Professional development & strategic decision making for creative, eco-conscious leaders and innovators.
(yes you, the one hiking through the forest, paddling over the waters, catching that fish, smiling at those plants and gawking at the birds!)
Sarah West, MPA, BA(Hons), DKATI
Founder of Earthen Vision
Radical Regeneration for Our Work in the World
Sarah founded Earthen Vision as a way to accompany professionals and organizations to harness the radical regeneration that can come from the inside, out, when we intentionally bring our creative, earthy selves into the workplace.
Blending 15 plus years of experience working in senior level positions for provincial, local and Indigenous governments and her work as an environmental arts therapist, Sarah has honed how using a creative, land based approach makes us more effective, more efficient, and much more resilient to burnout in our places of work.
Sarah has a Masters in public administration and an honours degree in cultural anthropology and peace studies. She is a trained mental health professional as a climate aware, environmental arts therapist, and is a professional member of the Canadian Art Therapy Association and the Climate Psychology Alliance.
The foundation of her work is grounded on being brought “under wing” by Indigenous Elders (of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples) who encouraged her to explore and embody the indigeneity found within her ancestral traditions from Scotland, Ireland and England, which she has done so for the last 20 years. Sarah is also an active outdoorswoman you can find kayaking, fishing, hiking, surfing, climbing and processing wild game. She is a lifelong practitioner of ancestral and eco arts.
Credentials:
Masters in Public Administration, Queen’s University
Honours Bachelor of Arts, Cultural Anthropology & Peace Studies, McMaster University
Post-baccalaureate Art Therapy Diploma (two-year, graduate level psychotherapy), Kutenai Art Therapy Institute
Professional Member, Canadian Art Therapy Association
Professional Member, Climate Psychology Alliance
Fundamentals of Public Participation and Engagement, International Association for Public Participation (iap2)
Culturally Restorative Practices Certificate, Institute for Culturally Restorative Practices Inc.
Ethics in Local Government, Local Government Management Association of BC
Respectful Workplace for Supervisors, Safecheck Workplace Safety Training
Holistic ecological art therapy training intensive, Painthorse Eco Art Therapy
Groundwater Immersion: Indigenous-Centered Art Therapy Education, Kutenai Art Therapy Institute
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Meditation for Health
Mental Health First Aid, Mental Health Commission of Canada
Occupational First Aid, Level 1, WorkSafeBC
Avalanche Safety Training, Level 1, Avalanche Canada
Ongoing professional development and lived experience (15+ yrs) with herbalism, ancestral skills, place-based mythopoetic modalities & embodiment practices through dance and qigong.
Lineage (how I know what I know):
My expertise in working with creative, land-based approaches is grounded on a foundation of support and teachings from a wide number of teachers over many years. Integral to this foundation is my 8 year apprenticeship with internationally acclaimed, holistic ecological art therapist Beverley A’Court of Scotland. My deep 15 year anam cara friendship with Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) ecological artist and author Flora MacDonald of South Uist, Scotland, has been integral to engaging with what subtle, humble Indigenous Eldership looks like in my ancestral homelands. The Kutenai Art Therapy Institute provided my formal 2-year academic and hands-on training in art therapy, taught by Monica Carpendale, Nicole Le Bihan, and my long-term supervisor Millie Cumming. My formative orientation comes from being brought “under wing” these past 15 years by Anishinaabe, Cree and Haudenosaunee Elders, lawyers, educators, politicians and civil servants who were the first to - kindly - point out that I come from a lineage that is both the colonized and the colonizer. They have demonstrated what true indigeneity looks and feels like in the body and in our lifestyles and communities, in relation with the natural world. I am especially grateful for the deep and rich friendships with Elder Laura Calmwind, Elder Phyllis Shaugabay, Elder and lawyer Sharon Venne, Marla Monague and Dr. Sara General. Finally, I will tip my hat to one of my foremost teachers - the lived, ongoing immersion of engaging in the eco arts since childhood.
Featured in:
The Enchanted Life, 2018, by psychologist and mythologist Dr. Sharon Blackie, award winning author of If Women Rose Rooted
Published work, Ecological grief is a real thing, Ecopoiesis: Eco-Human Theory and Practice Journal, 3(1), 2022
Interviewee, Climate Blues, Canadian Living, 2023
Speaker, TEDx Selkirk College Climate Countdown, 2022
Special Speaker, Supportive Practices for Ecological Grief, Canadian National Herb Conference, 2022
Keynote, Creative, Land-based decision making, 23rd Annual Conference, Russian National Association for the Development of Art Therapy Science and Practice, 2020
Interviewee, Creative, land-based decision making in the workplace, Kootenay Co-op Radio, 2022
Guest, Attuning to Nature, Art Therapy IRL podcast, 2021
Guest, Nature-Based decision making, Iterations - Challenging the 9-5 podcast, 2023
Speaker, Embodying Indigeneity, Bread & Blooms à la maison retreat, 2025
Speaker, Sustaining and Expanding Creative Practices in Unprecedented Times, Canadian Art Therapy Association National Conferences, 2020 & 2022
Guest Lecturer, Environmental Arts Therapy & the Triple Spiral Framework, Kutenai Art Therapy Institute, 2021
Speaker, Environmental Ecological Arts Therapies: Russian and International Experience Conference, 2020
Guest Alumni, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University
Regular contributor, Lund Barnacle & Scottish Islands Explorer
Drawing inspiration from the likes of:
Tyson Yunkaporta, Art Manuel, Sharon Venne, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, Suzanne Simard, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Sharon Blackie, Martin Prechtel, Mary Reynolds, Manchan Magan, Martin Shaw, Nan Shepherd, Ian Siddons Heginworth, Alexander Kopytin, Leslie Davenport, Francis Weller, Brit Wray, Rob MacFarlane, and Joanna Macy.
What people are saying about Sarah
“Sarah is a wise, generous facilitator who emulates beautifully the principles and practices of reciprocity... helped deepen my own relationship with the land but also given me the tools & confidence to share this approach with my clients. I highly recommend Sarah.” - Sophie, course participant
“Sarah is gifted with an intuitive, spiritual connection to the earth and she has honed her ability through years of professional training and cultural exploration. When working with Sarah, one can feel that she has gone into the depths of herself, and because of this, she holds the capacity to companion others on a dedicated path of self-inquiry.” - Susan, client
“Sarah has this natural, down to earth facilitation style, which makes everyone feel so comfortable in her workshops.” - Chloe, course participant
“Your presence has been so gentle, guiding and it’s nice to have that. I really see the care and passion you have for this work.” - Kaitlin, course participant