Sponsored by the BESS Family Foundation

Earth Awareness Community Retreats are intended to foster community among mindfulness and meditation practitioners and teachers whose work and interests are focused on the intersection of mindfulness/meditation and climate change. The BESS Family Foundation is sponsoring these retreats. Attendance at retreats is free, other than a refundable deposit due at registration. Travel and other costs are participant responsibilities.
Each retreat will have its own theme and format designed to build and support the earth awareness community. Retreats will provide a space for rejuvenation through practice, ample time for discussion, and opportunities for collaboration. One retreat each year will be by invitation only for trained mindfulness/meditation teachers who are actively teaching. All other retreats are for mindfulness/meditation practitioners and teachers already involved in earth awareness work or who would like to become more involved.
Retreats will be held in 2025 – 2027 at four geographically dispersed retreat centers in order to promote the development of regional earth awareness communities in the United States:
- Northeast Region: Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
- Intermountain West: Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center
- Mid-Atlantic: Seven Oaks Retreat Center
- Pacific / West Coast: Big Springs Retreat Center.
Upcoming Retreats
Loving Each Other and the Earth by Building Beloved Community
- September 29, 2025
- — October 6, 2025
- Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center
The Ecodharma Retreat for Ecological Resilience and Disaster Planners is a no-to-low-cost immersive experience designed to support community resilience, spiritual grounding, and emotional preparation in the face of climate and polycrisis-related disasters. Centered on building a beloved community, the retreat invites educators, activists, caregivers, and disaster responders, BIPOC and those from marginalized groups—to cultivate deep ecological kinship, emotional healing, and long-term collective readiness. Kritee Kanko and Deborah Eden Tull will lead the retreat, and Leilani Bush, Thanissara and Emerson James are advisors.
Future Retreats
- Northeast Region: Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
- July 3-8, 2026 with Dawn Scott and Rupert Marques
- October 5-10, 2027 with William Edleglass and Kaira Jewel Lingo
- Intermountain West: Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center
- August 17-23, 2026
- July 12-19, 2027: EcoDharma retreat for Dharma and Mindfulness Teachers
- Mid-Atlantic: Seven Oaks Retreat Center
- April 14-19, 2026: EcoDharma retreat for Dharma and Mindfulness Teachers with Kristin Barker and Adam Lobel
- Pacific / West Coast: Big Springs Retreat Center
- September 15-21, 2026 with Kirsten Rudestam, Yong Oh, and devon hase