A Holistic Approach to Earthcare Along the Blue Ridge

In the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia, Friends Wilderness Center and the China Folk House Retreat are aspiring toward bridging divides in humanity, building community with nature, and lifting all toward the Light and a brighter future.

Join Kimberly Benson and John Flower for a conversation on redefining conservation to include cross-cultural connections and building compassion and respect for all life, and how they're making this happen on the ground.

They write, "Humans have a tremendous ability to rationalize and justify exploiting what we 'other.' We need to remove the illusion of separation among people and between people and nature."

Learn more by reading Kimberly's BeFriending Creation article,

Biographies: Dr. John Flower, Vice Chair and CFHR Co-founder

John Flower is Director of the Sidwell Friends School Chinese Studies Program, a former associate professor of East Asian History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and fellow at the East Asia Center at the University of Virginia. His scholarship includes publications on local history and folklife in China and Tibet.  At Sidwell Friends, Flower teaches courses on China and East Asian History, and he leads the “China Fieldwork” summer and semester experiential learning programs in Yunnan. Since 2017, he has worked on rebuilding the “China Folk House Retreat,” to serve as a site for experiential learning, environmental sustainability and people-to-people cultural exchanges focusing on traditional agriculture, folkways and craft. 

Kimberly Benson is a scientist, naturalist, climate and environmental activist, member of Annapolis Friends Meeting, and the general manager of Friends Wilderness Center. 

*Please note this event starts at 7pm Eastern Time/ 4pm Pacific