Summary Report of the workshop held on 5th July 2026 in the Park Ecovillage Findhorn. The following is adapted from an article for the Rainbow Bridge written by Carolin Waldmann:

Generative Potential Rocks

YCYS Ecology images

When I first signed up for this four-hour workshop, I imagined a very different experience. Having recently completed a year in academia, I expected to spend much of the afternoon exploring archive materials through the lens of my latest studies. Instead, the event unfolded in a way I could never have imagined…

From our opening introductions, with more than ten people gathered around the candle, I sensed already a wonderful feeling of inspiration and possibility. Rather than focusing on archives, the workshop became for me a living experience of co-creation with (human) nature. This gave rise to what I now call “Generative Potential” and yes, it rocks 😉.

The space naturally evolved into an open-space format where conversations, questions and shared curiosity could emerge freely. For me, it became an inquiry circle held through active listening around themes close to my heart: deep ecology, the performing arts and creativity – and their interbeing. As the afternoon unfolded, our inquiry moved into garden space where a small group explored ways of connecting more deeply with the other-than-humans, using our bodies to experience relationship, presence and place. My free flow time was completed with Swan offering an experience of her Findhorn Oracle Deck, held by the four directions and grounded in the energies of the land & cards, and with Gus (the cat) quietly witnessing and holding the space from outside the window 😉.

We gathered together at the end to share reflections, weaving our individual experiences into a collective story, and to synthesise further and distill forthcoming invitations.

I would also like to mention the generous hospitality. During our free-flow time, I enjoyed delicious homemade treats, including some wonderfully indulgent Booja-Booja. Cornelia and Sylvia offered not only a welcoming space but also thoughtful care that helped creativity and conversation flourish.

I leave the workshop with one phrase still echoing in my mind: Generative Potential Rocks. It reminds me that when we create space for listening to each other, to ourselves and to the living world, our inquiry blossoms into unexpected possibilities.

I hope many of you will join the next workshop on 6th August as we continue our inquiry, this time focussed on the theme of economy.

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Emerging Themes

Looking across the opening circle, breakout groups, and closing reflections, a handful of themes recurred throughout the session:

  • Bridging the founders’ legacy and the present
    Several participants named a felt gap between the original founders’ direct communication with devas and nature spirits and the Community’s current practice — wondering whether that history is being romanticised or whether it can be meaningfully re-integrated today. This tension between honouring origins and finding a living, contemporary expression of them ran through much of the sharings.
  • Life co-creating with life — dissolving separation
    Reframing “co-creating with the intelligence of nature” as “co-creating with the intelligences in all life” resonated with many. It captured a wider horizon, moving away from human/nature as separate. Said in another way: “I am ecology” rather than “the environment is out there.” Co-creation isn’t a technique applied to nature, it’s a relationship of mutual belonging.
  • Small, embodied, and intimate shared experiences
    In the free-flow time, the group repeatedly chose small-group, felt-sense experiences and affirmed in the closing reflection that this inward “community glue” was seen as necessary groundwork before any larger work of service could be offered to the wider world. That service to the world was acknowledged as a core motivation for the collective engagement.
  • St Leonard's grow boxes 2 photo Romany BuckPractical projects growing from personal inspiration
    Concrete ecological work kept surfacing as deeply personal: a community garden carrying on from a late cousin’s legacy, paying close attention to the small creatures in the natural environment all around us, music as a gateway through the veil to perceiving subtle realms, a deep sense of being witnessed by the land, as we move through nature.
  • Progress over perfection; allowing the space for emergent creativity:
    The group self-organised using Open Space techniques to let things unfold organically. The lack of a forced agenda seen as crucial for unexpected concrete outcomes.
  • Building the future by first gathering the past
    One of the projects that emerged in the conversations was the proposed “Community Centre of the Future”. There was a call for gathering the stories of the old CC in a “Storyfest”: before planning  a future CC, the group suggested we gather and honour memory, thereby clearing stagnant energy, through storytelling, as a precursor to creation.

Action Items & Next Steps

Participants expressed deep gratitude for the safety and intimacy of the gathering, and a shared sense that the Community is “rebirthing” something magical. The group concluded that small, intimate meetings held in personal homes are a sustainable and effective way to dream, create, and build the Community’s future together.

  • Sharing groups: continue this format of conversation in intimate settings, beyond the events offered by COIF.
  • Deep Ecology: a sharing circle exploring bringing the Council of All Beings to the Community.
  • Co-Creation Sharing Circles: past, present, and future — evolving co-creation with all life.
  • Studio Group: the group who produced the group drawing (first photo) will continue to meet and explore.
  • Love WellsLovewells: organising a walk to the three Lovewells in the Ecovillage to re-energise them.
  • Community Centre of the Future: self-building it as a shared, co-creative endeavour.
  • CC Storyfest: sharing stories of memories and experiences of the past Community Centre.
  • Community Experience Week: a week for residents to share and experience together.
  • The Garden Project: Romany’s gift-economy, rewilding space at St Leonard’s church grounds, open for visitors to see and to pick herbs; she plans to write up its story.
  • Hinterland Walks: Alan welcomes company while exploring the land — his pace is slow and intensive, sometimes spending twenty minutes with a single small thing. He invited people to join the Biodiversity Walk on 11th July, or to simply approach him if seen out on the Hinterland.
  • Money Game: organise a gathering to play the Money Game.

upcoming eventsSchedule of events over next few weeks:

The following events, shared by workshop participants, reflect the breadth of ecological and creative activity currently happening across the Community.

11 July Biodiversity Walk, Alan Watson Featherstone — Findhorn Hinterland Trust
13–19 July Homecoming in Song and Stillness, Barbara Swetina, Universal Hall
19 July Sunday Slot: The Living Time Capsule — Shaping the Future of Ecovillage Findhorn’s Past Together, Lydia Pappas, with Cornelia Featherstone and others, Universal Hall
1 August EF CBS Summer Gathering and Universal Hall Fundraiser Dorota Owen
2 August Whispers of the Unseen Carolin Waldmann
6 August Your Community, Your Story — Economy – the COIF Team
8 August Enterprise Fair — Ekopia
9 August Fire Ritual with Findhorn Spirit Oracle Cards Swan Treasure

and of course the big Phoenix Rising Ecology conference from 16-20 October Healing our World: From Despair to Repair – Dorota Owen

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Watch this space for outcomes and links to stories created in this workshop: