Our Work

Mother Tree Local Leaders Program

What is the program?

Our Mother Tree Local Leaders Program is a holistic program built for well-networked local leaders across diverse sectors. It empowers participants to catalyze tangible change in their networks and step into healthier relationships with the lands and waters.

This program was born from the recognition that while many people care deeply for nature and the difficulties our communities face, many don’t know how to help fix things. Or they may not have seen themselves reflected in the environmental movement. Our Mother Tree Local Leaders Program heals this gap by building a welcoming space for all who want to better care for the natural world.

What to expect

The Mother Tree Local Leaders Program supports community leaders through a series of in-person and online workshops. These workshops \create a rich learning environment for participants to connect with one another and the land. Through facilitated dialogues and events, participants are encouraged to grow their relationships with the natural world and build community-based solutions that are grounded in their own traditions and wisdom.

Our team provides support and mentorship to participants each step of the way to help bring their restorative visions to life. Alumni walk away with funded, actionable plans to mobilize their networks (you can check out the awesome work our Mother Tree Local Leaders Program network has accomplished below!).

We’ve run cohorts for youth, different faith traditions and healthcare workers with each session tailored to the group. The ripple effects of this initiative are endless.

Why is the initiative named after Mother Trees?

Mother trees are highly connected hub trees that share information, nourishment and support to trees in their network through an underground fungal network. In a single forest, a mother tree can be joined with hundreds of others. Guided by this example of interconnectivity, our Mother Tree Local Leaders Program is an experiential learning program designed for people who, like these nurturing mother trees, serve as hubs, connectors and supporters within their communities.

Did You Know?

There are over 80 alumni of our Mother Tree Local Leaders Program representing networks of over 8,000 people!

Hear what people have to say about the program

“I think about [the Mother Tree Local Leaders Program] all the time. It’s given me a new place to park my focus and energy. It’s helped me narrow in and feel not so overwhelmed. I make more deliberate choices to find more life-giving messages than the activism we were doing before — it was so depleting.”

Reverend Deb Walker, MTLLP alumni

“If you are ever asked to participate in the Sierra Club BC’s Mother Tree Local Leaders Program, DO NOT HESITATE. This was a deeply textured, experiential adventure that opened me to a profound awareness — a fresh environmental intimacy based on ancient wisdom teachings and evidence-based science… It changed me.”

Zaida Schneider, MTLLP alumni

Here’s what our Mother Tree Local Leaders Program network has accomplished

Gotten their municipality to pass a pro-biodiversity resolution at city council
Created pollinator gardens in their neighborhoods and ran workshops to help others join the movement
Created nature-focused sermons and workshops to help engage and mobilize their faith communities
Ran a nature-based art series for community members, to help foster a deeper relationship to the plants and animals in their neighbourhoods
And much more!