We have an active GoFundMe campaign. We are still a tiny (but mighty) organization, and I promise you that we will effectively use any end-of-year, tax-deductible gift you make. Your gift is doubled on Giving Tuesday because of a matching gift from our amazing Board and Advisors!
As we enter the new year, I continue to hope that we can help shift the dominant worldview to be more inclusive of the well-being of other humans, non-human animals, and the planet. We at OneNature are committed to contributing to this shift. We invite collaboration and partnership and appreciate you sharing it with someone who might want to know more!
Thank you,
Beth
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