FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 4, 2026

MEDIA RELEASE

New Nonprofit Kairos Launches To Address Social, Ecological Disconnection

DOOR COUNTY, Wisconsin –  At a moment when social division and ecological loss are accelerating, a new Wisconsin-based nonprofit is asking a clear but urgent question: Can repairing our relationship with nature help repair our relationships with one another?

Kairos invites people to step away from screens and digital environments and into living landscapes together, where they can give attention to nature and one another. 

Kairos programs are built around a simple premise: that many of the skills we urgently need right now—listening, cooperation, and community-building—are modeled in nature. By directly observing nature’s patterns and translating them into human contexts, participants strengthen their ability to communicate across differences and work together to solve problems.

“Meeting the monumental challenges we face—from climate change to social fracture—requires us to work together, and working together begins with real connection, in the real world,” says Kairos founder and executive director, Deneen Wiske. 

Through guided activities and real-time, in-person conversation outdoors, participants explore how ecosystems communicate, manage disruption and change, adapt, and build community—and what those patterns can teach us about our human relationships and challenges.

In 2026,  Kairos is launching with programs offered in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana to test, learn, and refine their programs before scaling the work nationally.  The organization’s first phase of pilot programming focuses on the ecology and relationships of Lake Michigan, alongside the personal stories people hold about their connection to the lake. 

Storytelling and long-term community engagement are core to Kairos programs. Pilot participants will help shape public storytelling initiatives— including audio listening trails, public art installations, traveling exhibits, and documentary film projects—that document and share personal connections to Lake Michigan, strengthening public understanding of the lake and the communities connected to it.

Two upcoming concept programs in Door County, Wisconsin, are now open for registration:

• March 14, 2026 — One-day experience introducing the Kairos approach and inviting participant input on programming

• June 5-7, 2026 — Three-day concept program exploring attention, listening, and storytelling inspired and informed by Lake Michigan ecosystems

Participants in these early concept programs will help inform Kairos’s future offerings, and some stories and reflections may become part of a public creative project connected to the lake and Lake Michigan communities. 

About Kairos

Kairos is a nonprofit organization that designs and produces in-person, place-based programs to help people reconnect with nature, themselves, and one another.  Grounded in both science and storytelling, Kairos programs look to the natural world for insights on how people can better communicate, cooperate, and care for the natural world and one another—especially in this time of deepening division and disconnection.

Learn More & Register

To learn more about Kairos or to register for upcoming concept programs, visit: https://www.kairosconnections.org