Episode 37: On deep ecology, ecological identities and the Council of All Beings, with John Seed

In this special episode of Animals & Us – Voices of a New Paradigm, we share an impromptu conversation with legendary environmental activist and deep ecologist John Seed.John has spent over four decades defending rainforests and advocating for the Earth - not only through direct action, but by inviting us to transform how we see ourselves in relation to the natural world. As the founder of the Rainforest Information Centre and co-author of Thinking Like a Mountain, John’s work has inspired a generation of changemakers, spiritual ecologists, and everyday people yearning for reconnection.We speak with John about the roots of the Deep Ecology movement, the role of grief and love in environmental action, and the power of the Council of All Beings workshops to awaken ecological identity. Our conversation explores what it means to shift from seeing the Earth as “other” to remembering that we are the Earth, and that our activism, care, and listening arise from that sacred belonging.This is a gentle yet powerful episode with someone whose life reminds us that protecting the planet is not just an act of urgency - but of reverence.Follow John's work at:https://www.facebook.com/johnseed.deepecology        https://www.instagram.com/johnseed_deepecology/  Substack at https://substack.com/@johnseed  Occasional blog posts at htpps://johnseed.netSchedule, podcasts, essays, films etc. at https://rainforestinfo.org.au/johnseed.htm-NOTE: Avantika's PhD research is funded by the European Union (ERC Consolidator, ANICOM, 101124189). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.ANICOM - Animal Communicators: Intuitive interspecies communication as a key to dialogic multispecies methodshttps://anicom.uliege.be/