Community Calendar

Join monastics from Sravasti Abbey to learn practical steps toward peace of mind through growing kindness. Discussions are based on the book "An Open-Hearted Life", co-written by Sravasti Abbey founder and Abbess Thubten Chodron and Eastern Washington University Professor and Clinical Psychologist Russell Kolts. No registration necessary. All are welcomed.

For decades, environmental law in the United States has operated primarily within a conservation framework that regulates pollution and extraction while continuing to treat the natural world as property for human use. As climate disruption intensifies and biodiversity loss accelerates, this model is increasingly criticized as structurally incapable of preventing ecological harm at its roots. This lecture examines an emerging jurisprudential shift: the movement from protecting nature as an object of regulation to recognizing ecosystems as subjects of legal rights. Focusing on Rights of Nature as both a legal and philosophical development, the presentation will explore how this framework challenges anthropocentric assumptions embedded in conventional environmental and property law. It asks what follows when rivers, watersheds, forests, and other ecosystems are understood not merely as resources, but as living systems with interests the law should recognize and protect. The lecture will also consider how this shift reframes the relationship between human communities and the natural world, emphasizing that human health, stability, and flourishing are inseparable from the flourishing of the ecosystems on which communities depend. Alongside developments in Washington State, the talk will situate these questions within a broader global movement, tracing how jurisdictions and communities around the world are advancing new legal approaches to ecological governance. The result is not simply a new environmental doctrine, but a deeper challenge to the assumptions that have long structured modern law.

Join monastics from Sravasti Abbey to learn practical steps toward peace of mind through growing kindness. Discussions are based on the book "An Open-Hearted Life", co-written by Sravasti Abbey founder and Abbess Thubten Chodron and Eastern Washington University Professor and Clinical Psychologist Russell Kolts. No registration necessary. All are welcomed.

The Spokane Handweavers’ Guild invites the public to admire a stunning display of one-of-a-kind, handwoven items made by members and offered for sale as unique holiday gifts. Choices range from household linens, such as towels, table runners, and placemats, to scarves, shawls, other accessories, and more. There is something for everyone at prices for every budget.

To learn more about SHG visit https://www.spokaneweavers.org

Join monastics from Sravasti Abbey to learn practical steps toward peace of mind through growing kindness. Discussions are based on the book "An Open-Hearted Life", co-written by Sravasti Abbey founder and Abbess Thubten Chodron and Eastern Washington University Professor and Clinical Psychologist Russell Kolts. No registration necessary. All are welcomed.

Join monastics from Sravasti Abbey to learn practical steps toward peace of mind through growing kindness. Discussions are based on the book "An Open-Hearted Life", co-written by Sravasti Abbey founder and Abbess Thubten Chodron and Eastern Washington University Professor and Clinical Psychologist Russell Kolts. No registration necessary. All are welcomed.

As climate change drives more extreme heat, drought, flooding, wildfires, and other disasters, frontline communities, especially those already living without running water or functioning plumbing, face the greatest risks. More than two million people in the United States currently live in the water access gap (i.e. without safe water or sanitation in their homes), and millions more are vulnerable to climate-driven water quality degradation, water supply disruptions, and disasters that can quickly wipe out their access to water and wastewater services. This presentation examines how communities, cities, and utilities are working to adapt and build climate-resilient water and sanitation services. It explores key questions: How can communities strengthen their built and natural infrastructure, improve water management and planning, and advance laws and policies that support long-term resilience? What types of funding, technology, and information are available—and accessible—to support these efforts? Drawing on findings from Achieving Equitable, Climate-Resilient Water and Sanitation for Frontline Communities by Pacific Institute, Center for Water Security and Cooperation, and DigDeep, the talk highlights major barriers that hinder equitable climate resilience in the United States, including historic underinvestment, affordability challenges, inadequate data, and gaps in capacity and governance. It also showcases real-world strategies from across the country that center community voices, address historical inequities, enhance climate readiness, and expand access to safe, reliable, climate-resilient water and sanitation.

Join monastics from Sravasti Abbey to learn practical steps toward peace of mind through growing kindness. Discussions are based on the book "An Open-Hearted Life", co-written by Sravasti Abbey founder and Abbess Thubten Chodron and Eastern Washington University Professor and Clinical Psychologist Russell Kolts. No registration necessary. All are welcomed.

The resource for educators, Transformative Skills Guide: Expanding the Definition of Climate Literacy, was the result of a collaboration between U.S. federal and international non-federal experts in climate literacy and transformative skills-building. Inspiration to create the guide came during the consultation process for the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)’s 2024 publication, Climate Literacy: Essential Principles for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change. In 2023, the Climate Literacy Guide writing team asked 772 people over 21 public listening sessions, “What does everyone need to be able to do to address the climate crisis?” To their surprise, after analyzing the responses to this question, it became clear that participants thought holistic, psychological, relational, and collaborative skills were needed to address the climate crisis, alongside knowledge about earth sciences and physical systems. The resulting guide aims to expand climate literacy to encompass those inner skills, qualities and capacities that help translate scientific understanding into transformative shifts in the way we do things, individually and collectively. In this session we will explore how educators, communicators and practitioners can play a key role in equipping the whole of society with these essential resources.