The Regeneration Lab

Bas van den Berg

Welcome to The Regeneration Lab. The podcast of the Regenerative Thinking research group at the the Mission Zero centre of expertise at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, where we conduct integrated research to come up with regenerative solutions for a more sustainable future. Each episode features a leading educator, activist, professor, or researcher who is already engaging in more regenerative forms of higher education. Join us on this journey as we discover how these educational innovations emerged, how they are practiced, and the beautiful futures that are envisioned for more regenerative higher education. Along the way we will explore the systemic and personal challenges, barriers and opportunities that our awesome guests are facing to do this. You can reach out through mission-zero@hhs.nl to respond or connect to any of the episodes! 

  1. 4d ago

    What if education helped us remember that we are nature? A conversation with Lian Kaspar

    What if education helped us remember that we are already nature? In this conversation, Lian Kaspar explores relational, embodied and nature-inclusive learning through sit spots, outdoor immersion, play, emotional awareness and reflection. We discuss how students can move from initial resistance into slower, more connected ways of learning, and why academic education should make room for the whole person. Lian also reflects on Indigenous inspiration, teacher development, cultural change in universities, and how small experiential “seeds” can help normalize regenerative approaches to learning. Key themes Nature connectedness · Relational learning · Embodied learning · Indigenous knowledge · Regenerative culture About the guest Lian Kaspar is a facilitator, educator and researcher at Wageningen University & Research and the Nature College Foundation. Her work brings together nature-inclusive education, outdoor relational learning and personal development, exploring how embodied and reflective experiences can deepen relationships with ourselves, each other and the more-than-human world. She also works with educators to expand the possibilities for relational and experiential learning within higher education. Explore Lian’s work: Kalapa - https://www.kalapa.nu

    What if education helped us remember that we are nature? A conversation with Lian Kaspar

  2. 4d ago

    What if learning flowed like a watershed? A conversation with Nicole Kras, Tara Bahl, Karen Williams & Samuel Finesurrey

    What if nature-based learning could help students feel more connected, to place, to one another, and to themselves? In this conversation, Nicole Kras, Tara Bahl, Karen Williams and Samuel Finesurrey share how an interdisciplinary community at Guttman Community College is bringing learning beyond the classroom and into New York City’s green spaces. From mindfulness, urban farming and beekeeping to history, identity and critical reflection, we explore how embodied experiences can foster belonging, well-being and curiosity. The group also reflects on student voice, interdisciplinary collaboration, institutional support and the radical possibilities of nature-based learning in higher education. Key themes Nature-based learning · Belonging · Embodied learning · Interdisciplinary collaboration · Student voice About the guests Nicole Kras, Tara Bahl, Karen Williams and Samuel Finesurrey are educators at Guttman Community College, City University of New York (CUNY), where they contribute to an interdisciplinary community exploring nature-based learning in urban higher education. Their work brings perspectives from human services, mindfulness, history, identity and critical pedagogy into shared experiments that connect classroom learning with New York City’s green spaces, while exploring implications for student well-being, belonging, critical thinking and community. Explore their work and resources: Guttman Resources - https://greenguttman.commons.gc.cuny.edu/research/ Kras, N., Finesurrey, S., Williams, K. G. & Bahl, T. (2026). Uprooting traditional classroom: Belonging, wellness and critical learning through community college nature-based education. New Directions for Community Colleges. Kras, N., Martin, T. & Bahl, T. (2025). Learning beyond words: Initial findings on non-discursive learning in nature-based education. Community College Journal of Research and Practice. Kras, N., Martin, T., Bahl, T. & Tesser, D. (2025). Incorporating nature-based learning experiences across disciplines: Inspirations from urban community college faculty. Change, 57(1), 20–27. Kras, N. (2024). A model for embedding nature-based learning across disciplines: A pilot study at an urban community college. The Community College Enterprise, 30(1), 9.

    What if learning flowed like a watershed? A conversation with Nicole Kras, Tara Bahl, Karen Williams & Samuel Finesurrey

  3. 4d ago

    What if nature connection became a life skill? A conversation with Waminda Parker

    What if connecting with nature became a normal part of how we learn and care for ourselves? In this conversation, Waminda Parker explores nature connection as an embodied practice for wellbeing, self-regulation and meaningful learning. From moving beyond cognitive knowledge to noticing, relating and reflecting, we discuss NatureFix’s approach to helping people engage more deeply with everyday green spaces. Waminda also reflects on student wellbeing, nature as a co-facilitator, translating research into practice, and her hope that nature connection becomes embedded across disciplines rather than remaining something educators have to fight for. Key themes Nature connectedness · Embodied learning · Wellbeing · Noticing · Nature-based interventions About the guest Waminda Parker is co-founder and Director of NatureFix, where she works at the intersection of nature connection, health, education and wellbeing. With a background in biology and conservation genetics, her work focuses on translating growing research on human–nature relationships into accessible practices and learning environments that support self-regulation, deeper noticing and meaningful connection with the natural world. Explore Waminda’s work: Naturefix - www.naturefix.life

    What if nature connection became a life skill? A conversation with Waminda Parker

  4. 4d ago

    What if nature connection were a relationship, not an activity? A conversation with Miles Holmes

    What if nature connection is less about visiting nature and more about building a relationship over time? In this conversation, Miles Holmes explores deep nature connection through sit spots, sensory awareness, mentoring and Indigenous perspectives. We discuss how repeated encounters with place can grow from familiarity into kinship, how nature can support wellbeing and meaning-making, and why connection is more than recreation. Miles also reflects on bringing these practices into health and higher education, and on the importance of mentoring the next generation to keep the relationship alive. Key themes Nature connection · Sit spot practice · Sensory awareness · Indigenous knowledge · Mentoring About the guest Dr. Miles Holmes is an anthropologist and Director of NatureFix, whose work brings together deep nature connection, outdoor facilitation, Indigenous collaboration and nature-based approaches to health and wellbeing. Drawing on more than two decades of nature connection practice and work with Warlpiri communities in Central Australia, Miles explores how repeated attention to place, sensory awareness and mentoring can help people move from simply encountering nature towards developing meaningful relationships with the living world. Explore Miles’s work: NatureFix - https://www.naturefix.life The Connective - https://www.theconnective.co

    What if nature connection were a relationship, not an activity? A conversation with Miles Holmes

  5. 4d ago

    What if nature watched over our shoulder? A conversation with Alette Los, Jetske de Boer & Sandra van der Wielen

    What changes when students are invited not only to learn about nature, but to notice, question and relate to it? In this conversation, Alette Los, Jetske de Boer and Sandra van der Wielen explore nature-inclusive teacher education through place-based observation, sensory experience, dialogue and experimentation. From adopting a place and hunting for species to the damselfly as a metaphor for transformation, we discuss how curiosity can reshape the way students see their surroundings. They also reflect on resistance, real-world learning and what it might mean to treat nature as a stakeholder in education and decision-making. Key themes Nature-inclusive education · Nature connectedness · Teacher education · Experiential learning · Nature as stakeholder About the guests Alette Los, Jetske de Boer and Sandra van der Wielen are educators and researchers at Aeres University of Applied Sciences in Wageningen, whose work spans nature-inclusive learning, biodiversity, ecology and teacher education. Through the LENS research group — Learning for a Nature-Inclusive Society, they explore how future educators and practitioners can learn with and from the living world through observation, experience, reflection and dialogue, while developing more relational ways of understanding their place within nature. Explore their work and resources: LENS — Learning for a Nature-Inclusive Society Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) De Boer, J. G., Beukenkamp, M., Los, A., Ven, S. & Wielen, S. (2025). Bugs in the system. Aeres Hogeschool.

    What if nature watched over our shoulder? A conversation with Alette Los, Jetske de Boer & Sandra van der Wielen

  6. 4d ago

    Where does the tree end and the world begin? A conversation with Katinka Quintelier & Karen Verduijn

    What if nature-based pedagogy could change not only what students know, but how they relate to the world? In this conversation, Katinka Quintelier and Karen Verduijn explore forest bathing, EcoWalks and nature-based learning in business education. From sensory practices and post-anthropocentric entrepreneurship to student resistance, collective experimentation and Plato’s Garden, we discuss how embodied encounters can challenge the idea of students as “heads on sticks.” Katinka and Karen also reflect on creating fertile ground for transformation and helping small educational sprouts grow into a wider ecosystem. Key themes Nature-based pedagogy · Embodied learning · Eco-justice · Post-anthropocentric entrepreneurship · Educational transformation About the guests Dr. Katinka Quintelier and Dr. Karen Verduijn are researchers and educators at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam whose work brings nature-based pedagogy into questions of sustainability, ethics, entrepreneurship and socio-ecological transformation. Katinka explores ethical value creation for people and nature and experiments with practices such as forest bathing. Karen works to reimagine entrepreneurship education beyond anthropocentric assumptions, bringing eco-justice and critical posthuman perspectives more centrally into the field. Together, they contribute to Plato’s Garden, a growing VU community around nature-based pedagogy. Explore their work and resources: Transforming Enterprise Education (TrEE) - www.transformingee.eu Plato’s Garden - https://vu.nl/en/about-vu/research-institutes/amsterdam-sustainability-institute/more-about/asi-research-cluster-nature-based-pedagogy Verduijn, K., Hytti, U. & Arias, S. L. (2026). Reimagining entrepreneurship education in the Anthropocene: A critical posthuman practice approach. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 26, e00653. Quintelier, K. J. P. (2024). Approaching Wicked Issues in Practice, in Theory, and in the Wild. In Sustainability Stories.

    Where does the tree end and the world begin? A conversation with Katinka Quintelier & Karen Verduijn

  7. Oct 9

    What if education grew like a river red gum? A conversation with Richard Owens

    What if education helped us grow through connection, reciprocity and place? In this conversation, Richard Owens explores regenerative learning, systems awareness and the conditions that help people and communities thrive. From river red gums and permaculture to regenerative futures, Indigenous knowledge and place-based learning, we discuss how education can reconnect self, others and the living world. Richard also reflects on institutional constraints, youth voice, business education and why meaningful change may begin by observing, sensing and building relationships before rushing towards solutions. Key themes Regenerative learning · Systems awareness · Relational learning · Place-based education · Indigenous knowledge About the guest Dr. Richard Owens is Director of the Woodleigh Institute, Convenor of ReimaginED Festivals, and National Director of the Australian Centre for Systems Awareness. His work spans regenerative learning, systems change, futures, leadership and educational innovation, with a particular focus on relational and place-based approaches that connect personal development, community and the living world. Explore Richard’s work: Woodleigh Institute - https://www.woodleigh.vic.edu.au/woodleigh/woodleigh-institute Australian Centre for Systems Awareness - https://systemsawareness.org

    What if education grew like a river red gum? A conversation with Richard Owens

  8. Oct 9

    What if learning began with our favourite place on Earth? A conversation with Karin Wilterdink Molenaar

    What if education began with the places we already love? In this conversation, Karin Wilterdink Molenaar explores nature-connected learning through geography, outdoor education and storytelling. From inviting students to bring photographs of their favourite places to using landscapes as living classrooms, we discuss how emotional connection can deepen curiosity, well-being and care for the Earth. Karin also reflects on uncertainty, giving students space to form their own relationships with nature, working with teams outdoors, and why meaningful change in higher education may begin with small experiments, supportive communities and patience. Key themes Place attachment · Outdoor learning · Emotional connection · Storytelling · Student agency About the guest Karin Wilterdink Molenaar is a lecturer at Hogeschool KPZ whose work explores sustainability, Earth systems and nature-connected learning through experiential and practice-oriented education. With a background in geography and earlier work developing the Earth and Climate programme at Aeres University of Applied Sciences, she is particularly interested in how outdoor experiences, personal stories and emotional connection can help learners develop their own relationship with the living world. Explore Karin’s work: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-wilterdink-molenaar

    What if learning began with our favourite place on Earth? A conversation with Karin Wilterdink Molenaar
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Trailer

About

Welcome to The Regeneration Lab. The podcast of the Regenerative Thinking research group at the the Mission Zero centre of expertise at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, where we conduct integrated research to come up with regenerative solutions for a more sustainable future. Each episode features a leading educator, activist, professor, or researcher who is already engaging in more regenerative forms of higher education. Join us on this journey as we discover how these educational innovations emerged, how they are practiced, and the beautiful futures that are envisioned for more regenerative higher education. Along the way we will explore the systemic and personal challenges, barriers and opportunities that our awesome guests are facing to do this. You can reach out through mission-zero@hhs.nl to respond or connect to any of the episodes! 

Information

  • Creator
    Bas van den Berg
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    101
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Regeneration Lab
  • Show Website
    The Regeneration Lab

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