Columbia Resilience - a Transition Network Town

07/31/2026

Yesterday was World Overshoot Day 2026. This is the day of the year on which the humans of the world have used up as many resources as can be renewed by the Earth's systems for the next year. Thus, the rest of the year is spent in the status of "Overshoot." If all countries expended resources as quickly as the United States does, Earth Overshoot Day would have arrived on March 14. But we're not the worst on the list. That "honor" goes to Qatar, which went into overshoot on February 5.https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/newsroom/country-overshoot-days/

07/24/2026

The first book Columbia Resilience members ever read as a group was Richard Heinberg's "The End of Growth." He has been a guide for so many people seeking a better way to live in relationship to he earth and the other-than-human world. We all will die, of course, but Richard Heinberg's death seems too sad right now.

07/17/2026

Under capitalism we can't use our labor to produce what we need - but only what makes a profit for the owners of the capital.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/25569385872749087

07/13/2026

Folks, the board members of Columbia Resilience are preparing to study The Regeneration Handbook by Don Hall, training coordinator for the international Transition Network. We believe that Don’s book offers a holistic and inspiring vision for the future, based upon understanding our current environmental, economic, and social polycrises and working together for regenerative change. We want to use his ideas to bring out new thinking about how Columbia Resilience can help transform our lives and our community.

Through the generosity of New Society Publishers, we have ten extra copies of Don’s book which we are offering to the first ten people who feel called to step up and explore taking leadership roles in the next iteration of Columbia Resilience. The books can be picked up at the orchard on this Wednesday afternoon, July 15, or we can make other arrangements if that doesn’t work.

Don has provided a downloadable guide for discussing the book. https://evolutionarychange.org/guide In addition, he is doing a free online discussion course based upon the guide, and the sessions for that will start next Sunday, July 19, at 3 pm. The board is going to take part in the first session and then decide whether we’d rather move faster than the eleven sessions provided in the guide.

If you would like to participate, please send an email to [email protected] so we can get you a book by Wednesday afternoon.

While some books are only meant to be read through once, The Regeneration Handbook was intentionally written to be studied, reflected on, discussed, and experimented with. Its many insights, frameworks, stories, tools, practices, and resources need to be contemplated and put into action to be of any...

06/17/2026

If you're not already following Nate Hagens, you should. In this episode, Nate interviews Brett KenCairn, Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and Resilience for the City of Boulder. Among other things, they discuss the difference between "sustainability" and "resilience," and how focusing on living systems regeneration opens the door to broad community participation.

In this episode, Nate is joined by regenerative change practitioner Brett KenCairn for a conversation that reframes the dominant narrative about climate change, emphasizing that it was never just a carbon problem but also one centered on living systems degradation.

06/17/2026

A recent commentary on how social capital - networking across race, class, and economic status - is what will build resilience for the future.

Daniel Aldrich is a leading expert on how social ties shape disaster recovery, his perspective shaped by his family’s flight from Katrina and his work at USAID. In this interview, he explains why social capital is vital to strengthening communities in the face of crises.

06/05/2026

Just a reminder that the orchard is one stop on the Richland County Ag and Art tour all day tomorrow and from 12-4 on Sunday. We'll have local artisans, guided tours, and activities such as nature writing and zine making. Here's hoping you can stop by! And check out this link for ALL the great sites in Richland County.

Welcome to Richland County - part of the South Carolina Ag + Art Tour -- a free, self-guided tour of farms and markets featuring local artisans at every stop!

06/02/2026

We need an economy where we take care of each other.

06/01/2026

This weekend the orchard will again be a tour site for the Richland County Ag and Art Tour. The tour happens from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday June 6, and 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm on Sunday, June 7. We'll have our special design orchard t-shirts for sale and we also have five local artisans who will be selling their custom designs. Find out more about the tour and plan your itinerary at https://www.agandarttour.com/richland. We will also be selling water and baked goods, so if you’d like to help out the orchard by contributing brownies, cookies, or other tasty snacks, please let us know.

06/01/2026

On Saturday, June 13, is our free monthly Community Integrative Health Clinic. Since we take July and August off, this will be the final clinic until September 12. The clinic takes place from 10 am to 2 pm at St. Simon/St. Jude Episcopal Church, 1110 Kinley Road in Irmo. We offer alternative health modalities such as cranio-sacral therapy, gentle massage, sound healing, or qigong, depending upon which healers are present. We also have guided labyrinth walks, and a free lunch is served around 11:30. To register, please call or text clinic director Pam Lorentz at 803-749-1576.