The annual Bioneers Conference is coming soon, and possibly even to a city near you. Last year I attended for the first time and it was an amazing, and empowering experience. I was able to listen to Michael Pollan, Andrew Weil (and he did an evening of comedy with a friend that was hysterical), Joanna Macy, David Orr, Bob Cannard, Annie Leonard and many other amazing people, who are doing incredible work while inspiring so many of us to also do more good work.
“Founder Kenny Ausubel coined the term Bioneers in 1990 to describe an emerging culture. Bioneers are social and scientific innovators from all walks of life and disciplines who have peered deep into the heart of living systems to understand how nature operates, and to mimic “nature’s operating instructions” to serve human ends without harming the web of life.” You can readmore about Bioneers here.
The conference brings together modern-day visionaries who are at work to make the future better than we might expect. Bioneers started twenty years ago and much of what was spoken about then has come to be our present reality…the future has arrived. At the conference we get to hear about what the next decade or two might bring.
There is a lot of negativity in the media and among people in general, but there also are a lot of wonderful things happening and at Bioneers we get to learn more about them, and become inspired. This year some of the speakers are Jane Goodall, Gary Hirshberg (founder of Stonyfield Farms yogurt, Andy Lipkis (founder of TreePeople) and Lynn Twist to just name a few. You can read about the speakers here and here is the complete brochure
The conference is October 15-17, with intensives the 14th and 18th.
I was at the Farm Tour intensive last year where we went to the Marin farmers market (a real treat to visit if you are ever in the area), met some of the farmer/vendors and then we went off to visit three farms. I even had a chance to catch up with Albert Strauss from Strauss Dairy who I had met at the Slow Money conference in Santa Fe last year.
If you can’t make it to Northern California you can still be a part of the conference. The morning Plenary Presentations, which feature the main speakers, will be beamed, in some cases live, across the country to a number of Beaming Bioneers Conferences. Depending on the location additional events may be planned. At the main conference the afternoons are for smaller workshops that you can read about in the brochure.
These beamed conference will take place from California to Massachusetts and even Alaska. You will even be able to “attend” if you are in Vancouver or Findhorn, Scotland. You can check here to see if one is near you. Click on your closest city and a link will take you to the actual event. This is also an opportunity to find out what is already happening in your local community and meet other like minded people. So if you can’t make it to Northern California you can still be a part of the Conference.
I am hoping to be there, so if you are too look for me and say hi.
Here are some photos from last years farm tour.
