Introducing Cross Pollinate
October 23, 2025
The energy of our first Cross Pollinate gathering last week was nurturing. From the reflective conversations with our speakers, Gina LaMotte and Ky Harkey, to the vibrant conversations each of you engaged in, this event revealed we do indeed need a place for the diverse collection of people who are stewarding, protecting, and promoting our natural world in their work.
Cross Pollinate is that place — a quarterly gathering designed to break down silos and create an intentional space for candid, peer-to-peer conversations that focus on moving the needle.
Three Powerful Insights
Inspired by Ky’s reference to Mary Oliver's poem “Sometimes,” we connected the poet’s words directly to what stuck with us from the evening:
I. Pay Attention.
The earth has 3.8 billion years of evolution for us to learn from. In order to learn, we have to be present and curious — a mindset we felt echoed throughout the space.
“There are deep patterns that all of the natural world follows, except humans.” – Gina LaMotte
II. Be Astonished.
Feeling wonder in the everyday creates the potential for a refresh in perspective. And our capacity for awe is not fixed; it grows the more we experience it. To be guided by nature, we must intentionally create space to be astonished.
III. Tell About It.
For people to feel a kinship with nature, and a responsibility to care for it, they need the foundation of experience. Often that starts with an introduction from someone else. One of the tenets of Cross Pollinate is sharing what you have learned — allowing our knowledge and experience to be portable across different fields of expertise.
“Our work creates experiences and seeds for others.” – Ky Harkey
Want to attend the next Cross Pollinate?
Cross Pollinate is a quarterly gathering designed to break down the silos that exist between vital industries, creating a space for peer-to-peer conversations for those that are stewarding, protecting, and promoting our natural world.
If you would like an invitation to our next event in late January 2026, email us at crosspollinate@withbutler.com and briefly tell us about your work or sector, and we'll be in touch.
