There’s so many updates to tell you, I don’t know where to start!

So far this year, I have been busy creating, and Community is the theme. I’ve been building community on different platforms, and I’ve moved to Cape Breton for the winter!

Moved to Cape Breton

I’ve been here in Cape Breton just over a week now, and I’ll be staying for the winter, in a cabin about 15 minutes from Baddeck at Karma Samadhi Ling. I’ve been here about a week and it is magical. The birds eat out of my hand and I’m surrounded by trees. There are windows all around and when it snows, it feels. like I’m living in a snow globe.

Since i arrived, I’ve been going on TikTok Live when I feed the birds in the morning and light the wood stove. I’m getting more viewers and followers, and we’re chatting about all kinds of things. Unfortunately, TikTok is going in a direction I don’t like, so I will be exploring other apps, like YouTube Shorts, and Substack.

I’ll be at the cabin until mid-April, I’m taking a couple of online courses while I’m here, Tibetan language, and PREP, which I talk about below, and I’ll be working on growing Birch Business Collective, and also scheduling online classes that I’ll be teaching in February. I’ll also be exploring this land that I’m on, and hope to get out into the woods as much as possible.

PREP Course & Project

One of the reasons I’m staying in Cape Breton is because of this online course I’m taking. It’s called Preparing Religious Environmental Designs (PREP), and it is about creating climate adaptation projects, anything from installing solar panels, to advocating for policy reform, or helping your community be more prepared for disaster.

The land that I’m on is called Karma Samadhi Ling, 100 acre nature reserve with a connection to the Karma Kagyu Buddhist lineage. Right now it is nature reserve, with only this cabin and a few trails, but there is interest in creating something here – either a retreat centre, or some kind of community gathering space.

My project for the PREP course is to see what this place needs, what kind of project could contribute to climate resilience, and start planning something.

Once a year, a Buddhist monk comes from New York state to do some public talks in Cape Breton, and do a smoke offering puja for the land. About 20-30 community members come. Right now, they set up a temporary tent/gazebo to gather in, but I think a more permanent community gathering space would be wonderful.

I don’t know what the project will be yet, but I will be exploring the land and interviewing community members, and figuring it out over the next 7 weeks.

I said Community was the theme, so here are some more ways that I’m building community:

1) a free online community for people interested in rewilding, reskilling, and resilience-building – to connect and collaborate to survive these uncertain times.

2) a facilitated virtual coworking space, an online community for small business owners

3) My long-term vision has always been to create an ecovillage, and I’m still far from realizing that dream, but I’m going to need community to make it happen, so I’m putting it out there more publicly now.

Free Community for Resillience Builders

Sangha means community. Wild Earth Sangha is a free community for people interested in rewilding and resilience-building – to connect and collaborate to survive these uncertain times.

My long-term vision is to start an ecovillage in rural Nova Scotia, and in alignment with that goal, I want to connect with people who are interested in intentional community, and who have resillience-building skills want to share their skills for the benefit of everyone, so I made a place for us all to hang out.

I have have two intentions for the group. I hope people will make connections and start building land-based communities and that I might find collaborators for my future village, and I want to create a library of courses teaching various ‘reskilling’ and ‘community-building’ skills, to make them available to a wider audience.

What kind of skills?

Practical, organizational, and interpersonal. To survive the collapse of the global supply chain, and thrive in community, we will need to be able build and make everything we need, and also get along with each other.

Here are just a few examples of the types of skills I’d like to document.

Practical

• blacksmithing
• weaving
• foraging
• herbalism
• food preservation
• permaculture
• natural building
• outdoor survival

Community Building

• conflict resolution
• group facilitation
• democratic process

This is still very much under construction, and I will update as it grows, but in the mean time you can join to make sure you get updates. There is already a community forum, and chat function.

This is also where I will be hosting the intentional community discussion groups, and how I will notify people, and put up any resources that come out of the discussions.

Birch Business Collective

Facilitated Virtual CoWorking is a new way of working where I can support small business owners to grow their businesses online, whether they’re starting a business or moving from in-person to online, I help them design their digital ecosystem and learn the tech skills to manage their online presence and promote themselves.
I can help with all kinds of digital media and systems such as:

• web and graphic design
• social media
• booking systems
• client management
• email list management

I’m also a certified life coach, so if you’re stuck or needing direction, we can talk through your situation and find the best path forward for you.

How it works:

It’s in a virtual office where members can drop in and bring their work or questions to weekly co-working hours. There may be other people there, and that’s the fun of it. Many small business owners often struggle to have structure, and connect with other small business owners. Whether they need specific tech support or just aren’t sure what to do next, they can talk it through with me.

How can I help everyone?

Getting help is casual and first-come, first-serve. Members are encouraged to bring their work and hang out in the room. If I’m helping someone else when they arrive, they can listen in on the conversation. This is borrowed benefits – if they’re new to starting the online space, they may not even know what questions to ask. Everyone can get ideas from each other. There are also break-out rooms where you can have a private conversation. And this week, I created a member platform with a facebook-group-style forum, calendar, and place for courses.

Drop-in hours are Tuesdays 3-6 pm and Wednesdays 12- 2 pm EASTERN STANDARD TIME.

Neurodivergent Friendly Virtual CoWorking

The virtual office works similarly to Zoom with a microphone and camera, but there is also the option of a smaller camera, and audio only is perfectly acceptable. You’re welcome to show up in your PJs because we won’t know the difference!

It’s also casual. You can keep yourself muted while you listen in, and work on your project.

Body doubling is also a great way to help you focus – this means just having someone else in the room while you work.

Theme Days & Courses

Since many businesses have similar needs, I’m creating a library of courses and guides for recurring tasks, organized around the seasons.

Winter: Reflect, ReImagine, Replenish – review the past year, set goals, plan your year
Spring: Prepare the Soil for Future Growth – review your funnels, nurture sequence, customer journey, etc.
Summer: Growth Spurt – ramp up your promotions
Fall: Reap the Harvest – launch a new product, create sales content

In the future, as the membership grows, I also plan to offer themed co-working sessions where we all work on business ‘maintenance’ tasks, such as bookkeeping or writing.

Online Classes

I’ve just add an Events page to my website, with all my upcoming classes and courses, and Birch Business events. In February I’ll be teaching a few single-session workshops:

• Crash Course in Creating Online Courses
• Field Guide to Running an Online Business
• Getting Started with Short-Form Video

These classes will be free for Birch Business members.

Finally, in April, I’m teaching a 6-week course called Digital Ecosystem Design, which is a hands-on course to teach you fundamental skills for small business owners who want to make the most of their resources while saving time and energy.

Check out my calendar for all the details.

I think that’s all for now.

Stay warm.

Carolyn