sophie burns

Hello, I’m Sophie!

I curate earth-loving approaches at the intersections of social justice, transformative change and trauma-informed community healing. My work seeks to respond sensitively and relationally to emergent life within communities, places and people. I have influenced and advocated for systems change at place-based levels.

I am a facilitator of collective care, see my current offerings here. These include: connecting, organising and innovative leadership; inclusive creative community programmes; access to land and wellbeing for all.

I have written a short collection of poetry and co-founded an arts collective. I love to collaborate internationally. My projects have been featured by ITV News, the Guardian (UK), BBC Radio Bristol, The Emotional Wellbeing Podcast, and Calgary’s LiveWire Magazine.

I love horses and mountains, and have been known to play my violin to sheep.

At this time I’m wondering, how might a breaking down also become a breaking open, a space for not-yet-imagined and remembered worlds? With Love, Joy and Soul at the root.

Some inspirations are:

The Lupin Lady - "Do something to make the world more beautiful"

Reciprocity (n.) - "state or condition of free interchange, mutual responsiveness," 1766, from French réciprocité (18c.), reciprocare "rise and fall, move back and forth" reciproque, similarly means "the natural return”

Paolo Freire - “a real narrative is a web of alternating possibilities. the imagination is capable of kindness that the mind often lacks because it works naturally from the world of Between; it does not engage things in a cold, clear-cut way, it always searches for the hidden worlds that wait at the edges of things”

Rebecca Solnit - “a gift for embracing paradox is not the least of the equipment an activist should have”

I hold a First Class Arts degree (Bristol University), and certified trainings in:

Eco-Psychology (Centre of Human Ecology); Permaculture (Shift, Bristol) Holistic Leadership (Onyett); Community Development + Facilitation (City Guild Level 4); Trauma-informed Care (Calgary); Wilderness Questing / Rites of Passage Guiding (Canada); Indigenous Relations (University of Calgary, Canada); Counselling (CPCAB, UK).