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Aging in Harmony with Nature

Explore how our relationship with Nature shapes how we age, care, and flourish in a climate-changing world.

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The Eco Gerontology Initiative

Advancing Research, Education and Practice in Eco Gerontology

 

Why Eco Gerontology Matters

We are living through a unique moment in history. Whether you are a caregiver, healthcare professional, educator, community leader, student, or lifelong learner, this is an opportunity to become part of a growing movement helping shape the future of aging.

 

As populations age, climate change accelerates, and social isolation grows, there is an increasing need for new ways of understanding health, wellbeing, care, community, and longevity.

 

The Eco Gerontology Initiative advances research, education, and practice by providing learning experiences, professional development, and community for individuals and organizations seeking to place our relationship with Nature at the heart of healthy longevity.

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Participants gain:

🌱 Evidence-informed knowledge and practical tools

🌱 A deeper understanding of aging in a changing world

🌱 Opportunities to strengthen Nature connectedness and wellbeing

🌱 A growing community of practice

🌱 New perspectives on care, community, resilience, and regenerative futures​

🌱 Practical ideas you can immediately apply in your work, community, and daily life

 

​Ways to Participate in The Eco Gerontology Initiative

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Eco Gerontology Community Conversations

Free • Registration Required

Join meaningful conversations exploring aging, nature, care, climate resilience, and the future of age-friendly, nature-connected communities.

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Seasonal At-Home Nature Retreats

Slow down with the changing seasons through guided weekends that transform your home and nearby natural places into places of restoration, reflection, and renewal.

 

Blending live community gatherings with meaningful time outdoors, each retreat offers practical, evidence-based experiences that enhance wellbeing, deepen your connection with Nature, and bring the spirit of retreat into everyday life.

 

Retreat Benefits

• Apply your retreat tuition toward the Care Outdoors Companion Training or the Eco Gerontology Foundational Certificate when you enroll within three months.

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• Eco Gerontology Initiative Founding Members attend all Seasonal At-Home Nature Retreats for $100.

 

Care Outdoors Companion Training
Learn practical, evidence-based approaches that help people spend more meaningful time Outdoors while supporting belonging, quality of life, and healthier, more connected communities.

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Care Outdoors Team Training

Organizational training designed to help teams integrate evidence-based, nature-connected care into aging services, healthcare, home care, and community settings while strengthening engagement, workforce wellbeing, and organizational culture.
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Eco Gerontology Foundational Certificate
A pioneering learning experience exploring the ecological, social, cultural, and philosophical dimensions of aging in a changing world.

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Founding Membership in The Eco Gerontology Initiative

Enrollment in Gerontology Foundational Certificate includes Founding Membership in The Eco Gerontology Initiative.

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Your learning continues beyond the certificate through ongoing seminars, professional dialogue, and participation in a growing international community advancing the emerging field of Eco Gerontology.

 

Members receive:

• Ongoing access to Eco Gerontology Community Seminars

• Invitations to member discussions exploring emerging research and practice

• Opportunities to connect with a growing international community

• Continued learning beyond the certificate

• The opportunity to help shape the emerging field of Eco Gerontology

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Together, we are cultivating the knowledge, leadership, and relationships needed to advance the emerging field of Eco Gerontology.

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Speaking & Organizational Partnerships
Educational experiences, leadership development, and collaborative initiatives for organizations committed to healthy longevity, regenerative livability, and age-friendly futures.

 

Helping Shape the Future of Eco Gerontology

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“For those who are or are becoming Elders, with an interest in the Science and Spirit of Ecology and Gerontology, who may be seeking greater understanding of both fields, and how they interact, and who may be searching for a means of informed activism, this course is a wonderful springboard.”
— Beverly Flanagan​

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What is Eco Gerontology

As the pioneering field exploring aging in relation to ecological health, place, belonging, and regenerative livability, Eco Gerontology recognizes that human wellbeing is inseparable from the wellbeing of the living systems that sustain life.

 

In an era of population aging, climate change, and growing social isolation, its insights are increasingly relevant to how we live, care, age, and thrive together.

 

Rooted in Gerontology, Deep Ecology, Nature Connectedness, and Green Care approaches, Eco Gerontology seeks to foster conditions where people, communities, and ecosystems can flourish together.

 

Nature, Aging & Human Flourishing

The world's longest-lived populations do not thrive because of pills, supplements, or extreme exercise. They thrive because they live within environments that support movement, connection, purpose, belonging, and daily interaction with the natural world.

 

A growing body of research demonstrates that access to nature-rich environments supports healthy longevity, brain health, quality of life, resilience, and wellbeing across the lifespan.

 

Yet ecological health and our relationship with Nature remain largely overlooked within many aging policies, programs, and systems of care.

 

Eco Gerontology helps bridge this gap by recognizing the relationships among people, places, communities, and ecosystems that support healthy longevity and regenerative livability. 

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Growing Regenerative Futures for All Generations

Eco Gerontology invites us to expand how we think about aging, care, and community.

Rather than viewing aging solely through medical or economic lenses, Eco Gerontology recognizes that healthy longevity emerges from the relationships between people, places, communities, and the living systems that sustain life.

 

As societies around the world navigate population aging, climate change, and growing social isolation, there is an unprecedented opportunity to cultivate communities that support belonging, purpose, wellbeing, ecological health, and meaningful contribution across the lifespan.

 

Through education, leadership development, community engagement, and nature-connected practices, Eco Gerontology seeks to help grow a future where people and Nature can flourish together.

 

We Advocate for Living Environments that Nurture:

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• Daily access to Nature and the outdoors

• Regeneration and ecological health

• Biodiversity and climate resilience

• Safety, stability, and belonging

• Meaningful connection across generations

• Lifelong learning and contribution

• Collaboration with shared purpose

• Reciprocal relationships among people, communities, and the living world

 

Aging in Harmony with Nature is not simply a vision for older adults. It is a vision for thriving communities and a flourishing future for all generations.​​​

 

Join the Growing Field of Eco Gerontology

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Whether you're a caregiver, educator, healthcare professional, researcher, student, community leader, or lifelong learner, there's a place for you in The Eco Gerontology Initiative.

 

Explore our educational pathways, join a Community Conversation, or become a Founding Member through the Eco Gerontology Foundational Certificate.

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