Thinking Like a Seed (Lecture)

Presenter

Casey O'Leary, Snake River Seed Cooperative

Publication Date

3-12-2026

Document Type

Presentation

Abstract

What can seeds teach us about adapting to change and uncertainty? What does a forest show us about cooperation and belonging? Turning to the natural world as a rigorous field of study not only offers us an endless well of intrigue, but also solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face. We are living in a time ripe with division, but even something as simple as planting and tending a seed brings us immediately into interconnection with a whole host of other fascinating beings. And when we join together with folks who also recognize these “others” as the wise teachers they are, our collective imaginations unlock and we are able to envision - and enact - a multitude of plausible, breathtaking alternatives to business-as-usual.

Comments

Thinking Like a Seed is the 2026 Marion Calomeni Memorial Lecture for The Idea of Nature Lecture Series.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.