As we begin to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, many of us are reflecting on what we learned and what has emerged over the past year.

Many of us learned how much we need nature and we need each other — even strangers. We learned that we do better together. We learned that we need to — and can — do things differently. We learned that when pushed, we can come up with — and implement — radically innovative ideas and solutions, especially when we share ideas and help each other.

Many more of us are also recognizing that our human constructs are not sustainable. From climate change to social injustice, it’s become obvious that we’ve pushed ourselves and nature to the brink. For many, what’s emerging is that we can’t go back to normal, because life before the pandemic was not normal.

What’s emerging is that most of us want a different world. We want a world that is fair and clean and resilient and beautiful. We want a world where baking and gardening are normal. We want a world where we can spend more time with our kids, more time outside, more time being creative — and less time driving and doom-scrolling. We want our lives and our world to be sustainable, in every sense and application of that word.

But how might we get there?  How might we create this world?

Based on what we’re learning and what’s emerging for so many of us, I think we already know. We need connection with nature and with each other. We need creativity and co-creativity. We need imagination and radical innovation. We need sustainability and sustainable design.

If you’re curious about how we might apply all of these things together, we invite you to join us for our Toolbox session at Venture Well’s OPEN2021 called Pinecones + People, Co-Creating Radically Innovative Sustainable Design Ideas. We’ll spend a swift hour together getting a taste of what’s possible when you put people and pinecones together.

If you’re really curious, you might want to explore our fully online MA in Sustainable Design program. We’re holding our next (free) informational webinar March 16 at 1:00pmCT.