I’m Joy Ellsworth, co-founder and Executive Director of Clement Waters Retreat. Some of you have heard of Clement Waters or know me through other community and environmental work, but you may not know what this little nonprofit actually does. Our mission is to work for collective wholesome wellbeing by reconnecting people with the many faces of nature; preventing stress, isolation, and food insecurity before they have a chance to become crises.
That mission began with a family health crisis.
More than a decade ago, my husband Luke was living with an autoimmune condition serious enough that we believed he might lose his eyesight. He called it his zombie eye. Then our family relocated from Kansas City to rural southern Missouri.
Our circumstances changed dramatically. Occupational stress dropped. We ate more freshly harvested food. Time outdoors, often beside moving water, became part of our everyday life. We also found ourselves surrounded by a small community where people really showed up for one another.Instead of getting sicker, Luke began getting better. Three months after we moved, his symptoms were no longer externally visible, nor internally felt by him.
That sent us into years of research and crowd-sourced surveying about the science behind seemingly miraculous healings related to nature: Big surprise, human health is affected by our modern lifestyles’ chronic stress, by unhealthy foods, by isolation, by constrained movement, and by daily exposure to pollutants.
Fixing these things’ effects on our bodies can be expensive. Accessing the fix is not always so simple. That quandary gave way to Clement Waters, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2015.
Today, our in-person programs involve hands-on, chemical-free stewardship of land, guided nature therapy sessions, somatic movement sessions to connect to the nature inside of us, and home-based food growing talks. We also serve grassroots founders of community-borne efforts sharing our focus. And one special four-acre property in Kansas City brings much of that work together.
Clement Waters Retreat at Gregory Ridge
Clement Waters Retreat sits near Gregory Boulevard and Jackson Avenue, between the Gregory Ridge and Foxtown East neighborhoods. When we first encountered it, years of dumping and neglect were hidden behind mature forest. But more than that, we saw a creek, wildlife habitat, and native edible and medicinal plants. It has the bones of an extraordinary neighborhood nature space, and our idea for a privately maintained neighborhood nature space is supported by the neighborhoods.
We acquired it in 2018, and residents, volunteers, and community partners went to work to clear 400 yards of trail. Over time, more than 600 volunteers cleared over 100 cubic yards of dumped waste material and invasive vegetation. We planted native and edible trees.
Now, families and adults have participate in nature therapy there. The Montessori school across the street has used the forest as an outdoor classroom. Neighborhood residents have walked dogs through it, sat beneath the trees to journal in it, and found a little bit of quiet in the middle of the city. The trail also connects with the Lakeside Nature Center trail system through the creek corridor when the creek is low. (The creek and the grass are high right now.) For several years, a substantial volunteer stewardship community kept all of this going.
Then COVID happened. The forest kept growing. Our volunteer crew didn’t. Like many small community efforts, we lost most of our active volunteer infrastructure during that period, and it never fully returned. A handful of dedicated people still care for Gregory Ridge. Four acres, however, can outgrow a handful of people pretty quickly. The trails are disappearing as the undergrowth advances again. Dumping continues. Regular maintenance gets postponed when trees fall and there simply aren’t enough hands to clear paths.
So this is the challenge I am writing about today…
Our vision for 2027 is to reclaim this nature space alongside residents of Gregory Ridge and Foxtown East and allow the features already present in the forest to become healthier and more useful. We call our volunteer effort Team Naturespace. People can help with trail restoration, chemical-free invasive plant management, dumping remediation, re-establishing native undergrowth, and planning projects. Expertise is welcome, but it is not required. We can teach skills. What matters most is a willingness to show up, learn, work with others, and come back.
If this interests you, please visit: clementwaters.org/team-naturespace
There is another kind of stewardship we need as well.
Clement Waters currently has a very small board, and more than half of its members are dealing with end-of-life planning for good and understandable reasons. So as the land needs a renewed circle of caretakers, the organization needs one too. We are seeking aligned, patient, work-willing board members who can help us govern responsibly and build the relationships and resources this next chapter requires, all within typically 2 hours of meeting time per month. We especially need your experience in financial review, fundraising, and partnership development. You’ll work thoughtfully with a small organization where board service really does mean service.
If you’re curious, you don’t have to make a commitment today. Fill out this board interest form that starts a conversation: clementwaters.org/board-interest-form
Gregory Ridge has taught us something that applies well beyond those four acres.
A place can hold tremendous potential for land relationship, nourishment, and community life. But potential alone does not maintain a trail. People do. If you see a place for yourself in this work as a volunteer, a community partner, or around the board table, we would love to hear from you!
Contact: Joy Ellsworth director@clementwaters.org
