We designed the Kinship Calendar to guide people to live in relationship with the living and nonliving beings (kin) that share their local environment. This visual representation is based on lunar and solar cycles, tracks seasonal rhythms, constellations, plant observations, harvest and planting times for food and craft materials, animal migration patterns, and more.
Each moon time on the calendar (new moon to new moon) is named after something observed locally during that time. You can use the seasonal notes for each moontime to orient yourself to the time of year.
We created the calendar with observations from our local environment of Coastal Southern California. These are the ancestral lands of the Juañeno Band of Mission Indians Acjachemen Nation and neighboring Tongva/Gabrieleño and Payómkawichum/Luiseño tribes in the area known as Orange County. We hope you will be inspired to create your own Kinship Calendar using observations of your local ecosystems.
What do you notice that orientates you to the time of year?
Add your own observations to the calendar, or make your own, and share with us.
With love and gratitude,
Shane Brown and Karen Graham
Creators of Earthroots Kinship Calendar
Notes:
Dripping Oaks Moon: A year contains between 12-13 moon cycles. Most years the calendar will have 12 moons. 7 out of 19, or every 2-3 years, a leap moon is added to account for the difference between solar and lunar cycles.
Safety: This is not a guide on how to harvest safely. Make sure you understand the impact, potential dangers and risks of wild harvesting and take all necessary precautions before harvesting plants.
Original Artwork by Lindsay Hansen
Layout and graphic design adjustments by Kristi Day
FREE Digital Download
Click the button below to receive the instant download link for Earthroots full color calendar.
Purchase a Printed Poster
Full color 16×20” poster printed on FSC certified and PVC free paper. With every purchase of a printed Kinship Calendar you will also receive a FREE Create Your Own Kinship Calendar Download.
Create Your Own Kinship Calendar
Starter Pack
$10, or free with every purchase of a Kinship Calendar
What others are saying about Earthroots Kinship Calendar
“That kinship calendar is amazing. I love how it matches what’s happening on the land at that time of year … I just feel like there’s no way for someone not to be connected to what’s going on in the world around them if they have that on their wall and are looking at it regularly.”
– Woniya Thibault, author and winner of Alone Frozen
Woniya spent 123 days alone in the arctic filming herself as part of the History Channel TV series Alone, and Alone Frozen. Woniya attributes her connection with nature for her success at becoming the first woman to win the solo arctic survival challenge.
Kinship Conversations
For those who prefer to learn through storytelling, we have started a video series called Kinship Conversations. Our first episode is a conversation between Jodi Levine and Woniya Thibault about the Earthroots Kinship Calendar & Woniya’s new book, Never Alone.
Moon Pies
Read Moon Pies, by Karen Graham. Karen is a co-creator of the Earthroots Kinship Calendar, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and a mom of 4 who started a family tradition of serving homemade pie each full moon as a way to entice her children to notice what’s happening in the natural world.
