BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//CiviCRM//NONSGML CiviEvent iCal//EN X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261110T130000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:CiviCRM_EventID_279_eb0a7271be48ae642faad4579b5161fe@secure.quakerearthcare.org SUMMARY:Tending the Tenders: Spiritual Care for Those on t he Ecological Front Lines X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Tending the Ten ders: Spiritual Care for Those on the Ecological F ront Lines

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Park rangers watch glaciers retreat from fo rmer visitor overlooks. Wildlife biologists count fewer nests and report on species they may be the last to study. Red Cross volunteers repeatedly ret urn to flooded towns and burned neighborhoods. The se frontline eco-workers bear unnamed grief\, witn essing loss up close and often alone while expecte d to remain professional\, hopeful\, and productiv e.

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This talk names workers’ ecological grief and solastalgia—th e homesickness of watching their places change—alo ngside compassion fatigue from repeated disasters and moral injury when budgets\, staffing\, or poli cy prevent them from protecting what they were cal led to protect. Much of this grief goes unrecogniz ed by employers\, the public\, and sometimes the w orkers themselves.

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Drawing on my work as a Buddhist eco-chaplai n\, I’ll describe how chaplains accompany grief ra ther than fix or reframe it—offering presence\, be aring witness\, and making room for sorrow\, anger \, and love. I’ll share practices that help worker s stay connected to their purpose without being co nsumed by it\, and explore how Buddhist teachings on impermanence\, interdependence\, and compassion ground this work.
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Ram Appalaraju is a caring Buddhist practition er\, teacher\, and contemplative eco-chaplain whos e inspiring work connects meditation\, service\, a nd social care. Ram also contributes as a faculty member of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies\, e nriching contemplative education on eco-chaplaincy . < span style="text-decoration-color:initial\;">Ram has wo rked as a jail chaplain and eco-chaplain since 202 0\, offering spiritual care and a comforting prese nce to incarcerated individuals\, those facing eco logical loss and eco-anxiety\, and people experien cing homelessness. As the Executive Director of Insight World Aid\, Ram passionately leads efforts to pro vide Buddhist-inspired support and resources to ma rginalized communities\, extending the dharma beyo nd traditional settings and into the core of human need.
DESCRIPTION:Tending the Tenders: Spiritual Care for Those on t he Ecological Front Lines\n \n \n \n Park rangers watch glaciers retreat from former visitor overloo ks. Wildlife biologists count fewer nests and repo rt on species they may be the last to study. Red C ross volunteers repeatedly return to flooded towns and burned neighborhoods. These frontline eco-wor kers bear unnamed grief\, witnessing loss up close and often alone while expected to remain professi onal\, hopeful\, and productive.\n \n \n \n This t alk names workers’ ecological grief and solastalgi a—the homesickness of watching their places change —alongside compassion fatigue from repeated disast ers and moral injury when budgets\, staffing\, or policy prevent them from protecting what they were called to protect. Much of this grief goes unreco gnized by employers\, the public\, and sometimes t he workers themselves.\n \n \n \n Drawing on my wo rk as a Buddhist eco-chaplain\, I’ll describe how chaplains accompany grief rather than fix or refra me it—offering presence\, bearing witness\, and ma king room for sorrow\, anger\, and love. I’ll shar e practices that help workers stay connected to th eir purpose without being consumed by it\, and exp lore how Buddhist teachings on impermanence\, inte rdependence\, and compassion ground this work.\n \ n \n \n Ram Appalaraju is a caring Buddhist practi tioner\, teacher\, and contemplative eco-chaplain whose inspiring work connects meditation\, service \, and social care. Ram also contributes as a facu lty member of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies \, enriching contemplative education on eco-chapla incy. Ram has worked as a jail chaplain and eco-c haplain since 2020\, offering spiritual care and a comforting presence to incarcerated individuals\, those facing ecological loss and eco-anxiety\, an d people experiencing homelessness. As the Execut ive Director of Insight World Aid\, Ram passionate ly leads efforts to provide Buddhist-inspired supp ort and resources to marginalized communities\, ex tending the dharma beyond traditional settings and into the core of human need.\n \n CATEGORIES:Workshop CALSCALE:GREGORIAN DTSTAMP;TZID=America/New_York:20261110T130000 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261110T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261110T143000 LOCATION:Online-Zoom\n United States\n URL:https://secure.quakerearthcare.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=279 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR