What were you doing before you applied to the Conway School?
I worked at a design/build landscaping firm doing landscape installation and maintenance.
What brought you to Conway?
I had a background in sustainable and urban agriculture and had studied permaculture design. When I was doing traditional landscape installation and maintenance, I realized that I wanted to bring my farming and landscaping experience together to do residential and community ecological landscape design. I wanted a non-traditional, practical, and hands-on program that wouldn’t take 2+ years to complete.
How did you first learn about Conway?
I was researching programs that didn’t require completing the GREs to apply (because who wants to take a standardized test?!) and found Conway. At some point I made the connection between Conway and Dave Jacke, who had been an instructor of mine, and it made me want to go to Conway even more.
Imagine we just met, and recognized we had common interests. How would you describe Conway to me?
The Conway School is a little bit like Project Runway. Each term you have a project, and each week you need to make a big step in the project so you can present it to your classmates and instructors for feedback. It can feel wildly chaotic and fully immersive (in a fun way) and some of your best work comes from being in that crunch. Imagine instead of fabric there is trace paper everywhere! You are surrounded by your classmates who are in the same boat as you and that atmosphere and culture adds to the excitement, openness, and possibility. Also imagine going on field trips every week into beautiful Massachusetts landscapes where you are with an expert instructor who helps you to really see how ecological systems work in real time. Because the program is small and specialized you get personalized attention from the faculty and the curriculum feels catered to the interests in the room, your projects, and what’s emerging in the field. Conway is its own microclimate in the ecosystem of landscape design, you can only find what Conway has to offer at Conway.
What advice do you have for someone just starting out in the field?
Be open to having your mind changed about what you want to do within the field. As you go through the program (and life), new pathways could find you rethinking your direction. And, what you learn in ecological design can be applied in anything because you are learning how ecological systems work and that is needed in every sector.
What are you doing right now, and what do you love about it?
I am an Integral Leadership Coaching working with LGBTQIA+ leaders. I love it because I get to work with leaders in the environmental, agriculture, and climate justice fields to build them up to be able to rise to this important moment we are in politically and ecologically. I weave in nature and ecological systems into my coaching and nature teaches me how to be a grounded leader.
List one or more books that you find influential in the field of ecological design and/or planning.
Land Justice: Re-imagining Land, Food, and the Commons in the United States edited by Justine M Williams and Eric Holt-Giménez
Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown
Urban Alchemy by Mindy Thompson Fullilove, M.D.
What book changed your life?
What It Takes to Heal by Prentis Hemphill
What is your favorite tool? E.g., a type of gardening tool, digital tool, etc.
Hori hori for gardening. 100% don’t garden without it!
Mural.co for interactive online collaboration and thinking
Somatics for feeling in a culture that wants us numb and afraid
How do you think ecological design and planning can help make positive change?
It moves us away from seeing the world through the lens of our culture’s systems that are designed to oppress and marginalize towards seeing how all things are essential and necessary to thrive. Nature teaches us that there are infinite ways to be and so there are infinite options for us to solve the wicked challenges that our planet and society are facing. Because ecological design is based in understanding how systems work, it can be applied anywhere.
Which aspects of your Conway education do you use in your current work? Which aspects do you used to address urgent challenges related to climate change, environmental justice, etc.?
I use nature as metaphor, teacher, and guide everyday with my clients. If I explain something about leadership, organizations, or self in terms of how nature works, it often times clicks with a client in a way that brings fresh insight and perspective. I also see my clients as ecosystems with many layers and parts that come together to make them whole. It’s like using trace paper to singularly map different components of self and then when you overlay them you can see how they are working together or clashing. The same is true when I’m doing organizational development work–I always start with a site assessment so I can get to know the organizational ecosystem (culture, policy, decision making, strategy) before I recommend or design any interventions. I also use my observation skills that I learned at Conway, which is really about listening and getting curious.
What blogs or podcasts do you recommend? Particular posts or episodes?
Self Promotion: Check Out my new video conversation series with LGBTQ+ leaders called Queer Talks In Nature! First episode coming soon. https://www.youtube.com/@QueerTalksInNature
A new one for me is Wild with Sarah Wilson, she interviews really interesting people about ecological and societal collapse.
Becoming The People with Prentis Hemphill
Please provide a short bio, or link to your bio.
Root Schermerhorn (they/them) is an Integral Leadership coach, facilitator, and organizational development practitioner with nearly two decades of experience supporting mission-driven organizations, federal environmental planning, and grassroots movements.
What is the link to your website?
www.coachingwithroot.com
Social media information (to find you on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Bluesky, TikTok, etc.)
IG: @coach_root
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/root-schermerhorn-b5301017/