Earth Gratitude at the Canadian Institute of Mining Convention: An Ecofeminist and Ecopsychological Analysis

At the 2019 Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) sales expo, a blip in the capitalist discourse was introduced: an Earth Gratitude Booth (EGB). The booth was created to provide the Earth a gentle space of representation as more-than-object in a quintessentially Earth-objectifying environment, as well as to offer people at the convention an opportunity to consider and reflect on Earth–human interconnection. At the convention, participant observation methods were employed as convention-goers walked past the booth, took part in an Earth gratitude community art creation, and/or listened to a stoney soundscape available at two listening posts. Challenges such as maintaining physical and emotional boundaries were encountered. The experience of the booth highlighted both ecofeminist and ecopsychological perspectives, and those systems have been employed for the analysis. Despite several incidents of poignant disrespect, the outcome of the booth was positive: 64 CIM Convention-goers laid gratitude stones and many more engaged positively with the booth. This gentle placement of an EGB at a mining convention may well have served as a portal to reflection on the interconnected self.