Who is Refugia?

Jodi Lammiman

Jodi Lammiman (she/her) is a queer, certified eco-spiritual director (coach), community facilitator and artist living in Mohkinstsis (Calgary, AB, Canada) in Treaty 7 territory. She has experience working in the public sector, non-profit sector and in higher education. Her work explores the intersections between personal change and systems change through the establishment of spaces that invite people into deeper relationships with self, community, and the natural world through practices of creativity, curiousity, ritual, dialogue, silence, and solitude.

Jodi has a Bachelor of Sacred Literature, MA in Leadership and a Certification in Spiritual Direction. She is a student and facilitator of the Work that Reconnects framework, which helps people build resiliency and stay engaged while moving through challenging times, both ecologically and personally. Jodi lived and worked at an intentional retreat centre for four years. This experience led her to found Refugia Retreats, where since 2016, she has facilitated experiences that educate and support people in climate and ecological grief and anxiety, nature as guide, and holistic learning.

Her work explores alternatives to traditionally accepted narratives of wellness culture and productivity culture. These counter-narratives are informed by the natural world and its rhythms of rest, germination and balance. Jodi believes that both systems change and personal change are facilitated by creating spaces where people can recognize the importance of practicing curiousity, interdependence and community care while working towards change. You can connect with her at jodi@refugiaretreats.com.

Lauren Mangion

Lauren (she/her) is a facilitator, educator, lifelong learner and community development practitioner. Lauren has been working in the environmental and social non-profit sector in Calgary since 2007. She has a Bachelor's degree in International Development Studies and a Masters in Transpersonal Ecopsychology from Naropa University. Lauren is passionate about community development and feels that being better connected in our geographic regions is a critical strategy for climate change adaptation. Included in those community connections are our beyond-human relations- the plants, trees, birds, fish, mammals, rocks, elements and all our relations. Biophilia, the yearning to connect with all forms of life, runs in Lauren’s blood and has since childhood. Living in Calgary, or Moh’kinsstis, as was the first name of this land, near the Bow River and close to the Rocky Mountains has offered generous gifts of learning and growing in expanding the field of those connections and for that, Lauren holds abundant gratitude.

Stephanie Olsen

Hi! My name is Steph Olsen (she/her) and I am a Masters student from the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta doing a practicum at Refugia Retreats. My research focuses on the mental health impacts of climate change in Alberta, and the power of collective spaces for honouring ecological grief and other difficult climate emotions. 

Throughout the Fall, I will be doing whatever I can to be helpful to Refugia Retreats, including co-facilitating the upcoming "Coming Home to Ourselves" retreat which I am so excited for! As part of my research, I am also hoping to talk to people about how climate change impacts their mental health, and what they value about community spaces that attend to the psychological and spiritual impacts of the climate crisis, like Refugia Retreats. This research will help Refugia Retreats plan the direction of their future programs, and it will contribute to best practices for supporting people experiencing mental health impacts from climate change in Alberta.

Prior to going back to school for my Masters, I worked for ten years in adult education and community facilitation in the gender-based violence prevention field. In 2019, I had the good fortune of learning about Refugia Retreats through the Climate Leadership Program. Since then, Jodi and I have collaborated on a number of community programs related to ecological grief, ritual, and belonging. I am passionate about community spaces for exploring ecological and social justice. I am also a big believer in the power of experiential and embodied practices as a way to bring forward the unique gifts and wisdom each person has to contribute to the world.

I am grateful to live, love and work in amiskwaciwâskahikan, Treaty 6 territory (Edmonton, AB). When I’m not thinking about the transformative potential of community, I love to wander the trails of the river valley, observing the plants and animals and how they change with the seasons, considering the magic of microbes and mycelial networks that bridge life and death by circulating nutrients, and learning about the the long histories of human and non-human life that have shaped the physical and energetic character of these beloved places.

I hope I get to meet some of you over the fall! You can reach me to chat about my research or anything else at solsen1@ualberta.ca.

AlanaDawn Eirikson

Alana-Dawn Eirikson (she/her) is an Eco Social Worker and works at the University of Calgary as the Sustainability Partnerships & Events Coordinator. She is passionate about climate justice, anti-oppression, decolonization and a transition to a more sustainable way of living on this planet that values the interconnectedness of our well-being and honours Indigenous Knowledges and worldviews. She has a Master’s degree in International & Community Development Social Work and an undergrad in International Development and Environmental Studies. She believes it is vital to connect to, process and move through our grief and love for the planet, communities and the more than human world to collectively address the complexity and depth of the climate crisis, and is honoured to support people in this process.