Happy New Year, Reader!

It is full-blown winter here in central PA, complete with frozen crunchy ground and a bitter cold in the air.

I love it. I am really enjoying the darker days, even as the light is slowly returning.

It gives me more needed permission to rest and revel in the comforts of my cozy home, reflect on all that has happened in the last year, and to really feel ALIVE when I step outside, ha.

In my bioregion - the mid-atlantic of the United States - the natural world is mostly sleeping...

So I am not in a rush to jump into new year activities either, although I am loving this newsletter more and more, and my daily walks are revealing that so much activity continues through winter! Just at a much slower pace :)

Winter Wonder Scavenger Hunt #1 - Find a Nature-connected Human! Think of one person who really inspires you to be more wild and connect with Nature. Start to cultivate the awareness that humans are part of Nature too - we are not machines, we are living flesh, bones, blood, tears and joy. We are not a plague or a cancer on this planet. A lot of us have just fallen out of relationship with Nature, and that's not entirely our fault. The relationship has been severed. But we can absolutely do something about it. We can reconnect. It's in our nature ;) “We often forget that we are nature. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.” — Andy Goldsworthy The truth is, we are part of the whole, part of Nature ourselves, and when we remember that we belong here, we take better care of our home, Earth. And we realize that EarthCare is self care, and vice versa. So take some time and think of one person who reminds you of this, either directly by the way they speak to you, or by the way they live their life. This is a really valuable person in your life! Consider these actions: Write about it in your Nature Journal Reach out to them and tell them how you feel <3 Ask them to schedule a winter land walk with you... !!! Hit reply and tell me about them - there will be a prize at the end of Winter <3 The separation we suffer from, and ways to reconnect, are addressed in many of the books I have read and listed on the NEW EarthCare Library item dropping this month - the EarthCare Compass Reading List! ​Join this week to get the cozy January ZINE, with so much more than just one new item in it <3 Or hit reply, and tell me what kind of resources you'd like to see in the Library? We’re also getting ahead of next year’s calendar (2027) by asking you to capture winter photos and submit them to get featured (it just snowed in PA!) We always need more photos of winter with native plants, birds and wildlife. Check out the EarthCare Calendar photography requirements here.

My review of the past year continues from last week!

Things we are celebrating from 2025:

• The spring launch of the EarthCare Library’s Radicle Lifetime Membership Card! ​
• Seasonal Stewardship Service through LadyBug EarthCare to provide ecological habitat maintenance monthly - click here to let us know if you want this kind of service in 2026. ​
• The fall launch of the EarthCare Professionals Collective - whew!

As a tiny new Collective…

• 1,520 plugs were planted
• 107 trees/shrubs were planted
• About 3500 square feet were sheet mulched
• Around 40 “invasive” shrubs were removed by the root

And most importantly, we all agreed our biggest accomplishments were -

• Experiencing joy and delight upon visiting some of our more mature installations and witnessing the hum of life as the native plants hosted thousands of pollinators
• Working with each other, in community, and outside with Nature.

A deep, overflowing THANK YOU to ALL who made 2025 possible:

Our clients and community members - perhaps you, if you’re local to us - keep amazing me with their inspirations, dreams to draw down into reality on their landscapes, and willingness to invest hard-earned money, time and resources into the land they steward. It’s honestly so impressive!

Tyler, my beloved life partner and most faithful companion in all things, stepped into a Stewardship Management role last year while juggling our in-home airbnb (SpiceBush Cottage), his own clients, the Harrisburg Improv Theatre and his vision for memory skill-building. He sees what the land needs, what I need, and what we all need to remember. Supporting him and his vision is one of my big priorities for 2026. More on that is coming.. sign up here for his emails. ​

Evan, my most loyal land steward, mindful cleanup pro and dear friend, continues to show up faithfully, wiling to do anything needed - for me, but also for the team, our clients and the land. This kind of dedication to the work, and flexibility with how it shifts unpredictably, is essential. Every EarthCare business needs an Evan.

Jimi, my star apprentice and kind friend, managed many clients and EarthCare projects with a degree of organization and inspiration that let me stay in design and guidance while he handled logistics for both our clients and the crew. We developed templates, estimation tools and project trackers. Everything has felt more manageable and professional with him on the team.

When I launched the EarthCare Professionals Collective, Jimi was the first to sign up and lead. He now has his own local business (and his first baby - big year, Jimi!), serving clients that come in through the marketing and outreach I do with LadyBug EarthCare, as our primary ECP Collective member. I am so happy for the growth found within and through this relationship! Click here to learn more about joining the Collective as a Pro. ​

Bria, my sister and best hire of the year, has tended to local gardens, our clients, many spreadsheets, and my own brain space, as my primary assistant, in ways I didn’t even know I needed. She spent hours handling reports, invoices, client-outreach and much more, keeping me organized (and paid) when all I wanted to do was crash (or explore the exciting new visions haha). She sees what matters before I do, and gently reminds me. To be clear, I may have shut it all down if it weren’t for her consistent back up this year, so, can we all thank her?!

Thanks to Bria and the crew, we also made Year End Reports for all our Stewardship Clients last year - which is the core service offer we are keeping in our hands this year as well. Let us know if you are interested in monthly or seasonal stewardship of your habitat in central PA. ​

Brittany, my tech, ops and strategy maven, helped me radically shift the way I work. She supported me through a few major transitions last year in my business, which manifested as the ECP Collective and still more to come, but behind the scenes was really deep nervous-system work, starting to heal my brain, and listening to my body, while establishing new levels of trust within myself. This work continues to grow in me and change the way I show up. I am so grateful.

She now offers somatic coaching to women who want to alchemize their anger or anxiety and find deeper embodiment in their lives. She would love to help you (click here) if that sounds as amazing as it has been for me. And let us know if there's a unique way we could support you together, perhaps in your business. Just hit reply if that interests you.

Morgan is the longest-standing member of my team. Once a LadyBug here in the field with us, and now my primary go-to-girl for all things graphic and copy-related, she is my co-conspirator in loveliness: our beautiful branding and cohesive voice are safe in her hands. She's also stepped in behind the inbox to help me with newsletter replies! We love hearing from you! And I am honored that her journey as a freelancer continues to support this vision.

She also helped me design, build and launch the EarthCare Library earlier this year, and now creates the content we add monthly, as well as the gorgeous ZINE that goes out to all members. Click here to view the FULL Decemeber 2025 ZINE for free - usually reserved for Library Members eyes only!

I also have infinite gratitude for all my teachers, mentors, colleagues, virtual assistants and contractors who stepped in with special expertise to support when asked or hired - countless invisible hands - it’s never a solo mission <3

Last, but most important - Nature, our more-then-human kin, shows up daily as our guide, our lead designer and our greatest mentor. Without this connection, we would have no business doing any of this. Literally, haha.

One thing I heard from everyone, when I asked what their biggest wins were this year, was that they love working on this team. They are motivated, even on the hardest days, by the comradery they find together, the support offered, the laughs shared, and the security in knowing that they have each other’s backs.

That makes my heart feel so full and this work so fulfilling.

The truth is, we all need each other - I couldn't do any of this without them.

Nor without you.

I love writing my weekly newsletter (yes, I write it myself), and I love reading your replies. They keep me going, even when there's no time to respond quickly or fully.

You are so loved and needed. By me, by your beloveds and by Nature.

For wildlife and a wilder life,

Kendra

P.S. What are you celebrating from 2025? Who are you grateful for?

What did you like best about this newsletter over the last year?

What are you looking for in 2026?

Do you have a message you’d like to send to any of my team members?

Hit reply and tell me. I read every email you send, and I am so grateful to Morgan helping me with the inbox to make sure you all get a timely response from us. We will be sure to pass along anything you want to share with the team, or a particular person!

Written by a human - Kendra Marie Hoffman

​​“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall