What is the Nearly Wild Imaginarium?

A summary of the Nearly Wild Imaginarium and its purpose

NEARLY WILD IMAGINARIUM

Imagine                    Debate                      Do

The space that brings nature innovators together to make things happen

Creating a unique independent discussion and thinking space for the ‘catalysers and energisers’ who are trying to benefit nature through their work whilst creating a space of mutual support.

WHAT WE ARE DOING

We’ll be holding online get-togethers on the second Thursday of each month, each one with a different thought-provoking topic.  Steve and Irene will seed the discussion by presenting some initial thoughts and will then hand over the space to everyone who’s come to join us, facilitating discussion to encourage creative and constructive debate and ideas, aiming to find some solutions to knotty questions that we all face.

It’s all about finding better ways for us as individuals to support real positive, long term and lasting benefit for nature, through those we work with, for or influence and to support each other in doing so.

PRINCIPLES

Success and positivity

  • Creative and free flowing
  • Practical
  • Consider all angles
  • Realism about -ve as well as +ve so proper focus on what to do to overcome -ve and build on +ve
  • Cross-sectoral
  • Long term impact at scale

PURPOSE

To find better ways for individuals, projects and organisations to benefit nature by focusing:

  • On what works!
  • Real assessment of what works – impact  (-ve as well as +ve)
  • Beyond individual projects
  • Longer time scales
  • Across sectors, agendas and organisations
  • No single solution
  • Practical but strategic
  • Facilitating reflective practice
  • Provide a positive supportive space for natures change makers, catalysers and energisers
  • Take a step back, space to really think!

HOW WE WORK TOGETHER

  • Mutual respect
  • Honesty
  • Not about selling yourself, project or organisation, it’s about sharing long term success
  • Focus on positive learning
  • The people who come are the right people, the topics we choose are the ones most relevant

WHAT WE DO

We facilitate a unique independent online discussion and thinking space for the ‘catalysers and energisers’ who are trying to benefit nature through their work.

With a different thought-provoking topic for each session, we seed the discussion by presenting some initial thoughts. We then hand over the space to everyone who’s come to join us, encouraging creative and constructive debate and ideas, aiming to find some solutions to knotty questions that we all face.

We ask everyone to keep to some simple principles:

  • Be constructive – building on the positive, overcoming the negative.
  • Think differently, be open to new ideas
  • Respect and appreciate our differences

WHO IT’S FOR

We welcome anyone working (paid or unpaid) or interested in getting more involved in nature conservation, nature recovery, rewilding, or other similar fields.

It doesn’t matter if you have many years of experience or just a few weeks’. What’s important is your enthusiasm for nature, your willingness to learn, your capacity for listening and contributing to positive discussion, your drive to contribute to positive action and making a difference for nature, your interest in sharing and collaboration.

WHO WE ARE

The Nearly Wild Generator/Nature Imaginarium is being hosted by Nearly Wild, a husband and wife team (Irene and Steve Evison).

After many years working to benefit nature and people’s connections with nature through all sorts of different roles in the UK and overseas, we have set up Nearly Wild to take action for nature through the skills and experience we now have. We work with organisations and initiatives through three main strands of activity: strategic support for approaches which deliver nature-friendly solutions at scale; engaging people and bringing people together to co-design local approaches which deliver nature-friendly solutions; finding, connecting and marketing enterprise and business which benefit nature.

THE FUTURE

Up to us all here but some ideas are a Wats App group

Periodic sessions like this – ? how often

Maybe in future an annual physical gathering (UK) with remote link up for other countries

Host interviews, learning materials, presentations and webinars, & other resources (see our website)  – some may be available for small charge with income to presenters.