Hello Reader
I’m back from vacation which was a lovely nature filled, lake and ocean focused week. sigh.
So, the word that keeps coming up for me is water. Ocean, lake, or river—I can sit for hours watching it's ebb and flow. For me, water is mesmerizing and comforting.
I grew up with the ocean as my playground and spent hours scouring the tidal pools for life. Visiting the Vancouver Aquarium (it was the 1970's) was always fascinating as well, especially the 'touch and feel' pools where I could pick up a sea cucumber and feel it's slimy flesh.
I remember the underwater viewing area, visiting Skana, the resident 'killer' whale. One time, I was aware of Skana swimming alongside me as I moved along the windows. As I sped up, so did she, until we ended up in a race back and forth.
While I’m glad we’ve moved away from keeping wild animals in captivity, I’m also so grateful for those early encounters. They gave me a sense of connection, empathy, and reverence for the living world.
Those experiences shaped my mission today: to help others cultivate a mindset of relationship and reciprocity with nature. Instead of seeing the natural world as just a resource to take from, we can learn to sustain, protect, and live in partnership with the countless other beings—plants, animals, waters.
When we learn to live in reciprocity with nature, we also learn what it truly means to live well.
This week, I invite you to notice one small way you can give back to the natural world—whether it’s picking up litter on a walk, planting something new, or simply pausing to express gratitude for the water, trees, or sky around you.
so many books...
I've been listening to the audiobook of, 'The Lighteaters' by journalist Zoe Schlanger (ironically, while weeding).
Schlanger is on a mission to help us change our minds about plants, taking readers on deep dives into intriguing and controversial topics such as plant senses, behavior, intelligence, communication, and neurobiology.
We learn how plants “know” they’re being attacked by caterpillars, how (despite lacking a nervous system) they mount a coordinated chemical defense to the attack, and release chemicals that signal other plants of the potential risk. We also learn that chemicals released by an attacked plant are detected by parasitic wasps who then attack the caterpillar! Is this evidence of plant consciousness, intention, intelligence, and tool use?
For more listen to the podcast:
what is permaculture?
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“Permaculture is a holistic agricultural and land management design approach that seeks to mimic natural ecosystem patterns to achieve sustainability and efficiency. It’s a philosophy and practice of creating self-sustaining ecosystems by integrating human activity with natural surroundings, with goals of minimizing waste, preventing pollution, and enhancing sustainability, resiliency, and biodiversity.'
— Verge Permaculture
Bill Mollison and David Holmgren coined the term in the 70’s and it’s spread around the world. It’s a regenerative and scientific lens on three basic design ethics: Earth care, People care, & future care. Permaculture designs can restore soil, create habitat for diverse species, replenish water reserves and create the conditions in which life can flourish.
Back in 2011, I took a Permaculture Design course with the dream of starting a business rooted in its principles. I launched a business called Good Garden, creating indoor garden products and exploring urban growing spaces. After a year, practical needs pulled me back into traditional work, and I put that project aside—for now. Still, permaculture principles continue to weave through both my life and my work, shaping the way I live and guide others today.
One of permaculture's design systems for growing food, is a 'food forest'.
In this 15-minute video, Pippa Chapman shares her design and practical low maintenance steps to creating your own food forest:
that back to school feeling
It's feels like Fall here in the Northern Hemisphere, and I have that back-to-school feeling, even though it's been many many years since I went to school.
I know I'm not alone in this feeling, which shows how ingrained old habits can be. So what better time of year to start something new, and release the old.
There are two ways that you can work with me to release what no longer serves you, and build resilience for those many life transitions that you can bog you down.
ROOTS Reset
A one-on-one, five-day series that introduce simple nature-based practices. You'll learn to release old patterns, make space for new growth, and set your intentions for your next phase.
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EMERGE group program
An intimate group over 6 weeks for post-menopausal women in business, focused on resilience, renewed energy, and building your power.
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now this is interesting...
According a research paper on PubMed, When people spend time in natural outdoor environments, the science is loud and clear: 98% of studies show mental-health gains:
-83% physical,
-75% cognitive
with 92% showing improvements overall.
Most factors (78%) actually help people get outside—think accessible “wilder” spaces, chances to move, and less noise/air pollution.
(from this PubMed research article)
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questions?
I hope this newsletter offers you another perspective, peaks your curiosity, and, most importantly, reminds you that you are not alone on this life path.
If you have any questions, please reply to this email.
With deep roots and wide-open branches,
Maria
Maria Verdicchio | Infinite Roots
hello@infiniteroots.ca
Nature-led strategies to live well
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