Immediately I found myself mesmerised by the momentum of radical ecological restoration at OMEGA Institute upon arriving at 7pm on a Friday night during the fall of 2008.   The smell of the forest, and the feeling of freedom due to the detachment of cell phone reception gave my mind a moment to breathe.  I quickly changed my cloths after checking into my cabin and quickly hurried to the main building to hear the keynote speaker Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s give the opening speech for the annual Water for Life Conference.