MEET YOUR HOST

Erica has been researching and applying evidence-based and biologically aligned learning pathways for 22 years.

Having founded Luminous Youth in 2012 and raised four children with their own unique learning styles and passions, she brings diverse and deep research along with her lived experience into these pioneering conversations.

The Luminous Youth Podcast invites you to journey with us as we question what it is to embody our evolving humanity and to feel embedded within place based culture. In these times of change, how can we restore these ways of deep connection from within our homes and family collectives to create a deeper sense of belonging and ecological intimacy? We look forward to exploring this with you all through the lens of education, human potential, cultural revitalisation and parenting.

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In this rich and reflective conversation recorded beside the winter fire on Bundjalung Country, Australia co-hosts and Directors of Luminous Youth Erica and Paul explore their application of localising education.  Drawing inspiration from the work of Helena Norberg-Hodge and the film The Economics of Happiness, they reflect on how place-based culture, education, and story can nurture the well-being of our children, families, and communities in times of great change.

Speaking from lived experience—Erica as a mother and initiator of Luminous Youth, and Paul as an educator and mentor—they trace how globalised education has eroded our sense of place, and how re-rooting ourselves in local ecology, story, and seasonal rhythms can reignite joy, wonder, and community vitality. Woven throughout is an invitation to reclaim learning as a sacred, shared, and deeply personal act—alive with relevance, beauty, and ancestral remembering.

Summary

Topics include-

• Localisation as a Cultural Movement
  Reflections on World Localisation Day and the global-to-local shift as essential for planetary and personal well-being.

• Globalisation’s Impact on Traditional Cultures
  Paul’s story of witnessing the transformation of a Himalayan village due to centralised education and corporate influence.

• Reclaiming Place-Based Learning for Our Children
  Erica’s early realisation that most children’s books were filled with foreign animals and values, and her journey into creating a locally-rooted homeschool co-op.

• The Birth of Luminous Youth
  The creation of a learning community where children are mentored by passionate local creatives, artists, monks, and healers—offering living examples of purpose and community contribution.

• Story as Living, Localised Education
  How storytelling becomes a tool for embedding children into the landscape, offering emotional guidance and deepening ecological relationship.

• The Role of Animals and Landscape in Moral Development
  Using stories of local animals (e.g., the barn owl, velvet worm) to transmit emotional intelligence and life skills linked to local places.

• Restoring the Village Model of Learning
  The importance of children knowing and being mentored by real people in their local community—sparking memory, relationship, and belonging.

• Parenting as Relational, Co-Learning Journey
  The power of learning alongside children—sharing awe, humility, and discovery as equal partners in the learning process.

• The Need for Seasonal, Locally Relevant Celebrations
  How families can creatively adapt mainstream holidays (like Easter) to reflect the actual seasonal rhythms and ecological signals of their local place.

• Well-being Through Ecological Wonder and Relationship
  Reclaiming joy, awe, and emotional resilience by becoming aware of the living world just outside our door—and loving it enough to protect it.

• What’s Ahead
  A preview of future conversations about parental well-being, emotional fatigue, and how localization supports not only children, but caregivers too.

World Localization Day is an annual celebration convened by the international NGO Local Futures. On June 21, 2025 and throughout the month of June, Local Futures and an array of amazing Global Partners host in-person and online events to highlight localisation as a strategy for change. And not least, to celebrate the many efforts and initiatives that foster ecological economies, thriving communities and healthy local food systems.

Interested in Life-Centric Learning for your childs natural unfoldment?

Kick-start the journey with our ‘Essential Top 20 Learning & Education Resources’ from our 22 years of research and practical application.
Join our Newsletter to Download you free Resource via here 

Soundscapes by Paulie Glow

Past Episodes

Luminous Youth’s Founder and Director @EricaLuminousWeaver interviews Rebecca Wildbear.

Rebecca helps people deepen their connection with themselves and the Earth, so they can perceive and relate to animals, plants, mountains, and rivers as conscious beings. She invites people to awaken to the wisdom of their bodies, listen to the mysteries within their dreams, and discover their soul’s purpose. Since our wellness and our planet are linked, she melds the journey of our souls with active listening to the Earth for what she needs. She encourage people to engage with the sacred through their bodies and listen to the mystery within.

Summary

Topics include-
• how the somatics of our animal body is effected by the modern education system.
• What is our “wild self”
• Seeing the true essence of our children beyond structure.
• Dream tending and how to bring this into our family life
• How dreams might be our internal wilderness and what they might be inviting us to engage with.
• Darkness and what it evokes in us and how it effects our us
• Darkness as an entity and exploring your relationship.
• What is deep imagination and what is its importance.
• How do I lead a muse directed life?
• How do we court our muse?
• Heart and imagination are a muse directed life?
• Female ferocity and emotions that are potentially not welcome. How can we find respect and healthy ways to be with these wiring ourselves and our family.
• Anger as a clue.
• The practise of grief and how that it heals both back and forward.
• Earth grief and how we can give ourselves permission to feel how connected we are to the planets destruction & wellness.
• What is the Love Warrior and how we can embody this contrasting energy to direct our life?

Interested in Life-Centric Learning for your childs natural unfoldment?

Kick-start the journey with our ‘Essential Top 20 Learning & Education Resources’ from our 22 years of research and practical application.
Join our Newsletter to Download you free Resource via here 

Soundscapes by Paulie Glow

Luminous Youth’s Founder and Director @EricaLuminousWeaver interviews Brittany Jane Laidlaw.

Brittany is a Somatic Ecologist and Rewilding Mentor with over 11 years of experience leading embodied nature-connection programs. She is currently (Nov 2024) completing a pioneering PhD in eco-somatics where her research explores ways of relating to and restoring living ecologies through the body. This conversation touches on her experience working with us as a guide and how the young people within our programs engage in complex conversation compared to her university students she is also currently teaching. 

Summary

This Luminous Youth Podcast explores the intersection of evolving humanity and place-based culture, focusing on ecological intimacy and belonging within family and community. We discuss the importance of deep connection, the impact of “modern” education practice on creativity, and the necessity of embracing grief as a catalyst for growth and change. Further to this Brittany emphasizes eco-somatics as a means to foster holistic well-being and cultural repair, particularly through the lens of rites of passage and embracing mistakes.

Highlights –

1. Connection to Ancestry: Acknowledgment of traditional ancestors and their wisdom.
2. Eco-Somatics: The blend of somatics and deep ecology to understand our interconnectedness. 
3. Cultural Repair: A focus on restoring cultural practices and community connections. 
4. Rites of Passage: Importance of rituals in marking life transitions and responsibilities. 
5. Grief as Growth: Embracing grief as a necessary part of personal and collective transformation.
6. Education Shift: Critique of traditional schooling and advocacy for life-centric learning. 
7. Mistakes as Learning: Viewing mistakes as vital opportunities for growth and maturity. ✨

Interested in Life-Centric Learning for your childs natural unfoldment?

Kick-start the journey with our ‘Essential Top 20 Learning & Education Resources’ from our 22 years of research and practical application.
Join our Newsletter to Download you free Resource via here 

Soundscapes by Paulie Glow