A Lifeboat Anchoring a Network of Lifeboats

“Food sovereignty and resilience are critical concerns for residents of the Gulf Islands. As remote, rural areas separated by water from the rest of Canada, the Gulf Islands stand to be among the first impacted by disruptions in the food supply chain due to the worsening climate crisis.

As the Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands, I fully support the work of the Lifeboat Academy to connect individuals and communities to mutual aid networks and to explore regenerative agriculture as strategies to increase food sovereignty and individual resilience on the Gulf Islands.”

– Elizabeth May, O.C.
Member of Parliament
(read full letter of support)

“Who couldn’t use a Lifeboat in these crazy times? How about one filled with community members who all want to see the best for each other? Ben Kadel and collaborators are bringing years of experience and a lot of heart to this project. I’m excited to see how this evolves.“

– Benji Ross, Founder of the Bioregional Catalysts and Weavers Guild

“I’m excited to be creating a human scaled, humane environment where we can do our best, based on effective thinking and social research, building human resilience.”

– April Struthers, Social Change Consultant / Owner Wit Works Ltd.

“This work fundamentally rethinks the structure of our food systems and communities, building resilience and adaptation at local human and ecological scales. This comes at a time when we need new models and new leaders to elevate and emulate new ways of thinking and acting to address embedded social and ecological issues that allow growth and healing at all scales.“

– Brooke Hayes, Phd Student in Environmental Studies, University of Victoria

“I have been a friend and colleague of Ben’s since the mid 1990s when we met in graduate school in Wisconsin. I have worked as a farmer, a social scientist, a community organizer, a group process consultant, a leadership coach, a philanthropist, and a writer. In many of these roles I have benefited from Ben’s ability to synthesize and make accessible ideas and practices from many disciplines and walks of life. The Lifeboat Academy project particularly appeals to me because in the coming changes, we are going to need more of what Margaret Wheatley calls islands of sanity: Places where we can reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the more-than-human world; where we can learn and practice resilience, restoration, regeneration, and re-indigenization. I am looking forward to the journey.“

– Rebecca S. Krantz, PhD