Ecosphere Studies

In 2015, Wes Jackson convened a conference about how the invention of new perennial grain crops grown in mixtures requires new ways of thinking and making a living within the ecosphere. Since then, Ecosphere Studies has designed events and experiments to bring together researchers, teachers, students, and community members to co-produce and test ecospheric approaches to unlearning and learning.

• Create intergenerational practices and localized models of learning how to provide ongoing care to crops, soils, and land communities
• Develop accessible educational materials and opportunities—such as civic science communities—that share emerging scientific knowledge about diverse, perennial grain agricultures and that empower people to courageously move toward a perennial future
• Grow projects and partnerships that accelerate near-term perennialization for landscapes and people

In addition to colleagues at The Land Institute, our membership includes artists, activists, agroecologists, economists, farmers, geographers, historians, lawyers, philosophers, psychologists, scientists, and writers.

Key collaborators include:

• Bill Vitek, New Perennials Project director, Middlebury College
• Robert Jensen, professor emeritus at the University of Texas-Austin
• Omar Tesdell, Makaneyyat research collective in Palestine

Aubrey Streit Krug presents a series of six experiential learning videos, called Perennial Practice, which introduce The Land Institute’s work, invite us to observe the world more closely, and help us reflect on our outlook and choices.

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The Land Institute’s Ecosphere Studies team and collaborators share their foundational knowledge and perennial inquiry in an educational collection freely available to the public. The Perennial Turn: Contemporary Essays from the Field, edited by Bill Vitek, includes a dozen essays by scholars, activists, and artists including Wes Jackson, Aubrey Streit Krug, Stan Cox, Terry Evans and Rena Detrixhe, who focus on the interaction between people, societies, and the larger living world.

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