Leading the Change We Want to See in the World

This advanced 9-month program is a hands-on, skill based training devoted to helping students develop leadership skills to further sustainable and regenerative practices in their personal and professional lives. Through authentic experience with the natural world, participants graduate with the embodied knowledge of how to design powerful communities, regenerate ecosystems and facilitate positive community change.

Weaving together the teachings of Regenerative Design, Nature Awareness, 8 Shields Cultural Mentoring and the Ecology of Leadership, the RDNA program offers a comprehensive exploration of where we came from, where we are now and where we are going. With an emphasis on building meaningful relationships with the earth, our communities and ourselves, we move into an understanding of our role within the community as an integral part of the natural world.

Our instructors are a team of fully engaged visionaries working in Regenerative Design, Nature Awareness, Cultural Mentoring and Leadership. Through their years of experience working locally and around the world, our instructors have gathered tools that are highly effective in creating resilient leaders, cultural systems and landscapes. They weave these tools together into the dynamic and lifestyle that makes up the RDNA program.

Curriculum

“As the year goes on I want to talk about it less and less, and do it more and more.” - RDNA ’08 Graduate

The core curriculum of the RDNA Program includes four major areas of focus:

Regenerative Design

• Regenerative Design
• Nature Awareness
• Ecology of Leadership
• 8 Shield Cultural Mentoring and Core Routines

Regenerative Design is a solutions-based approach to creating vibrant ecologies and exuberant cultures that continue to generate a surplus of fertility and vitality for generations to come. Rooted in deep observation, understanding, and knowledge of place, these systems are not only restored to a better, higher, or more beneficial state, but they continue to improve over time.

In practicing Regenerative Design, we acknowledge the many relationships that make up life and the interconnections between them. We look for ways to enhance those relationships to benefit the present and future generations, while also honoring generations of the past. In Regenerative Design we consider humans as a keystone species, and as such the lines between human settlements and the natural world begin to fade. Read more...

Study in Nature Awareness

In RDNA, we emphasize nature awareness through direct sensory experience. We recognize that our senses, minds, and bodies have developed in rhythm with the natural world, and that continual primary contact with nature is beneficial and needed for optimal health and well-being.

When this type of encounter is repeated over and over, day after day, deep connections form between the individual and place. Roots form on an emotional level as a sense of peace, curiosity, and wonder develop. At the same time, a network of new neural pathways in the brain begins to form and the consciousness literally expands to encompass the rich variety of textures, scents, sounds, and images of nature. Lasting memories are formed during this type of deep sensory immersion.

Through both the visceral (hands-on, sensory learning) and the technical (lecture, journaling and research), the RDNA participant will not only increase their understanding of the natural world, but begin to feel like an integral part to the natural community. Read more...

Some of the skills, topics and techniques you'll be immersed in are:

• Naturalist Inventory Skills
• Sensory Awareness Expansion and Applications
• Journaling and Researching
• Awareness of Hazards in Nature
• Using curiosity as a mentoring tool
• Mammal track identification and natural history
• Low growing plants, identification and natural history
• Basics of ecology and ecological indications and keystone species
• Heritage Species
• Woody Shrubs and Trees, id and natural history
• Earth Living Skills- shelter, water, fire, food
• Understanding the language of birds and basic bird ID
• Experiencing and exploring baseline behaviors, tracking and recognizing concentric rings

Study in the Ecology of Leadership

We are nature. We are not separate. The RDNA program engages leadership that arises from an intimate relationship with the natural world. The more our leadership sources from our connection with the Earth, the more effective we will be as leaders.

Our ‘Inner Ecology’ influences how we show up in our lives and our communities. In the RDNA Program, we explore how our thoughts, mental models, beliefs, and the stories we tell – both about ourselves and those around us - affect our life and our ability to make a difference in our family, community, and chosen work in the world. As we understand and evolve our inner ecology, we become more effective at manifesting our dreams.

RDNA participants will develop skills, habits, and mindsets to improve thier effectiveness in areas such as:

• Inner Tracking
• Designing your life/ Ideal Scenes
• One-on-One mentoring
• Facilitation & Presentation Skills
• Spiritual healing
• Effective communication strategies
• Making and Honoring Commitments
• Project management
• Gaining support for your vision from others
• Using your time effectively
• Bringing all aspects of your life into harmony
• Peacemaking & Non-violent Communication

By integrating these elements, participants will begin to experience leadership as a dynamic process that translates your awareness and insights - about yourself and the world around you - into effective action towards your intended personal and professional goals.

8 Shields Mentoring and Core Routines

Eight Shields is a mentoring model developed over the last 25 years by Jon Young and his team. The guiding philosophy behind 8 Shields comes from the perennial wisdom of nature, and from the earth-based, cultural wisdom of indigenous elders from around the world who have generously offered guidance and teachings in cultural mentoring and community relationships. Read more...

Learning objectives in each of the four branches of the RDNA curriculum – Regenerative Design, Nature Awareness, Ecology of Leadership and Cultural Mentoring – are achieved through 8 Shields Mentoring and a series of Core Routines. The RDNA Core Routines help RDNA participants create a lively, rich and fun learning village. Some of the primary core routines are listed below:

“I've grown more fully into myself, and have felt a major shift in my own passion for learning and zest for life. Looking into the eyes of my peers, I see this same inspiration reflected in them.” ~RDNA ‘05 graduate

Words from our Grads

“RDNA offered me the opportunity to deepen my relationship with the natural world & myself. Using sustainable living practices &native technologies I began to sense a way of being in the world that previous to RDNA I did not know existed.”
-Bethany, RDNA 2005-06

“RDNA has been such a great expereince. I can't thank everyone enough. I feel so blessed and so gifted to have been in this program." -Graduate, RDNA 2007-08

"Sometimes I flip through my notebook from class and I am just blown away all over again by all the wisdom and deep teachings we were exposed to in that program. Definitely the best thing I've done in my life up to this point."
-Lydia, RDNA 2005-06

“Trust the program and trust that in every moment there is an opportunity to learn...You are the one who makes it happen. If you take one little step, your teachers--human, nature and spirits--take big steps toward you. Take this opportunity for yourself and for this planet.”
-Greet, RDNA 2007-08

“It is awesome to truly feel how my awareness has grown over the past years, and how I can use it where ever I go and whatever I am doing.”
-Graduate, RDNA 2007-08

“I have learned a lot about mentoring and put skills or methods into my body that I could not have imagined. I also felt changes in my body that I could not have imagined. I grew in ways I did not know I could. "-Graduate, RDNA 2007-08

"I'd hate to meet the person who wouldn't benefit from this program."
"When there's a better school out there you'll be too old to care."
"If a better program ever manifests, it will be founded by a graduate of this one."
"It's a good thing you make so many friends here 'cause you may lose some to jealousy."
"At the end of every week your friends will bug you to tell them all you've learned."
"It works better than therapy and it's cheaper too." -Julian, RDNA 2005-06

"I walked into this program as part of a culture that is increasingly disconnected from nature, one that views nature and humanity as separate entities, pitted against one another. We’re inundated with information and distractions in our modern world that magnify this void, and the cost not only effects our environment, but also our opportunity to truly be a human being and live a full, balanced existence in harmony with all around us. This program has provided me the tools to not only be a better steward of the environment, but to realize my potential as a person." -Zach, RDNA 2005-06

"This year’s program was the transition I needed to go from having a sense of interest in Permaculture and nature, to being grounded in the experience. I now have a strong conviction to follow this path." -Isaac, RDNA 2005-06

"I have always considered myself an outdoorsy person, a nature lover. After one year of RDNA I have a whole new relationship with nature. Now when I walk outside I feel a part of the outdoors, and not only am I still a sincere nature lover, I am able to love everything! P.S. RDNA rocks!" -Dave, RDNA 2005-06

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College Credit

Beginning in Fall '08, RDNA Students will be eligible to earn a BSc or MSc through registering concurrently with Gaia University International Read More.

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How to Apply

Application & Deadlines

First Year Students:
To apply, download an application form and return it to us with a $45 application fee. You will be notified within 1-2 weeks of your application results. As you plan your application submission, keep in mind early registration discounts outlined above. Deadline for applications is August 15, 2008.

Returning Students:
Second Year students download your application here .

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Tuition

Tuition for the RDNA Program includes enrollment in the 7-Day Art of Mentoring Workshop in September and the Bird Language Intensive in Spring, 2009. Rates for first year and returning participants are as follows:

Tuition - 1st Year
$9650 Full tuition (payment due by September 1)

Early bird discounts:
$8900 Paid in Full by June 1
$9150 Paid in Full by July 1

Tuition - 2nd Year (Continuing RDNA students)
$6150 Full tuition (payment due by September 1)

Early bird discount:
$5000 Paid in Full by May 15
$5650 Paid in Full by June 15

Regenerative Design Institute
PO Box 923
Bolinas, Ca 94924

Course Cancellation Policy
A full refund minus a $350 non-refundable fee (for administrative fees and classes attended) will be granted through the end of the first week of the program.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Where do people live while they are taking the program?
At this time, we do not have any on-site housing available. Participants have chosen to live in various locations throughout the bay area. When housing opportunities arise among our friends and collaborators, we share that information with new and returning students.

Are there any scholarships or worktrade option available?
There are none availalbe at this time. We are pursuing funding and donations to offer scholarships in the future.

Can I pay my tuition via a payment plan?

RDI offers the following payment plan for participants unable to pay in full before the start of the course:

$5000 paid by September 1, 2008
$2345 paid by November 1, 2008 (includes $20 admin fee)
$2345 paid by January 15, 2009 (includes $20 admin fee)

RDNA participants agreeing to a payment plan submit post dated checks for all payments. RDI keeps the checks on file until the payment date.

Please contact our office to arrange a payment plan.

Will I need to study outside of class time? Is there time to work outside of the program?

Participants engage in weekly assignments (home play), designed to enhance the richness of the RDNA curriculum. The quantity and focus areas are co-created between each participant and RDNA staff. Participants are also encouraged to do home reading in relation to the weekly curriculum topics.

Some participants choose to work during the program, and others focus soley on their RDNA studies. The kinds of jobs that various participants have held include work in NGOs, restaurants, education, landscaping, self-employment, or any part-time work that is flexible to the RDNA schedule. Local work opportunities are passed through the RDNA list serves.

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