In-person wellbeing retreats only offered in summer; virtual options offered all year
Welcome/Haere mai
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Testimonials
“With gratitude and admiration for you, for your exceptional talents and your inspiring gifts that you share so astutely!”
"I enjoyed the small group setting!"
"..highly recommend..."
"I treasure those peaceful moments spent in your class"
"I've been looking for something like this!" Watch more
Are you involved in designing for wellbeing? Are you concerned about people and planet? Do you look to the natural world for solutions? Do you want to make changes, but don't know how to?
What do I offer?
I connect people, culture and nature through art and science to redesign public and environmental health. As an humanitarian and environmentalist I aim to try and leave the world better than I found it by honouring biomimicry to reduce biodiversity loss and to strengthen belonging and biophilia ~ love of the natural world.
The global pandemic of loneliness and the global crisis of pollution with climate change present complex public and environmental challenges at local and international levels. These are often approached as silos. I offer a path to solutions (especially for professionals and leaders in public and environmental health) to bridge these silos, moving awareness to action, to support wellbeing and adaptation during times of change.
Specifically:
- Science, Nature and Wellbeing Research and Design
- Workshops, Retreats and Tutoring (Virtual & In-Person)
- Wellbeing Retreats (In-person for solo women)
- Studio Rental (for eloping couples)
- Art, Science and Design Residency
Who has benefited?
I currently work with Researchers and Designers with a focus on research-practice and have been a frequent contributor to the Journal of Biophilic Design with my most recent article here. I am particularly passionate in supporting wellbeing design programs for:
- future urban planning; blue/green spaces and places
- those with orthopedic, mobility, vision or olfactory challenges as well as for their carers
- those experiencing disenfranchised grief
Attendees at my in-person and virtual classes, workshops and retreats have included architects, artists, children, caregivers, educators, ecologists, entomologists, those wanting to reduce their impact on the Earth and be more present in their own lives, as well as those facing difficult life challenges.
Who am I?
I’m Dr Debbie Early. I am an artist and scientist, mother and wife, wonderer and wanderer. I am an independent facilitator and consultant in the areas of cultural wellbeing, regenerative tourism, social prescribing, spaces and places and caring for the carer. I offer a path to strengthen belonging and biophilia with nature-based solutions to support wellbeing and adaptation during times of change.
My background is in multiple areas of the life sciences, including neuroscience, with systems and interdisciplinary approaches for research-practice application. I am certified as a forest therapy guide and trauma-informed yoga and meditation teacher. A life-long learner, I have contributed to numerous evidence-based health and environmental programs overseas and locally. I have worked internationally in academia, the corporate world, the allied healthcare sector, non-profits and small business. I am fluent in the nuances of USA, British, Australia, Sub-Saharan African and New Zealand English language with culture variants and I have experience working cross-culturally with Indigenous and multicultural groups in many of these locations and beyond. My thought-provoking anthology of stories and reflections of these experiences is now available.
I’ve been an artisanal perfumer, surfer, poet, travel writer, toxicologist, placentologist and clarinetist, amongst other things, and recently served as a committee member for the Top of the South Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors, representing Marlborough. I am a previous Trustee for a local conservation trust and previous volunteer with the APA (USA) Div. 34 (Society for Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology) 2024 conference committee. I am also humbled and delighted to be Airmid Institute's Ambassador for Aotearoa New Zealand working to protect medicinal and aromatic plants and animals. My passions include reading, drumming, photography, walking and practicing kaitiakitanga in our beautiful backyard on the Queen Charlotte Track, where I have my studio, The Art of Awareness, and where I live with my Kiwi husband and son at Bluewater Lodge.
I look forward to meeting you soon. ~ Debbie
Examples of Professional Memberships/Collaborations
