Introduction by Brock Dolman, Director of OAEC’s WATER Institute
Visionary ecologist Suzanne Simard has made extraordinary discoveries about the hidden life of forests: how trees, in symbiotic relationship with fungal mycelia, exchange information, nutrients and water in shared underground networks that make them far more resilient to threats and stressors such as climate disruption. As a professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia, her cutting-edge, rigorous research offers us profound ecological parables about what forests can teach us about community, cooperation and mutual aid.
Introduction by Joshua Fouts, Bioneers Executive Director
Does my dog really love me? Carl Safina, the world-renowned ecologist, author and expert on animal consciousness, reveals that we’re discovering many non-human minds are far more similar to ours than previously thought. They possess self-awareness, empathy and communication skills. They imitate, teach, and grieve; they know who their friends (and enemies) are. They seek status. Their lives may follow the arc of a career. Relationships define them, as relationships define us. This intimate journey into the heart of nature inspires us even more to protect wildlife habitats and assure the animals’ survival.
How do we tune in to the Earth for guidance on how to partner with nature to live sustainably on our beloved planet? Come explore the medicine under our feet as we practice some simple, everyday ways of tuning in and listening to what the Earth has to teach us.
Council. Language But No Words: Come to the Council Tent and immerse yourself in a communication form that can break down social barriers and facilitate productive relationships. Sound council, movement council, silent council, art council, games and kinesthetic activities—all will be present. Learn something to take home to your kids, your partner, your parents, your workmates, or even a former enemy! Co-facilitated by council trainers Kate Lipkis and Irasha Pearl.
This edge-walking dialogue brings together world-renowned author/ecologist Carl Safina, a seminal figure in exploring what animals think and feel and a heroic campaigner to preserve marine life and the biosphere, with the groundbreaking researcher in forest ecology, Suzanne Simard, whose brilliant work has revealed the "hidden life of trees," including the extraordinary interspecies communication and symbiotic support networks that underlie forest ecosystems. Hosted by Brock Dolman, Director of OAEC’s WATER Institute.
Socio-political and ecological crises and racial and gender-based oppression can very often become internalized in our bodies as forms of trauma – physical, psychological and emotional. We’ll explore how to work to understand and begin to address these deep traumas within ourselves and in our work with others. With educators at Naropa University Jeanine Canty, Ph.D., editor of Ecological and Social Healing: Multicultural Women’s Voices, and Ramon Parish.
Throughout time, stories have been peoples’ way of conveying wisdom and guidance through the generations. In this extraordinary cross-cultural session, we will be regaled by two legendary storytellers from very different traditions—Sunny Dooley, one of the greatest contemporary traditional Diné (Navajo) storytellers, who specializes in the Blessingway oral traditions of her people; and Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Ph.D., who is widely known for her scholarship in Kabbalah, depth psychology, and the re-integration of the feminine wisdom tradition within Judaism.
What is your origin story? What piece of your ancestors’ story do you hold in this moment? Come to the Council Tent and bring an ancestral relic, if you have one with you. Let’s explore how the lineage we carry and the culture we inherit informs the ways we engage in these urgent times. Co-facilitated by council trainers Kate Lipkis and Irasha Pearl.
Introduction by J.P. Harpignies, Bioneers Associate Producer
The renowned "anthropologist under Amazonian influence" and indigenous rights activist Jeremy Narby, author of such classics as The Cosmic Serpent and Intelligence in Nature, considers the intelligence of living beings and wrestles with his own culture's anthropocentric concepts. In his view, constantly affirming the centrality of humans gets in the way of respectful living in the biosphere. Rethinking human-centered concepts such as "nature" and "anthropocene" can cast light on our relationship with the living world. Because the words we use influence how we think, we gain from examining them with care.
What are the emotional underpinnings of the divides we're experiencing in our nation, and how might exploring them help us to heal? How might understanding emotions and empathy help us approach vulnerable people more effectively, as well as improve all our relations? Join Arlie Russell Hochschild, renowned sociologist, author of Strangers in Their Own Land, and Karla McLaren, social scientist, author of The Language of Emotions, to explore the value of this much-maligned human capacity, in a conversation hosted by Ayana Young, founder/host of the For The Wild organization and podcast.
Russell and Suki Munsell, creators of the Dynamic Vitality Method, have 40 years' experience in a wide range of somatic disciplines. In this outdoor experiential session, they will blend practices from qigong, mind/body exercises and "Dynamic Walking" to help us achieve mindfulness in motion and to embody a more vibrant and balanced presence as we walk with purpose and joy in the world.
The natural world, if we know how to tune into its genius, can offer us powerful insights and direction about our most perplexing questions. In this workshop with therapist, activist, retreat leader and facilitator for the Pachamama Alliance's "Awakening the Dreamer" symposium, Polly Howells; and Trebbe Johnson, founder/Director of Radical Joy for Hard Times, workshop leader/wilderness guide, and author of The World Is a Waiting Lover, we'll discover a few simple approaches to posing questions to nature and zeroing in on both our inner and outer landscapes for answers. We'll spend some time outdoors in the wetlands and parkland around the Marin Center as we ponder a question about our life and leadership. When the group rejoins, we'll share stories about what happened.
Clare DuBois, founder of TreeSisters, leads a powerful journey into the embodied experience of human wholeness. We will delve into an archetypal exploration of our own inner sacred geometry and become part of a collective rebalancing designed to activate our innate, instinctual intelligence. Discover a felt relationship to the feminine and masculine archetypes within you – it’s truly transformative.
The current moment has brutally exposed that our constitutional principles and values are more vulnerable than we thought, that shared understandings we took for granted could be tested in unimaginable ways. While we continue to resist, how do we simultaneously cultivate a new, shared story of “us”? What will it take to demonstrate a conception of “we” that is inclusive and just? Do we have the will to find ways of working together that are not predicated on oppression or a denial of our humanity? Hosted by Connie Cagampang Heller, Co-Director of Linked Fate Fund for Justice and founder of Project Linked Fate. With: john a. powell, Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley; Heather McGhee, President of Demos; Jonathan Smucker, author of Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals.
What do we do with what we have gathered in our hearts and minds this weekend? Come to the Council Tent where strength lies in our willingness to be vulnerable and our commitment to paying attention. Let's explore how our Bioneers experience can come alive and change the way we show up with friends, family and colleagues. Hosted by council trainer Irasha Pearl and guest facilitators from The Ojai Foundation and Center for Council.
What practical strategies can we cultivate to strengthen our ability to operate from our ideal intended outcomes and apply "inspired coherence" in our work? Hosted by Prajna Horn, co-founder, ED, Coherence Lab. With: Joanna Macy, beloved and renowned "whole systems" thinker, activist and Buddhist teacher; Shilpa Jain, Executive Director, YES! World; Rene Henery, ecologist and eco-geographer, California Science Director for Trout Unlimited.
