On this recent call, community members Cathy Stackpole and Mohan Aguirre co-facilitated a conversation about RCC’s recent Sustainability Study.

You may have seen the news in recent weeks that the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland is going through a major transition, and that Santa Sabina Center in northern California is closing and placing their property on the market. Here at RCC, we grieve to see the loss of these peers.

Completed in July 2023, our Sustainability Toolkit offers an overview of the recent Cal Poly sustainability study and its findings, including highlights from the students’ literature review and data analysis. The toolkit suggests key areas for improvement, provides a tool and manual, plus links to related data.

In partnership with a team of industrial engineering students at Cal Poly University, the Retreat Center Collaboration is studying models for financial and programmatic sustainability at retreat centers. Find out what the team has learned from their eight-month study.

In partnership with a team of Cal Poly University students, the Retreat Center Collaboration is studying models for financial and programmatic sustainability at retreat centers.

Our second Land Legacies session brought together retreat center leaders across the United States to discuss how retreat centers are contributing to the legacy of the land on which they're situated. "The land" is a complex and interdependent web of life -- whose legacy extends across time -- and at retreat centers we are both stewards of, and co-facilitators with the land.

‘Land legacies’ is a useful phrase because it’s versatile and provocative. It teases us into thinking bigger. How did this conversation start at the RCC? And where is it headed? RCC Program Manager Ben Scott-Brandt shares what he’s learning from the network in this short essay.

The eco-justice hub was formed in response to the RCC Fall 2020 survey where the vast majority of survey participants indicated both ecology and sustainability as important aspects of their center. Did that mean actively stewarding the land, developing eco-friendly hospitality guidelines, or participating in global movements to respond to climate chaos? Turns out it was all of it.

In a time of multiple crises, the future of retreat centers is often unclear. So when partners in our collaboration break ground for new construction, it’s a cause for celebration! Click to read the story of the future site of the Commons—a flexible, multi-purpose space for hosting transformative work in the years and decades ahead.

We’re inviting retreat center leaders, along with members of boards and staff, to join a collaboration hub focused on ecological and environmental justice.

Learn more and join the conversation in our Mighty Network.