How a Participatory Action Researcher would address deforestation issues
By Madelon Eelderink, founder of SevenSenses This blog was created during the Ecosystem Restoration Design training that Madelon attended in 2024 and is part of the PAO blog series for ecosystems, in which she shares her views on how PAO can contribute to ecosystem restoration and more. In January 2022, I travelled in Peru from […]
What Cows Can Teach Us About Sustainable Change
By Madelon Eelderink, founder of SevenSenses This blog was created during the Ecosystem Restoration Design training that Madelon attended in 2024 and is part of the PAO blog series for ecosystems, in which she shares her views on how PAO can contribute to ecosystem restoration and more. It’s fascinating to me to see what impact […]
Ecosystem restorers: here’s how to get locals ‘on board’
By SevenSenses founder Madelon Eelderink Nederlands, graag! Last year I excitedly started the Ecosystem Restoration Design Course on Earth Day. Well, now that it has finished I’m even more excited! First and foremost because it made me realize how incredibly easy it can be to ignite restoration of natural ecosystems and let nature do the […]
Building sense of ownership as source of motivation among stakeholders
By Madelon Eelderink Dutch, please! People often ask me, “How do I get people motivated to participate in my project?” “How do I create support?” I wish I could give them a magical answer, one like, “oh just do this and then you’ll have them. Delightful, it seems to me. Unfortunately, the reality is different. […]
How Participatory Action Research makes a difference
Nederlands, graag! “Madelon, what exactly is the difference between Participatory Action Research and other projects we do at the municipality?” Sometimes you get those questions that you can get hell-bent on! I was at a get-together when an employee of Gemeente Utrecht asked me that question. I took a deep breath and began my story, […]
Why people argue… And how it can be different
In het Nederlands, graag! So many people, so many perspectives…. When dealing with complex social problems, we are often unaware of the enormous number of different ways of looking at the problem. Often we have a vague idea, such as “Pete probably just wants to make more money,” but that is often all. And then […]
From raised eyebrows and primal sounds to a gigantic network
Voor Nederlands klik hier My goodness… SevenSenses is already 10 years old! I can’t escape the tendency to let some reflections run through my head. Then images pop up of the start of SevenSenses in 2013, with that man at the Chamber of Commerce who looked at me with a raised eyebrow while I stutteringly […]
Message to COP27 Egypt – 2022 Climate Conference
By Evert Jan van Hasselt Climate change is not a threat to this planet. This planet will survive, one way or another. Climate change is our planet’s way of cleansing itself from the devastating effect the human species has on this planet. Climate change is a threat to the human species. The only way we […]
The SevenSenses approach for a healthier society
Evert Jan made visible what SevenSenes is meaning by: “we view society as a collection of ecosystems.”
How to talk with strangers – 10 tips to help you have informal conversations for your Participatory Action Research
Do you remember the last time you talked with a complete stranger? I mean, not like asking where to find the toilet, but an actual conversation? Technological developments have moved us away from contact with strangers. Since we all have our phones with us, we never have to ask people the time or where the […]