Summer has a funny way of asking us to do two things at once: slow down and take stock, while also staying curious about everything happening around us. Over the past few months, ICL has been doing plenty of both — out on the road, in conversation, and hard at work.
One highlight was getting to take part in the Environmental Capacity Builders Network (ECBN) annual conference. It’s a wonderful space to connect, share, and learn alongside others doing capacity-building work in the environmental and social change space. I came home with a notebook full of ideas, a few new frameworks for thinking about my own work, and a renewed appreciation for rest as part of the work — not separate from it.
In that spirit, here’s a roundup of resources worth your summer attention: some for the mind, and a couple for the body and spirit.
For Learning: Frameworks and Reflections on Change
A few things I picked up at the conference gave me new language for thinking about the kind of change ICL and our partners are trying to make happen.
The Three Horizons Framework: This was new to me, and it’s a useful way to conceptualize systems change — thinking not just about where we are now, but about the horizons of change unfolding in parallel: the dominant system, the emerging one, and the pockets of the future already visible in the present. I found myself thinking about how it fits into my own work almost immediately, and I think it could do the same for you. Read the Three Horizons Framework
The Three Earths Framework: This one gave me a helpful way to think about where my own work sits right now, and what it might take to move toward the future I want to see. Read the original essay
For a more digestible entry point — plus some genuinely good reflection questions — I’d also recommend this companion piece: From Reaction to Regeneration: Discovering the Three Earths
A Podcast Worth Your Commute (or Walk, or Garden Time) Real Solutions is an 8-episode podcast series from the Othering & Belonging Institute, focused on what bold, workable policy solutions can actually look like in practice. It’s a hopeful, grounded listen for anyone feeling worn down by the scale of the problems we’re up against. Listen to Real Solutions
And tying back to the Three Earths Framework above, a researcher from the Institute wrote a great companion essay worth sitting with: Real Problems Deserve Real Solutions
For Rest: Because Recharge Is Part of the Work
If there was one big takeaway from ECBN that stuck with me, it’s this: in a time of this much change and uncertainty, rest isn’t a luxury — it’s infrastructure. Both of the opportunities below are new to me, and I hope they’re valuable to you or someone on your team.
Windcall Institute Residency: A residency offering 1-week and 3-week retreats for organizers and leaders working toward social, economic, and environmental justice across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The Residency removes the outside pressures and internal habits that often get in the way of real renewal, creating space to explore practices that support long-term sustainability in movement work. Financial assistance is available to help make participation possible. Learn more about the Windcall Residency
Resilience Initiative: If your organization or partnership is supported by funders like the Packard Foundation, the LeadersTrust, the Collaborative for Gender and Reproductive Equity, the Hewlett Foundation, or the Ford Foundation, you may already have access to this one. The Resilience Initiative offers just-in-time, low-lift organizational strengthening and wellness support to more than 650 social change organizations across the country. Explore the Resilience Initiative
A Small Invitation
Finally, as you reflect on staying effective as responsibilities change, we invite you to consider ICL’s Build Better Meetings training to reinforce your skill development. It is a flexible, self-paced program for professionals who want to maintain and strengthen their facilitation skills over time. Without continued practice, old patterns return; BBM provides structured reinforcement, so skills stay sharp and consistently applied.
Change work asks a lot of us — clarity of thought, staying power, and the willingness to keep showing up. This summer, I hope you find a little time for learning that sharpens your thinking and time for real rest.
If any of these resources land for you, pass them along. That’s really what this whole exercise is about — learning and sharing, together.