“We shall not be overwhelmed.” ~Britt Wray with Unthinkable
Climate Cafés … reimagined!
This is your invitation to join our Climate Café Gatherings! These events offer a warm and supportive space to explore the feelings surrounding climate change, like grief and anxiety. Drawing on training from the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America, we’ll guide inclusive conversations in a nurturing way. We hope you’ll join us! Climate Café Gatherings
Last Monday of the month, 6-7:30 pm Central on Zoom
Hot Times in the Heartland: A New Documentary
Exploring a local response to climate change in Kansas. Read more …
K.C. Area Nature-Connected Events
Embrace Kansas City’s wild side – join our nature-inspired gatherings today and connect with fellow nature enthusiasts. Click for upcoming events.
Four Steps for a Resilient Life
Schedule a private Four Steps for a Resilient Life Workshop for your organization, association, or cause.
Three Important Research Studies
Four Steps for a Resilient Life: Research Results from a Novel 6-Hour Workshop
Mindfulness and Resilience Training for Climate Activists: Pilot Data from a Novel 9-Week Curriculum
Join Us!
- 3rd Tuesdays every month 7:30 pm CT – join in for our JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Book Club!
- KC Area friends, join our upcoming Nature Connected events!
New On the Blog
- Promoting Well-Being and Community Through Action for Happiness by Naomi Latini Wolfe
- Four Steps for a Resilient Life: a simple guide to set intention in your life as an environmental activist by Indigo Gilmore
- Stories of Hope in our Changing Climate, a compilation of our most hopeful and uplifting blog posts
- Climate Activists and Psychological Distress by Sami Aaron
Learn more with our Media Kit
Participate!
We’d love to have you join us at our upcoming events.
Overwhelmed by Climate Change and the Other Crises of Our Time?
You’re Not Alone.
In times of political instability and widespread injustice, our Resilient Activist Conversations (formerly Climate Cafés) allow you to connect with an activist-minded community navigating many of the same challenges you are. Together, we’ll share space, restore our energy, and explore practical ways to stay resilient amidst the emotional weight of our times.
Together, we cultivate strength as a united community of #ResilientActivists, empowered to create the change we wish to see in our world. Our shared mission transforms these simple gatherings into powerful forces for renewal as we face the polycrisis head-on.
Running for about 90 minutes, our Resilient Activist Conversations include an introspective meditation, exploration into the activist topics attendees wish to discuss (i.e., burnout, intense emotions, nature connection, etc.), breakout room conversations, and an ending group discussion.
There is nothing for you to commit to except to gather your favorite beverage, a journal, find a comfortable spot with your Zoom window open, and just be you.
Each session includes facilitators from The Resilient Activist as well as a Climate-Aware Therapist to guide the conversations in ways that are supportive and nurturing.
Want to see our Resilient Activist Conversations flourish and expand? Your donation, if you’re able, empowers us to grow and reach even more people. Support The Resilient Activist today!
Register here for our May Resilient Activist Conversation.
Here are some musings from past participants:
“Each time I attend [a Resilient Activist Conversation], I feel more connected to others, knowing that our communal love for Mother Earth is so strong and enduring. I come away more grounded, knowing that in the midst of so much chaos, there is compassion, care, and action for all living creatures.”
“Community support is vital for dealing with anxiety around environmental issues. I’m so happy TRA has facilitated discussions like tonight’s [Resilient Activist Conversation] and I look forward to future conversations.”
“I faced my problem, now I can work on it. This is huge.”
“If you are looking for like minded people who are working in a positive way toward goals for climate advocacy, this is your group!”
Boots on the Ground Volunteer Fair 🥾
Saturday, May 31st, 2025 | 1 to 4pm
Second Presbyterian Church (318 E 55th St, Brookside MO)
In our current climate, there is a lot to protest about, call our legislators about, campaign for, and volunteer for. People want to take action.
But how do they get started?
This upcoming Boots on the Ground Volunteer Fair connects Kansas City citizens ready to take action with local organizations fighting for a more equitable, accountable, and inclusive country for all people. The Resilient Activist is proud to be tabling at this event.
The fair is hosted by Boots on the Ground Midwest, a grassroots organization that mobilizes and motivates our community in response to the current crisis in our federal government.
No registration needed for attendees. If you represent a nonprofit or organization and wish to table at the event, fill out this form.
Whether you’re just getting started or have been in this work for years, your voice matters—join us! ✨
Yoga in the Park: A Community Resilience Event
Date: May 31, 7-8 PM
Location: 45th & Gillham, South End of Park
Join us for a special evening of resiliency and connection as Sarah Mayerhofer leads a sunset flow designed for all levels of yoga.
Whether you’re new to yoga or have been practicing for years, this class will offer a supportive space to cultivate resilience, both individually and as a community.
Bring your mat, some water, and a friend — and let’s come together in the beautiful outdoors to nurture our minds, bodies, and spirits.
Why we offer mindfulness events…
We live in a world that promotes chronic busyness, distraction, and negative news. Our mindfulness events offer people new perspectives, renewed energy, and enhanced clarity that empower them to show up better prepared to face life’s demands.
In times of change, yoga helps us build strength, balance, and connection to the world around us. Yoga is not simply a chance to exercise or improve flexibility (though those are helpful additives) — it’s a change to slow down, rely on the power of breath to ground us into presence, and come back into our bodies.
Let’s embrace this moment of collective renewal.
We can’t wait to see you at Gillham Park! 🧘🏽
If you have questions, contact Sarah Mayerhofer at saamayerhofer@theresilientactivist.org.
Northeastern Kansas Beekeeper’s FunDay 2025 🐝
Date: Saturday, June 7th, 2025
Time: 7:15am – 6pm
Location: Douglas County Fairgrounds (2110 Harper St, Lawrence, KS)
Register here!
Amidst disheartening 2025 Colony Loss (which will be explored in Dr. Judy Wu-Smart’s Keynote address), it’s vital for beekeepers to share knowledge, learn from one another, and grow into community together.
Join the Northeastern Kansas Beekeeper’s FunDay 2025: an annual educational and family-fun event for bee enthusiasts of all backgrounds! Attendees will enjoy informative workshops, a keynote speaker, swarm demo, lunch, honey ice cream, and much more.
Bee FunDay Speakers include…
🌻 Anna Graether – K-State Master Naturalist, Native Gardener, and The Resilient Activist Board Member
🌻 Amy Vu – Specialized Agent & Extension Agent II, U of Florida (link)
🌻 Kim Mehalick – former president of Maryland State Beekeepers and EAS Master
🌻 Dr. Judy Wu-Smart – University of Nebraska, Lincoln Assistant Professor & Ext. Specialist
🌻 Eugene Makovec – Speaker, Editor of American Bee Journal
We are excited to have Board Member Anna Graether present Gardening for Wildlife: Planting with Purpose (hosted before by The Resilient Activist) from 3:45 – 4:40pm at Dreher South, Douglas County Fairgrounds.
For the evening, an optional dinner will be catered by Stanley James SmokehouseBBQ for $20.00/person. Please consider joining in for the evening get-together and socializing. 🌯
There will also be a queen rearing workshop for the first 25 participants to contact Joli Winer at (913) 593-3562.
7:15-8:15 Registration, Beverages, Fresh breads & Honey, Silent Auction Set Up. Room 21-South/North
8:15-8:25 Overview of the day and Introductions, Cheryl Burkhead, President. Flory East & West
8:25-9:15 Keynote Address: “2025 Colony Loss”. Dr. Judy Wu-Smart Flory East & West
8:15-12:35 Deep Dive Queen Rearing– must have pre-registered. Dreher Kitchen
See the full schedule below:
Photo Credit: Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Association
Seeds of Life Garden Tour 🪻
Revitalizing Urban Land for People and Nature
Date: Sunday June 8th, 3-5 PM
Location: Seeds of Life Garden in Lee’s Summit
(exact address will be provided at the time of registration)
Register here!
Parking: Street parking available 🅿️
Restrooms: Not available on-site 🚻
At Seeds of Life Gardens, Linda Chubbuck and Stan Slaughter have created an inspiring space where nature and community thrive together. Located in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, the garden stands as a living testament to what is possible when we reimagine vacant urban land not just as a space to be filled, but as a canvas for growth, resilience, and sustainability.
The project began with two residential lots that had been damaged by flooding from the nearby creek. Both homes and utilities were removed, leaving the area abandoned. In January 2022, ownership of these lots was transferred from the City of Lee’s Summit to Linda and Stan, marking the start of a transformative journey.
Seeds of Life Gardens was founded with a clear mission: to benefit nature, the Web of Life, and all creatures—including humans. This mission is deeply rooted in the belief that by healing the land, we heal ourselves. The garden has been designed as an educational space to showcase what can be achieved with urban, vacant ground, offering valuable lessons for the neighborhood, the city, and beyond.
Though the project faces unique challenges, including no water service and the prohibition of fencing due to FEMA flood regulations, Linda and Stan have turned these obstacles into opportunities. Situated on a heavily trafficked walking route, the garden is highly visible, allowing for meaningful engagement and learning. Since its inception, Seeds of Life Gardens has flourished, with hundreds of native perennials and grasses planted in the wildflower garden, 15 fruit trees added to establish a food forest, and a sizable vegetable bed created. The strategic use of berming and soil improvement techniques has allowed the garden to manage floodwaters effectively, while revitalizing the local habitat.
This garden is more than just a beautiful space—it’s a testament to the power of resilience. From two vacant patches of land, Linda and Stan have cultivated an ecosystem where both plants and people thrive. As part of The Resilient Activist’s mission to support sustainability and community-building, Seeds of Life Gardens exemplifies how we can take action on urban land to create something restorative and impactful.
We invite you to visit and witness the progress and life that has emerged from these once-vacant lots. Come and experience the buzzing energy of nature in action, and learn how small, thoughtful steps can create lasting change for both our environment and our communities.
Why we offer mindfulness events…
We live in a world that promotes chronic busyness, distraction, and negative news. Our mindfulness events offer people new perspectives, renewed energy, and enhanced clarity that empower them to show up better prepared to face life’s demands.
We can’t wait to see you at The Seeds of Life Garden on June 8th! 🌻
If you have questions, contact Anna Graether at anna@theresilientactivist.org
For our June 17th JEDI Book Club, we will be reading the anthology Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World, edited by John Freeman.
To register, click here to email Anne Melia, JEDI Book Club organizer.
Building from his acclaimed anthology Tales of Two Americas, beloved writer and editor John Freeman draws together a group of our greatest writers from around the world to help us see how the environmental crisis is hitting some of the most vulnerable communities where they live.
In the past five years, John Freeman, previously editor of Granta, has launched a celebrated international literary magazine, Freeman’s, and compiled two acclaimed anthologies that deal with income inequality as it is experienced. In the course of this work, one major theme came up repeatedly: Climate change is making already dire inequalities much worse, devastating further the already devastated. But the problems of climate change are not restricted to those from the less developed world.
Galvanized by his conversations with writers and activists around the world, Freeman engaged with some of today’s most eloquent storytellers, many of whom hail from the places under the most acute stress–from the capital of Burundi to Bangkok, Thailand. The response has been extraordinary. Margaret Atwood conjures with a dystopian future in a remarkable poem. Lauren Groff whisks us to Florida; Edwidge Danticat to Haiti; Tahmima Anam to Bangladesh; Yasmine El Rashidi to Egypt, while Eka Kurniawan brings us to Indonesia, Chinelo Okparanta to Nigeria, and Anuradha Roy to the Himalayas in the wake of floods, dam building, and drought.
This is a literary all-points bulletin of fiction, essays, poems, and reportage about the most important crisis of our times.
The Longest Light: Illuminating Inner Radiance 🌞
Retreat Date: Saturday June 21st, 10am – 4pm
Location: Rising Ranch in Oskaloosa, KS
Register here by June 18!
As the sun reaches its peak on the longest day of the year, you are invited to pause—to reconnect to the brilliance of the natural world and your own inner being.
The Longest Light is a day-long silent retreat thoughtfully designed to help you soften, reconnect, and remember who you are beneath the noise of daily life.
Nestled amidst the serene beauty of the land at Rising Ranch, this retreat will include periods of reflection and meditation, mindful movement, nature-based sensory exploration, a sound bath, and guided journaling.
The day will be facilitated by a team of mindfulness professionals committed to creating a safe and supportive environment while fostering a sense of shared community.
🧘🏽♀️ Retreat Facilitators
Facilitators include The Resilient Activist Founder and Climate Reality Leader Sami Aaron, Board Certified Music Therapist and Certified Laughter Yoga Leader Rachel Rilinger, and Mindfulness in the Heartland Founder Amy Zoe Schonhoff.
Whether you are relatively new to mindfulness or an experienced practitioner, this one-day retreat is carefully designed to offer you space and support in navigating the complexities of being human.
Let this solstice be your invitation to slow down, soften, and shine.
🌱 About the Venue
Rising Ranch, located in Oskaloosa, Kansas, just an hour from the Kansas City metro and twenty minutes north of Lawrence, Kansas, is a refuge, love-nest, and creative space for education innovator, Katie Boody Adorno and artist, Jay Norton.
Situated on 25 acres of beautifully maintained farmland, Rising Ranch provides scenic spaces and meandering paths ideal for reflection and contemplative practices.
🎟️ Registration Fee: Suggested $120 | Supporter $150 | Reduced $90
Space is limited to ensure an intimate, well-supported experience.
Registration deadline is June 18th!
Labyrinth Walk at Unity Village 🌼
Date: June 28th, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM CT
Location: Unity Village (1901 NW Blue Parkway, Unity Village, MO 64065)
Join The Resilient Activist community and our Board Member, Amy Schonhoff for a meditative walk through the Unity Village Labyrinth.
Welcome to the Unity Labyrinth, a masterpiece of craftsmanship and design. Spanning 6,358 square feet with a three-quarters-mile path, this 90-foot diameter labyrinth is the largest paved labyrinth in the United States. Designed in an 11-circuit medieval pattern, it features wide, wheelchair-accessible paths leading to three granite benches at its center. Created by a renowned stone artisan and completed in 2022, the labyrinth is a sanctuary for reflection and renewal.
Walking the labyrinth allows for focused contemplation on personal challenges, often leading to deep insights. The path inward and back fosters personal revelations. Beneath the stones lie messages and prayers from past visitors, enriching its contemplative atmosphere. This timeless addition, made possible with support from Unity donors, resonates deeply with the spirit of our times.
Why Nature-Connection is Important 🍄🟫
We *are* nature but our culture and lifestyle can separate from our connection with our environment. Re-establishing our sense of awareness and belonging in nature by breaking down barriers and spending more time outdoors helps each of us in different ways. It can reduce anxiety and depression, improve physical health, inspire creativity, improve clarity of thought, facilitate problem-solving, and help us gain perspective.
In a society where loneliness is an epidemic, rediscovering our sense of belonging within nature can help us feel a little less adrift and provide comfort when relationships with others fall short.
Our Walk Leader: Amy Schonhoff
Amy Zoe Schonhoff is the founder of Mindfulness in the Heartland, a certified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction through the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, and a certified teacher of Advanced Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness.
Amy has also served as a nonprofit professional for over 20 years working in arts- and community-based organizations within Kansas City. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family, hiking outdoors, and creating a sanctuary for pollinators in her garden.
As a mindfulness practitioner and teacher, I have found the natural world provides meaningful refuge from the “anxiety of our time” and a splendid setting to explore the magic inherent in being a living, breathing consciousness within this dynamic, interconnected web of life. Through The Resilient Activist, it’s my intention to foster and support a community of like-hearted individuals grounded in mindfulness, wisdom, deep care for the natural world, and commitment to compassionate action.
Contact TRA Board Member Amy Schonhoff at azschonhoff@gmail.com with questions.
Photo Credits: Unity Village
Overwhelmed by Climate Change and the Other Crises of Our Time?
You’re Not Alone.
As summer arrives, bringing warmth and abundance, we find ourselves in a season of sustained growth. The days are longer, and the energy of the earth invites us to deepen our connections—to each other, to our planet, and to the work we do together.
In this vibrant season, our Resilient Activist Conversations (formerly Climate Cafés) allow you to connect with an activist-minded community navigating many of the same challenges you are. Together, we’ll share space, restore our energy, and explore practical ways to stay resilient amidst the emotional weight of our times.
Through shared action and intention, we transform these simple gatherings into powerful opportunities for growth and renewal in your activist practice.
Running for about 90 minutes, our Resilient Activist Conversations include an introspective meditation, exploration into the activist topics attendees wish to discuss (i.e., burnout, intense emotions, nature connection, etc.), breakout room conversations, and an ending group discussion.
There is nothing for you to commit to except to gather your favorite beverage, a journal, find a comfortable spot with your Zoom window open, and just be you.
Each session includes facilitators from The Resilient Activist as well as a Climate-Aware Therapist to guide the conversations in ways that are supportive and nurturing.
Want to see our Resilient Activist Conversations flourish and expand? Your donation, if you’re able, empowers us to grow and reach even more people. Support The Resilient Activist today!
Register here for our June Resilient Activist Conversation.
Here are some musings from past participants:
“Each time I attend [a Resilient Activist Conversation], I feel more connected to others, knowing that our communal love for Mother Earth is so strong and enduring. I come away more grounded, knowing that in the midst of so much chaos, there is compassion, care, and action for all living creatures.”
“Community support is vital for dealing with anxiety around environmental issues. I’m so happy TRA has facilitated discussions like tonight’s [Resilient Activist Conversation] and I look forward to future conversations.”
“I faced my problem, now I can work on it. This is huge.”
“If you are looking for like minded people who are working in a positive way toward goals for climate advocacy, this is your group!”
Speakers Bureau Presentations
The Resilient Activist’s Speakers Bureau offers educational and inspiring presentations and workshops designed to help audiences better understand how they can be a part of creating a healthier planet in ways that also support our well-being. Check out our Speakers Bureau Presentations page for a detailed list of topics.
Thich Nhat Hanh, The Sun, My HeartThe best way to take care of the environment is to take care of the environmentalist.
“Activism is the art of taking action to support, nurture, and protect what we hold dear.” ~The Resilient Activist