Let Nature Lead: Heal the Soil and Heal Ourselves with Doniga Markegard

Doniga Markegard is a wildlife tracker, regenerative rancher, speaker, and author of Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild and Wolf Girl: Finding Myself in the Wild.

In this episode, Cheryl and Doniga talk about the connection between our health and the health of the soil. 

Doniga's teen years in nature school started her on a path that led to a career in animal tracking and then permaculture and ranching at her farm in California, Markegard Family Grass-Fed, where she works to regenerate both soil and community through farming. Using the innovative, carbon-storing methods of regenerative ranching, she’s restoring the land she tends, bringing native grasses and wildlife back.

Doniga is a consultant and guest instructor at nature awareness programs around the country, has led retreats in places such as 1440 Multiversity, Canyon Ranch, and is a regular speaker at events such as the Bioneers Conference, Food Inspiration Trendsummit, and The Grassfed Exchange. She is a certified educator with Holistic Management International. Most recently, she has been featured in the film Kiss the Ground which is available on Netflix. 

If you enjoy this conversation, please leave a review in your podcast app. CancerTalks is a platform for anyone who has been touched by cancer. If you’d like to be in community with other cancer thrivers seeking personal transformation join us on Zoom - every other Thursday at 5 pm Pacific. Visit cancertalks.com/zoom to register.

CancerTalks is an inter-dependent community project with a production team of three and we count on your contributions. We’d like to thank Carolyn Buck-Luce and Rob Evans for their contribution. If you've learned from or been inspired by these conversations please consider joining Carolyn and Rob and becoming a donor. To support us starting at $5 a month, or to make a larger tax-deductible contribution, visit Patreon.com/cancertalks.

Doniga's Reading List: 

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer     Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert    Grow Wild and Move your DNA by Katy Bowman