Dorset has long been a place of old ways and pilgrimage. Ancient paths, chalk downs, and the Jurassic Coast hold stories of people walking, seeking meaning, and shaping community. From St Wite’s Way to St Catherine’s, pilgrimage runs through the spirit of this landscape. From the Neolithic farmers of these hills to the Celtic Durotriges and the communities that followed, adapting to changing times has been embedded in the life of these islands.

TerraCirca is grounded in this same spirit. It is an invitation to gather as multi-generational Dorset fellows, and step away from our screens and the news, and to tune into the place we are from. 

To begin, we will walk. Walking the trails together, we can reflect on meaning, purpose, and action, while opening space for new ideas, alliances and projects to emerge.

Big questions might frame our conversations while walking these old ways:

• How can we meet challenges in ways that are fitting for the present and future?
• How might we create resilient communities  to care for people, place, and planet in times of great change?
• What experiments and seeds of change are already growing here?
• What alliances might emerge when we gather, listen, and act together?
   

These are not questions with easy answers. They are provocations. Dorset is alive with possibility. What might be the common ground that unites us?

TerraCirca is not a polished program. It is an invitation to co-create a resilient community. To weave together the golden threads of what already exists with what is waiting to emerge. A tapestry of our shared history, our present reality, and our potential futures.

Come walk with me. Together we’ll explore the questions that matter for Dorset, how we live here now, and what we leave for those who follow.

Island of Sanity
This is a place of coherence, an island of sanity in turbulent times. Here we acknowledge the challenges we face, from the climate and nature crises to social fragmentation and the pressures for sameness, while choosing to meet them with awareness, courage, and care.

Conviviality
This is a convivial space, joyful, kind, and enriching. We gather to listen, share, discover what might grow from genuine connection.

Multigenerational
All generations are welcome. There are no experts here, no audience and no stage. We meet as a community of inquiry, each bringing perspective, experience, and curiosity.

Practice and Participation
We care enough to act, in our work, our communities, or simply in how we live each day. This is a space for those who want to take part, to support one another, and to help cultivate connected social and ecological communities.