Bioregioning & Belonging to Place with Julia Plevin Oliansky

In today’s episode, I am joined by Julia Plevan Olianksy. Julia is the author of The Healing Magic of Forest Bathing and founder of The Forest Bathing Club. She guides nature-based healing experiences and runs Organism Thinking, a consultancy bringing ecological intelligence to brands. She recently launched placebased.org to support bioregional initiatives. Our paths first crossed in a women’s circle in 2019 and recently intertwined again through the algorithm of Substack. Julia writes the Substack The Earth Has a Mother about mothering through climate change and her essay on bioregioning nudged me to invite her on the podcast for this wonderful conversation.

We talk about the practice of reorienting one’s life personally, culturally, economically, and politically around the natural characteristics of a specific bioregion, meaning rooting deeply in place and aligning with the rhythms, ecosystems and stories of the land you inhabit.

Tune in to hear more from us on:

• Finding belonging to a place through understanding its bioregion and ecosystem
• Living more locally and regeneratively
• The cultural significance of soil in shaping community and identity
• Observing, witness and partaking in the natural cycles around you
• The homogenisation of culture because of the internet
• The impact of technology on personal connections
• Transitioning from a tech career to a more localised, nature-connected lifestyle
• Embracing the healing power of nature and community engagement in a tech-driven world
• Writing as a creative process and outsourcing it to AI

Resources + Links

• Julia’s Substack The Earth Has A Mother and her essay Becoming Bioregional
• Julia’s Book The Healing Magic of Forest Bathing
• Find Julia online through The Forest Bathing Club and her bioregioning initiative Place Based Projects
• My book, Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self
• Connect with me on Instagram @beccapiastrelli

Timestamps

• [0:00] Introduction to Julia Plevin Oliansky
• [10:19] The Meaning of Bioregioning
• [15:57] How to Become More Bioregional
• [20:20] Finding Identity in a Tech Driven World
• [29:21] The Cultural Significance of Soil
• [38:22] Human Connection and the Role of AI
• [51:57] Signs of Spring and Witnessing Natural Cycles