Humans, animals and land within shared ecological systems.
A Relational Ecology.
“ Respect for others involves acknowledging their distinctness and difference, and not trying to reduce or assimilate them to the human sphere .”
— Val Plumwood
Terra Anima is a land-centred organism informed by Relational Ecology. It considers how land, animals, and humans are positioned within shared ecological systems.
Land and animals are recognised as living participants with their own interests, integrity, histories, and trajectories. Human presence is embedded within this ecology, but does not determine it.
The work moves between lived practice and inquiry. Some aspects arise through engagement with land and animals. Others explore how human involvement can occur without imposing function or expectation.
Terra Anima is committed to sustained inquiry. Understanding develops through attention to ecological conditions and constraints.
The term ‘Relational Ecology’ was first coined by Jennifer Putney (2013) in the context of human–animal relationships and psychological well-being. It is used here in an evolving sense to explore relations between humans, animals, and land, recognising connection without erasing difference.
ETHOS
LAND + ANIMALS _01
The relationship between land and animals is shaped by soil, vegetation, seasons, weather, and movement.
Decisions are made in response to specific conditions, with the well-being of living systems in view. The approach remains adaptive, recognising uncertainty and the limits of human control within complex ecologies.
Animals follow their own trajectories as autonomous beings. Land is understood as a living system with its own histories and processes.
The focus is on working with what already exists. Patterns form over time through repetition and continuity. Change is slow. Responsibility sits in sustained attention rather than intervention.
This work sits alongside established ecological and conservation practice.
Terra Anima is currently seeking a land-based partnership. If you are a landowner, estate, or conservation organisation open to a long-term approach to land, we welcome a conversation.
SPACE _02
Land and place are held through continuity so the land remains primary, rather than responsive to human schedules or demands. Human presence is secondary and contingent, shaped by the life of the land itself. What happens unfolds gradually through seasons, repetition, and sustained attention.
Space held in this way is not organised around activity. What happens is shaped by the land, not by human schedules or intent. People spend time on the land as part of it.
WRITING & RESEARCH_03
Writing develops alongside work on land. It is a way of staying with what is happening and returning to it over time.
It moves towards a clearer articulation of how humans, animals, and land exist within the same system, and where existing approaches fail to hold that complexity.
It draws on anthrozoology (with a focus on equids), ecology, ethology, and philosophy.
Open to collaboration.
COACHING _04
Coaching takes place on the land, unfolding through time spent in nature and shaped by the conditions present, sometimes in the presence of horses and other animals.
Sessions are one-to-one or in small groups. The work draws on ecopsychology and centres on attention, reflection, and what arises through time spent on the land.
This is non-clinical work and follows clear ethical boundaries. When animals are present, their involvement is not directed. They are free to move away at any point.
It may suit those looking for a slower, more reflective way of working, with an interest in land, ecology, and the place of humans within it.
Claire Martin (MNCIP) is a dual-qualified, registered, and insured coach with over 500 hours of continuing professional development.
Free Living
Our herd live a life as close as possible to what is natural within the constraints of domestic reality.
ABOUT
Claire Martin (MNCIP) is an anthrozoologist, land-based practitioner, and writer. Her work focuses on how humans, animals, and land exist within shared ecological systems.
She is currently completing an MA in Anthrozoology at the University of Exeter. Her work draws on ecopsychology, ethology, ecology, and mythology, and develops through engagement with land and animals.
With a lifelong connection to horses, she is now primarily interested in observing free-living herds. Her focus is on multispecies systems, animal agency, and the implications of human presence within them.
Alongside her academic and land-based work, Claire holds two qualifications in Equine-Facilitated Learning, maintains supervision and ongoing professional development, and holds an advanced certificate in Conservation Grazing (Lantra).
She is also the founding director of Mill Co., a London-based creative workspace company.
tērra animá is a continually evolving body of work.
We are actively seeking our next land-based holding. If you are a landowner, estate, or conservation organisation open to a long-term relational approach to land, we'd welcome a conversation.
