Expanding the Rights of Nature by Enabling Land to Own Itself
Co-hosted by Sacred Contract
Sacred Contract, an organization committed to re-imagining our relationship to land by restoring a sacred and culturally-aligned relationship between humans and the rest of nature, designed and then stewarded the process of a mountain in Colorado becoming the first in the world to transition from human ownership to “owning itself.” In this panel, board members of Sacred Contract will explain: how “land sovereignty” differs from traditional land conservation models; the role of majority Indigenous-led Land Guardian councils; and how the “land that owns itself” concept could potentially radically enhance ecosystems’ protection against destructive extractive assaults. With: Jennifer Menke of Regenerative Earth; Cassandra Ferrera and Abi Huff of the Center for Ethical Land Transition; and Thomas Linzey, attorney with the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights.
March 26th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm
Panelists
Jennifer Menke
Founder and Executive Director
Regenerative Earth
Jennifer Menke, founder and Executive Director of Regenerative Earth and co-founder of Sacred Contract, is: a lecturer for the University of Colorado's Masters of Environment program; guest lecturer at the University of International Cooperation (UCI); and a facilitator for the Bio-leadership Fellowship. She has throughout her career used systems-mapping, facilitation, and strategic design to help local communities, Indigenous tribes, governments, foundations, businesses, and organizations develop and implement collaborative strategies to meet conservation targets, give rights to nature, enhance community wellbeing, and stimulate regenerative economies.
Cassandra Ferrera
Co-Founder
Center for Ethical Land Transition
Cassandra Ferrera, a co-founder (in 2021) of the non-profit Center for Ethical Land Transition dedicated to the “land justice” movement, i.e., the process of achieving repair, healing and justice rooted in sacred relationship with land, previously had 22 years’ experience as a real estate agent and consultant supporting groups in cooperative stewardship and land decommodification. She is a resident of the Landwell Community in Northern California.
Abi Huff
Operations and Reunion Program Co-Director
Center for Ethical Land Transition
Abi Huff is the Operations and Reunion Program Co-Director at the Center for Ethical Land Transition whose purpose is to support Black, Indigenous, and diasporic communities with pro-bono, solidarity-based land transition facilitation.
Thomas Linzey
