Community Resilience and Residential Programs During a Pandemic


Dear Community,

We are moving forward with our plans to offer both summer and fall sessions of Rising Earth in 2020, and are maintaining attentive optimism about our ability to do so safely due to our unique location, infrastructure, small-scale adaptability and other resources we’re fortunate to have access to at this moment.

The coronavirus pandemic, the disease it presents in humans (COVID-19 or “Covid”), and the cultural responses unfolding unpredictably in real time present unique challenges in planning for the future. As an organization, The Eco-Institute has been taking this as an opportunity to practice workplace systems and protocols that prioritize human and ecological health. As a residential community, we have been engaging in weekly “resilience meetings,” establishing and updating our COVID-19 Prevention Agreements and Emergency Action Plan per the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO), and providing emotional support for one another at a physical distance. Though, as of late May, North Carolina is incrementally reopening certain businesses and services, our community’s practices resemble more closely those indicated by the Stay at Home Order.

This spring, we have been testing our COVID-19 prevention and response systems with the current Yome Residency and Garden Cooperative programs, and have found success in minimizing the risk of infection while abundantly providing the benefits of open air, fresh produce, outdoor exercise, sunshine, and community—resources needed by so many at this time, and available to far too few.

We intend to use the methods tested in these ongoing programs, as well as others, to establish a healthy household—”Pod,” or quarantine bubble—of Rising Earth participants, residents, and necessary staff this summer and fall. The group will interact with guest facilitators, other EIPM staff and residents, mentors, and others minimally and at a physical distance. We are further reducing the group’s dependence on grocery shopping and trips to town with direct partnerships with local farms and food collectives, not to mention the abundance we’ve seeded in the garden this spring. With such practices, the group will essentially be quarantining together for the duration of the program.

The Eco-Institute is uniquely located: we are in a rural environment on a quiet road, but have easy access to a world-class health care system (UNC Health, several campuses are less than half an hour away) as well as a myriad of urgent care centers were treatment for COVID-19 or any other illness or injury to be necessary during the program. Further, the format of the program is highly adaptable, allowing us to make programmatic adjustments—such as taking certain aspects online, rerouting planned trips, etc.—that we do not expect will compromise our curriculum, even if conditions require such changes without advance notice.

We will be engaging program participants and facilitators during the weeks leading up to the program, building community and collective care with virtual meetings. Though it will not be possible to mandate that participants—who come from a variety of household scenarios—isolate themselves entirely during the 14 days leading up to the program, we will request that participants follow a set of strict self-care standards and take extra precautions while traveling to The Eco-Institute. We plan to educate participants thoroughly on our community’s hygiene practices and conduct daily health screenings during the first two weeks of the program. If antigen testing is universally available before the program’s start, we will require participants to complete a test just before leaving home. To account for travel and potential false negatives, we will employ a two-tiered testing system, in which participants will be tested again upon arrival. More stringent social distancing practices will be in place as we await test results.

This moment calls for transparent communication, and flexible, humane policies that allow for prospective participants to plan into the future. We welcome your questions, concerns, and feedback on these and other risk-management practices at The Eco-Institute. For participants’ and families’ peace of mind, we've instituted a more flexible refund policy that allows you to apply, enroll, and even make tuition payments knowing that if we cancel or postpone the program, you will have the opportunity to receive 100% back, and that, until a certain date, you could withdraw your application for any reason and a 100% refund as well.

Some recent media that have been inspiring our thinking on this topic:

We acknowledge that ultimately, it will be impossible to provide a zero-risk environment with the Rising Earth Immersion this summer and fall. Our goal is not to eliminate risk, but to minimize the probability and severity of harm presented by risks, transforming them into profound learning opportunities for all. To that end, we are planning our most socially dynamic and culturally responsive iteration ever of Rising Earth: an opportunity for young people to engage in meaningful ways with the risks presented by this critical moment in history, and to explore the nuances of community resilience during an era when our individualistic, profit-driven society is in dire need of reconstruction.

With love and solidarity,

Megan Toben, Executive Director and Alison Sever, Program Director

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