Four days to step out of the current, make sense of it together, and leave with relationships and energy that last beyond the weekend.
"We're living like the world might end and like it might continue. Both are true, and both require us to show up."
This is a gathering for people who feel the weight of what's happening and the pull toward doing something meaningful. People deep in organizing who need strategic connections. People building technical solutions who want to understand the political landscape. People working inside institutions who suspect their leverage is larger than their job description. And people whose day jobs aren't climate-specific but who've been feeling the pull and wondering where their skills plug in.
What does it mean to find a political home — not necessarily an organization, but a place where your work plugs into something larger and where you can be replenished when things get hard?
The gap between what scientists are projecting and what our communities are ready for. What would actual preparation look like: resilience hubs, local networks that function when federal support doesn't?
Your utility bill is a political battleground. Who pays for the physical impact of climate change and the continuation of the energy transition? What would a system with more distributed power — both electrical and political — look like?
A pop-up library and dedicated space for sharing books, ideas, and stories. Come with your own frameworks for understanding this moment; leave with a bigger, more connected map.
Play in the woods, swim in the river, tell stories around a fire. We'll use play and games as tools for thinking about futures — trying on what different scenarios feel like rather than just analyzing them.
80 acres, 45 minutes east of Bellingham, part of the Evergreen Land Trust. We'll be on Turtle Island — a clearing at the center of the property with campsites, fire pit, covered stage, outdoor kitchen, and access to trails, a waterfall, and the South Fork of the Nooksack River.
Part of what makes this gathering work is that the land does some of the processing for you. The conversations that feel overwhelming in the abstract feel different when you're having them next to a river, or after a morning hike to a waterfall. We weave time in nature into the collective work instead of treating it as a break from the "real work."
Most people leave from Seattle. We'll coordinate carpools and share a logistics guide closer to the event.
Festival-style camping with amenities. Potable water, port-a-potties, parking. Limited yurt/cabin space for health considerations.
All meals vegetarian with vegan options. A small team leads meal prep; everyone takes at least one shift during the weekend.
Cooking, dishes, hauling water, keeping shared spaces running. You'll sign up when you arrive. This is part of what makes it work.
$50 deposit at registration holds your spot. We need roughly $175 per person to break even. Pay above if you can, below if you need. If the deposit is a barrier, email us and we'll waive it. No explanation needed.
RSVP details coming soon. If you have a partner, friend, or colleague who should be here, send this their way. We'll host smaller gatherings between now and July to meet faces before camp.
hello@ridgelinecollab.org