#54 Scotty Johnson

This month, Mary had the chance to speak with career environmental activist, Scotty Johnson. Scotty has spent the last forty years working in conservation, climate education, and as a Permaculture design specialist. During his time, he's lectured extensively for former Vice-President Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, served as National Outreach representative for Defenders of Wildlife and founded the Lanai Permaculture Institute.Through it all, Scotty has retained a passion for healing inherited from his father who worked as a country doctor in rural Arizona. Tending social ecologies, Scotty studied integrative medicine and Transpersonal psychology with pioneers like Andrew Weil and Stanislav Grof, investigating ancient healing methods practiced by the Tibetan Bon, Celtic, and other cross-cultural traditions. These explorations revealed that the Earth, like the human body, has an innate intelligence, keeping all functions healthy and balanced. Scotty believes that integrating different perspectives to engage this intelligence is uncharted territory with tremendous potential to hasten global restoration. He founded Taproot, a nonprofit effort based in Tucson, AZ, to further this awareness. You can learn more about Scotty Johnson by visiting the Taproot website https://taprootcollaborative.org/ . For exploring the integration of social ecological work, Scotty suggests the readings listed below. And remember, as Scotty emphasized, take precious care of yourselves and don’t give up.Readings:"Dream of the Earth." Thomas Berry."The Secret Teachings of Plants." Harold Buhner."Braiding Sweetgrass." Robin Wall Kimmerer"Entangled Earth." Merlin Sheldrake."Cosmos and Psyche." Richard Tamas.MUSICGuitar 5 - Music by Johnson Cherian from PixabayClassic Guitar World Music Ajonnah - Music by Jonathan Dube Tembo from PixabaySlow Emotion - Music by Rodolphe Rakotomalala from Pixabay