Help teachers educate a mindful generation

The NowHere Pilot Program is now underway. Since our last report in July, we have moved from preparing the program to running it: we promoted it across print, social media and our online platforms, welcomed the public at an introductory event, and on September 30th, 2026 began the eight-week pilot with 10 registered participants. Two sessions remain.

Throughout this phase, our intention has stayed the same: bringing contemplative practices, relational awareness and nature awareness into educational settings, and learning from the people who take part.

Promotion and Online Presence

To reach the people this program is meant for, we combined in-person and digital outreach:

• Printed flyers. We distributed physical flyers announcing the pilot program and the introductory event.
• Social media ads. We ran advertising campaigns on social media, following through on the Instagram and Facebook campaign announced in our July report.
• Website on its own domain. The project website is now live at its own address, nowherecontemplative.com, with an improved, more visual landing page.
• Substack. We refined the description of the pilot program on our Substack page, so that newcomers can quickly understand what the program offers and how to join.

The website and Substack continue to work together: the website serves as the main entry point, while Substack carries our ongoing writing and newsletter.

Introductory Event

On September 23rd, 2026 at 3:30pm, we hosted NowHere Pilot Program: An Introduction, an in-person information session presenting the program as a new approach to learning, relating, and being, developed by the Center for Creative Inquiry.

The session had two parts:

1. Overview of the program. We walked through what the program is, who it is for, and what to expect from the eight-week experience.
2. Practice together. Attendees took part in brief contemplative exercises and interpersonal meditations, getting a direct feel for the three areas of the work: exploring one's own experience, exploring with others, and exploring with nature.

The event was open to everyone, with no background in meditation or contemplative practice required, only an openness to sit with oneself and with a room of people asking similar questions. It also served as a final call for registration ahead of the program start one week later. Those who already knew they wanted to join could sign up before the presentation.

Pilot Program Launch

Ten participants registered for the first cohort, and the eight-week NowHere Pilot Program began on September 30th, 2026. As of this report, two sessions remain.

This first cohort is exactly what we envisioned: a small learning community and a testing ground. What we learn from these participants, about the practices, the pacing and the materials, will directly shape the next phase of the program.

Online Learning Community

To support participants between sessions, we set up the program on Mighty Networks, a platform for managing messages and online course content. Our aim was to create a wholesome experience that extends beyond the weekly meetings.

Through the platform, participants can:

• Access the program's contents, media and guided practices at any time
• Exchange messages with each other and with the facilitators
• Stay connected as a community throughout the eight weeks

Next Steps

In the coming weeks we will complete the final three sessions of the pilot and gather feedback from participants on their experience. That feedback, together with our own observations as facilitators, will guide the revisions for the next iteration of the NowHere program.