Drawing Strength from our Connections: A Work That Reconnects Retreat with Lydia Violet
October 16, 2026 @ 5:00 pm - October 18, 2026 @ 2:00 pm EDT
Event Overview
Join the Interhelp Network for a weekend residential workshop journeying the spiral of the Work That Reconnects facilitated Lydia Violet at the beautiful Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH.
We at Interhelp cherish the opportunity to connect in person and are excited to be welcoming Lydia with her wealth of experience to facilitate this fall weekend workshop. Last year Lydia facilitated a two-day non-residential workshop for Interhelp, and we are so glad for her to return to the northeast US and facilitate another workshop for the Interhelp community. Lydia is a long-time facilitator of the Work That Reconnects, Joanna Macy scholar, and a talented musician who weaves together these powerful strengths in her group facilitation.
In this time of Great Unraveling, let us draw strength from our connections with one another and with the self-healing powers in the web of life as we are guided through the transformative practices and teachings of the beloved Work That Reconnects.
This weekend workshop includes vegetarian meals and accommodation choices. The workshop begins with dinner on Friday evening and ends with lunch on Sunday afternoon.
If you are under age 35, check out the option to join a pre-retreat starting the Thursday evening before this workshop with the Earth Leadership Cohort facilitation team.
About the facilitator:
Lydia Violet is an Iranian-Armenian-American musician, educator, and facilitator devoted to cultural healing, ecological renewal, and the restoration of ancestral wisdom. For over 17 years, she has been a dedicated student of Joanna Macy, facilitating The Work That Reconnects across many communities, weaving together systems thinking, deep ecology, and emotional resilience in the face of global crisis.
Lydia is the founder of the School for The Great Turning, a learning community where ecological care, activism, and spiritual practice meet. Her work often focuses on diasporic healing and right relationship, creating spaces for people to reconnect with their cultural roots while engaging the challenges of our time. With training in ecopsychology and trauma-informed facilitation, she offers grounded emotional support to individuals and communities navigating burnout, grief, and the psychological weight of living in ecological crisis.
As a folk musician, Lydia also brings community song into the heart of her teaching, believing that music is a vessel for both grief and joy, memory and emergence. She has collaborated with artists and thought leaders such as Leah Song of Rising Appalachia and Dr. Lyla June Johnston, offering immersive programs that explore the personal and collective journey of waking up in a troubled world—and responding with fierce love.