Meet Aaron Perry of Y on Earth Community

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Perry.

Aaron, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
After a two+ decade career in the natural foods and organic agriculture sector, along with work in the recycling and renewable energy industries, it became abundantly clear to me that one of the key challenges facing our society is education and awareness regarding the very living ecological systems upon whose health, well-being and survival each of our lives depends.

The corollary to this insight is that we each possess incredible power to transform our own lives, the ecological sustainability of our planet, and the social equity of our global economy – each and every day of our lives going forward. Our choices around food, beverage, and clothing can either be forces for subjugation and destruction in the world, or can be forces for stewardship, regeneration, and dignity.

This all led to writing the book “Y on Earth: Get Smarter, Feel Better, Heal the Planet” – a comprehensive exploration of the myriad interconnected domains, industries, disciplines, world-views, and themes that layout the pathway to a more sustainable future. After the book was published and began reaching more and more people, a small team and I launched the Y on Earth Community, a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization that helps bring these hope-filled, empowering yet practical messages to communities all over the United States.

In just 2 years, we have provided over 100 workshops, seminars, and educational programs: to school-aged children as well as university graduate students and professors, as well as to men’s groups, faith communities, corporate enrichment seminars, and inner-city organizations.

Our growing network of Ambassadors is helping to further activate all of this in neighborhoods and cities all around the country, and our ongoing “Stewardship & Sustainability” podcast/videocast series is giving a voice and platform to a diverse set of leaders, educators, executives, entrepreneurs and innovators all around the world.

The Y on Earth Community is hosting a very special 3-day summit at a private retreat center outside Boulder, CO this May 17-19, called “Massively Mobilizing Sustainability: Deep Leadership for the 21st Century.” We still have a small handful of all-access tickets available, and you can use the code: COMMUNITY to get your ticket at a 50% discount!

After my early childhood in the forests of the Pacific North West, and then moving to Los Angeles, Ithaca, NY, San Antonio, TX., and Denver, CO, I developed a tremendous perspective on our nation’s cultural and ecological diversity at a very young age. Then, as a college student in both New York City and Boulder, CO, I dove deeply into the interconnected subjects of history, literature, philosophy, economics, sustainable development, political science, ecology, and environmental policy.

I have a very clear perspective on how precious life on planet Earth truly is – we can think of it as the most elegantly engineered spaceship any of us will ever experience – and that we now live in a critical and very short window of time in which we as a species get to choose whether we want to continue living here on this planet, or not.

If we are in the camp that wants to continue living on Planet Earth (which I know I absolutely am), we have to do everything we can now to transform our culture toward an ethic of stewardship, care, regeneration, and sustainability, and away from mindless consumption, poisonous industries (especially industrial food and agriculture!), unfettered greed, and hyper-individualism (most often masquerading as a “taking care of my family/tribe first” attitude).

If (and as) we each choose and embody the timeless wisdom of the greatest spiritual teachers – each of whom made LOVE the absolute centerpiece of his or her messages – we will be given the gift of healing: ourselves, our relationships, our communities, and our planet – our only HOME.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My deep commitment to stewardship and sustainability led me to launch a local/regional food distribution business about seven years ago – an inherently low-margin business model. My partners and I had to close down after just three years of operations, a devastating experience. This incredible “failure” was the result of a perfect storm: as our business was scaling up through the “valley of death” that entrepreneurs and early-stage financiers and consultants know well, we encountered a situation that destroyed our capital base and forced us to shut our doors.

We had 45 employees and had cultivated relationships with hundreds of farmers, food manufacturers, restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, resort communities, and even Denver International Airport. The experience was devastating – to so many of us. It forced me into a deep, dark winter during which time I spent days praying in the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest Coasts of Oregon and Washington — seeking guidance from our Creator, about how best to be in service going forward. That was the genesis of Y on Earth.

Since then, our small team has published several books in addition to Y on Earth, including our very practical and hands-on “Soil Stewardship Handbook,” and our first two children’s books: “Celebrating Honey Bees,” and “Celebrating Soil.” As with any small, early-stage non-profit, our funding and resources remain one of the most significant constraints on our ability to rapidly scale and mobilize, but we are grateful to all of our supporters as we are growing by the day – both locally and internationally through our digital resources and online educational offerings.

This is all very challenging, but also extremely important and rewarding. As a good friend and mentor once told me: “The question isn’t whether it’s hard or easy, but whether it’s worthwhile and in service to humanity.”

Please tell us about Y on Earth Community.
The Y on Earth Community is a 21st century educational non-profit. We provide a variety of resources and experiential opportunities to communities throughout Colorado, the United States, and the World. From our digital offerings (which include our Stewardship & Sustainability Podcast/Videocast series, our “Soil Activation & Stewardship” pages and videos, our Executives & Organizational Leadership content, frameworks, and videos, our “Kid’s Corner,” and our various articles and featured articles) to our experiential offerings (which include university symposia, workshops, lectures, and the upcoming 3-day summit: “Massively Mobilizing Sustainability: Deep Leadership for the 21st Century”), the Y on Earth Community develops and disseminates positively disruptive, impact-oriented media, content, and pedagogy that helps empower people from all walks of life, all levels of education, and all ages to engage and mobilize the essential actions required to transform our culture into one deeply rooted in love, care, stewardship, healing, regeneration, and sustainability.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My fondest early childhood memory is walking in the woods of the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific North West with my first best friend: my dog, a yellow lab I named “Blue Dog.” We would spend hours exploring those soft, moss-covered woods, towering evergreen trees, prolific berry bushes, and unbelievably magical fern patches, before, upon getting hungry, grazing on the sugary-sweet peas, carrots, and strawberries in my parents huge garden.

Pricing:

• 50% Savings on our upcoming summit: Massively Mobilizing Sustainability – use the code: COMMUNITY

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yonearth.org/
• Email: y@yoneath.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yonearthworld/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yonearthworld/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/yonearthworld
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-william-perry/

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.