Indigenous Arts and Sciences: A Spring 2025 Field Trip to the Forests of British Columbia  with the Awi'nakola Foundation

Partnership Announcement & Call for Applications

Sponsored by the Thinking with Plants and Fungi Initiative in partnership with the Awi’nakola Foundation  

The Thinking with Plants and Fungi (TWPF) Initiative at the Center for the Study of World Religions is pleased to announce a partnership with the Awi’nakola Foundation, which works to preserve the forests of British Columbia through the confluence of Indigenous knowledge, scientific research, and the arts. 

Through this partnership, we will bring a group of Harvard students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers to British Columbia over Spring Break 2025 (March 16-22, 2025) to engage in dialogue with Indigenous knowledge keepers, scientists, and artists of the Pacific Northwest.     

The journey will encompass interactions with local Indigenous communities from Vancouver Island, focusing on topics such as forest ecology, forestry management, Indigenous arts, cases of Indigenous Title and Rights, legal strategies for forest protection, and much more. Participants will stay in a hotel in the Victoria region of British Columbia, with day trips to the forest. Travel, accommodation, and meals are covered. 

This field trip presents an opportunity for students to engage in hand-on learning around themes explored in the TWPF initiative, including forest conservation, Indigenous knowledge, ecology, and the role of the arts in interspecies communication and care.  

Objectives of this trip include: 

• Learn about the ecology, cultural significance, and legal threats and opportunities to coastal temperate rainforests and Indigenous Peoples    
• Experience the ecosystems, species, terrain, and mythology of coastal temperate rainforests  
• Explore multiple perspectives through which to build relationship with land (science, art, legal/policy, spirit)  
• Exchange knowledge, listen and learn from Awi’nakola and partners  
• Cultivate deeper respect and relational practices with forests  
• Be of service and in partnership with local communities   

About Awi’nakola  

Awi’nakola means “we are one with the land and sea.” The Awi’nakola Foundation was founded by a group of Indigenous knowledge keepers, scientists and artists brought together by a common commitment to create tangible solutions for the current climate crisis and educate others through the process. By sharing cross-disciplinary research practices, the group develops ways to heal the planet, heal the people, and change culture.  

Application process  

Applications for the field trip are open until December 20, 2025. Current graduate students in all departments and postdoctoral fellows are welcome to apply; we will consider undergraduates on a case-by-case basis. Applicants will be notified in the new year. Selection criteria include:  

• Relevance of trip objectives to the students’ ongoing research, field of study, or professional goals  
• Previous engagement with the Thinking with Plants and Fungi Initiative through the reading group or other means (preferred)  

Please email plants@hds.harvard.edu if you have questions or concerns.

Background 

The field trip grows out of multi-year programming offered at the center. In 2021, Natalia Schwien and Rachael Petersen co-founded the “Plant Consciousness Reading Group,” which convened Harvard students, faculty, and staff across the disciplines to explore the science, philosophy, mythology, and ethics around plant intelligence. The reading group, now in its third year, expanded into a larger initiative, called Thinking with Plants and Fungi, thanks to a generous grant from the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation. The Initiative offers a range of programming, including a speaker series, workshops, regular commentary, and a conference in May 2025.