The Future Nature Gros Morne (2015) assembled a community of concern around the fragile land and seascape on the West Coast of Newfoundland. It was an experimental fusion of academic conference, public engagement, experiential learning, and art expo, in short, a festival.

Over seventy researchers from a variety of disciplines across the university, artists, and community leaders, met at three different locations (urban, rural, and wilderness) for four days of talks, exhibits and field trips centering on the theme of nature and environmental issues. The goal was to stage an ecological intervention in a threatened area of the planet (the Bonne Bay region, including Gros Morne National Park) and open up a dialogue with local communities for the sake of envisioning a sustainable future for the area.

Philosophers talked to scientists; sociologists talked to theologians; all talked to the public, made up of local people, aboriginal communities, and students from high school to the graduate level. Just as important, all walked the land together to bear witness to this special and endangered place, Gros Morne.