The Loka Initiative

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The Loka Initiative

UW Madison based, supporting faith-led environmental & climate efforts locally and around the world.

05/29/2026

A few weeks ago, three of our interns concluded their undergraduate careers at UW-Madison! We have been incredibly fortunate to work with these students over the past few years. They have provided the team with so much brilliance, kindness, and hope.

It is bittersweet to watch them go. While they will be missed, we are excited to see them contribute meaningfully to new communities, spread resilience, and help build a better world.

Congratulations Jakob, Nyagam, and Liam! 🦡🦡🦡

05/26/2026

Today, May 26, kicks off a 3 day hybrid conference at Columbia University titled “Living with Climate Change in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau.”

Hosted by Columbia’s Modern Tibetan Studies Program, the conference will bring together scholars, community leaders, and practitioners from the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau to discuss global warming, environmental transformations, community priorities, and the role of Indigenous traditions and creativity in addressing complex and interconnected changes in the Asian Highlands.

Today at 5pm EST, there will be a pre-conference film screening of the documentary “Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth.”

To view other conference offerings and access registration links, visit this webpage: https://mtsp.weai.columbia.edu/content/living-climate-change-himalayas-and-tibetan-plateau

We are deeply honored to be included in this program, and look forward to the conference events!

05/13/2026

♻️ Repost from WWF Science ♻️

Join WWF and the American Psychological Association for the next installment of The Psychology of Resilience, a seminar series exploring how psychological science can strengthen social resilience and sustain conservation action in a changing world.

The upcoming seminar will focus on how cultural traditions, knowledge, and storytelling facilitate conservation across generations. Speakers include Dekila Chungyalpa, Dr. Arthur Blume, and María Inés Rivadeneira.

May 19, 2026 | 9:00 AM PT / 12:00 PM ET

Register for this free, virtual event: https://lnkd.in/gFK_Eere

04/22/2026

35+ Faith Leaders. 12 U.S. States. 8 Countries. 1 Mission.🕊️

This Earth Day, the Loka Initiative is celebrating the global community built at our recent PREP Conference. Our time together wasn’t just a meeting; it was the weaving of a global safety net. We are reflecting on the sacred truth that we are not separate from our current ecological, climate, and social crises—we are the Earth’s own heartbeat, mending itself. This spirit of interdependence fueled our gathering of over 35 faith leaders from 8 countries, spanning from Indonesia to Argentina, to transform spiritual values into actionable climate plans. Healing is a collective act; interdependence is the antidote to collapse. 🌱

Highlight of the week? Keeping the Faith: A Public Symposium - Our community dialogue between global faith leaders and scientists, moderated by Loka’s director in conversation with , ._ambrose_carroll, Dr. Richard J. Davidson .minds, Rev. Kendra Ford , at , , and Phra Woot visiting us from Thailand. From Buddhism to Islam to Christianity, the message was clear: climate action is a sacred duty.

📺 WATCH NOW: Find the full public dialogue on our YouTube channel (link in our bio / Linktree!)

04/16/2026

Happy Thursday ~~

We are honored to share more snippets of our youth screening event from April 9 🤲🏼🌟

Scroll to read about some of the wonderful happenings, and view some original art made by the students!

Thank you to our partners at the Wisconsin Indian Education Association, to the incredible Culture Keepers, and to all the inspiring students who made this event possible.

We will share more in our next newsletter, which you can sign up for at the bottom of our homepage at www.lokainitiative.org 🌠

04/13/2026

Greetings! Loka got up to a lot of things last week and we are overjoyed to share a few of them with you 🫶🏻

🐻 The documentary film “Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth” was screened to a youth audience in the Wisconsin Dells.

🌺 Undergraduates took the lead on putting together an event about climate anxiety and mental health. Loka’s own Dekila Chungyalpa and Dr. Christy Wilson-Mendenhall spoke on a panel about the subject!

🎧 A “Wonder Cabinet” podcast episode on climate change as a spiritual crisis, featuring Dekila Chungyalpa, went live online!

We’ll be sharing more information about these wonderful programs within the coming weeks! Stay plugged into our social channels to learn more about Loka-in-the-world 🤲🏼🌟

04/09/2026

🌼🌳EXCITING EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT🌳🌼
🌼🌳TOMORROW, APRIL 10🌳🌼
Have you ever felt the weight of climate anxiety? Perhaps you’ve heard the term and been curious to understand? Or maybe you’re someone who likes free pizza? Attend this conversation between scientist Dr. Christy-Wilson-Mendenhall and Loka’s director, Dekila Chungyalpa on how our warming world can affect mental health.

This 90 minute event has been organized entirely by undergraduates, who are also providing FREE pizza! 🍕

Join us at Morgridge Hall, at 1205 University Avenue, Madison, WI - (NOT to be confused with Morgridge Center for Public Service on Langdon St. 🤦🏻) - TOMORROW 4/10/26 at 4pm1

Scan the QR code or follow the link below to register!: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-science-and-wisdom-around-ecological-emotions-tickets-1985395862470?aff=oddtdtcreator

04/06/2026

Greetings everyone!

The Loka Team is sharing that we will be on a social media hiatus this week. Our tiny but mighty 4 person on team is moving slowly after our Preparing Religious Environmental Plans in-person convening. It was a truly special week, and we look forward to sharing more with you soon ~

We’ll be back to regularly scheduled posts next Monday, and are each making our way through our inboxes.

Thank you, as always, for all your support! We constantly carry with us gratitude for our ever-growing global community.

We hope you get some rest this week, too!

-The Loka Team

(Photo cred: National Geographic; Quote cred: The Nap Ministry)

03/26/2026

That’s a wrap on PREP Day 3!

Details on the last slide about our public symposium taking place TOMORROW between scientists and faith leaders. Sign up via the link in our bio 🥳

03/25/2026

Day 2 of PREP programming has ended! Check out what we’ve been up to today 🌟🌟🌟

Now it’s time to enjoy Wisconsin cheese, ice cream, then sleep long enough to wake at 7 for morning Tai Chi 💤

See you all tomorrow!

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Madison, WI

Website

https://www.lokainitiative.org/

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