Mission: Nature around us is whole and interconnected. Though we are part of nature, we do not yet fathom her depths, and our actions do not embody her wisdom. A fundamental shift in our way of viewing the world is necessary if we would contribute to nature's unity rather than dissolution. At The Nature Institute, we develop new qualitative and holistic approaches to seeing and understanding nature and technology. Through research, publications, and educational programs we work to create a new paradigm that embraces nature's wisdom in shaping a sustainable and healthy future.

Modern science has increasingly moved out of nature and into the laboratory, driven by a desire to find an underlying mechanistic basis of life. Despite all its success, this approach is one-sided and urgently calls for a counterbalancing movement toward nature. Only if we find ways of transforming our propensity to view and control nature in terms of parts and mechanisms, will we be able to see, value, and protect the integrity of nature and the interconnectedness of all things. This demands a contextual way of seeing.

The Nature Institute's methodology is inspired by integrative thinkers and scientists, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Rudolf Steiner, Owen Barfield and Kurt Goldstein.

We develop ways of thinking and perception that integrate self-reflective and critical thought, imagination, and careful, detailed observation of nature's phenomena.

Goethe's words stand as a motto for our efforts: "If we want to attain a living understanding of nature, we must become as flexible and mobile as nature herself."

Who We Are
The Nature Institute, founded in 1998, is a small, independent not-for-profit organization in upstate New York with a proven track record for incisive and thoughtful research studies, publications, and education programs. The Institute serves as a local, national, and international forum for research, education, and the exchange of ideas about the re-visioning of science and technology in an effort to realign humanity with nature. Biologist and Institute founder and director Craig Holdrege, senior researcher and publications' editor Steve Talbott, associate researcher Henrike Holdrege, and affiliate researchers Michael D'Aleo, Johannes Wirz, and Ronald Brady (deceased) have authored books and articles while also speaking at conferences, leading workshops, training teachers, and lecturing widely.

Our Staff - Back to top
Craig Holdrege, Director and Senior Researcher.
Biography | email
Steve Talbott, Senior Researcher and Publications' Editor.
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Henrike Holdrege, Senior Researcher and Finance Manager.
Biography | email
Linda Bolluyt, Office Manager.
Biography | email

Adjunct Researchers/Faculty- Back to top 
Ronald Brady (Deceased) - About Ronald Brady
Jon McAlice has been active in the international Waldorf school movement for many years as a teacher and lecturer and has a special interest in teacher development.
Nathaniel Williams studied painting and anthroposophy at the neueKUNSTschule in Basel, Switzerland where he graduated in 2002. The next year he spent painting and learning to play marionettes. He has been active as an artist and teacher in art since returning to the USA in 2004.
Johannes Wirz - About Johannes Wirz

Our Board of Directors - Back to top
John Barnes, Secretary, is a founding board member, and director of Adonis Press. He edited Nature's Open Secret: Introduction to Goethe's Scientific Writings.
Douglas Feick is an artist and designer working directly with the phenomenology of sustainable, integrated living landscapes.
Craig Holdrege, President, is our Director and Senior Researcher.
Henrike Holdrege, founding board member, also serves as Senior Researcher and Finance Manager at our Institute.
Jan Kees Saltet is an artist and educator living in Hadley, Massachusetts. He teaches art, German, and art history to children and adults at the Hartsbrook School.
Signe Schaefer is Co-Director of the Biography and Social Art Program at Sunbridge College.
Jeffrey Sexton, Treasurer, is an organizational planning consultant.
Douglas Sloan is Emeritus Professor of History and Education at Columbia University and former Director of the Center for the Study of the Spiritual Foundations of Education at Teachers' College (Columbia University).

Our Advisory Board - Back to top
Will Brinton, Director, Woods End Research Laboratory, Mt. Vernon, Maine.
Ruth Hubbard, Professor Emerita of Biology, Harvard University, and author of Exploding the Gene Myth.
Gertrude Reif Hughes, Professor of English and Women's studies at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
Wes Jackson, President of the Land Institute, Salina, Kansas, and author of Becoming Native to this Place.
Andrew Kimbrell, Director, International Center for Technology Assessment, Washington, D.C., and author of 101 Ways to Save the Earth.
Fred Kirschenmann, Director, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University.
Johannes Kühl, Head of the Natural Science Section, Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland.
George Russell, Professor of Biology at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, and senior editor of Orion magazine.
Langdon Winner, Professor of Political Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and author of Autonomous Technology and The Whale and the Reactor.
Arthur Zajonc, Professor of Physics, Amherst College, and author of Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind.

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