BIONEERS
R EVOL ution from the Heart of Nature
GROWING THE MOVEMENT:
Youth Leadership at Bioneers 2014
“Having the chance to go to Bioneers really gave me the last bit of push that I needed.
Here in my town I want to make some changes, but it felt like it would be something impossible
to do. Seeing a speaker who had a goal like me to change school lunches helps me
to know change is possible…I feel ready to go and fight the battle.”
—Uriel Reyes, youth scholarship recipient, Pajaro Valley High School, Watsonville, CA
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ABOUT BIONEERS
Since 1990, Bioneers has acted as a seed head for game-changing social and scientific visions,
knowledge and practices advancing the great global transformation underway toward a human
civilization that honors the web of life, each other and future generations.
We do so through our annual National Bioneers Conference, award-winning media, local conferences
and initiatives, and leadership training programs.
The National Bioneers Conference—the focal point of our Youth Leadership Program—gathers
thousands of people of all ages to connect in person with practical, visionary solutions for
humanity’s most pressing environmental and social challenges.
Learn more at conference.bioneers.org.
“
For me, the true value of the Bioneers conference was the chance it offered me to
peer into not only what my ideal career would be but, also, what my ideal community
would look like…As I try to envision and create a more sustainable world,
I can now envision such a world with greater clarity.
—Jake Kornack, 2014 Youth Scholar
THANKS + CREDITS
With Thanks to Nichole Warwick, 2014 Youth Leadership Program Coordinator
Design by RigoliCreative.com • Photos by Republic of Light, Jan Mangan
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A LIFE-CHANGING OPPORTUNITY
YOUTH ARE PRIME MOVERS OF SOCIAL CHANGE AND
leaders in innovation. They push boundaries, watch, listen,
create, express, and ask hard questions. And they act. The
future is literally in their hands.
“
I’m always impressed with
what young people can do
before older people tell
them it’s impossible.
– David Brower, legendary
environmentalist
The Bioneers Youth Leadership Program connects youth with
a unique mix of elders, innovators and visionaries to inspire and support them in authentic engagement and leadership. As the world has shifted from urgency to emergency, we need exactly this kind
of forward-looking, creative leadership that is also deeply grounded in generations of wisdom.
Bioneers is committed to nourishing these young change makers and accessing intergenerational
knowledge to help us all succeed in the great work of restoring nature and our human communities.
In 2014, financial partnership from funders, sponsors, and you, the wider Bioneers community, made
it possible for us to bring an unprecedented number of young people to our 25th anniversary
national conference.
20% of all 2014 Bioneers conference attendees were youth (13-23).
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357 youth received full or partial scholarships from the John Mohawk Scholarship Fund.
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Over 50% of youth scholars were youth of color.
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65 youth scholars were Indigenous youth, representing 21 first nations.
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Youth came from all over the world.
We know from past youth scholars that attending the conference has been a turning point in their
lives and careers. It has inspired them to choose pathways they might not have considered, or
deepened their path and opened immense opportunities to create positive change.
In 2015, our intention is to offer at least 357 scholarships once again—but with a new goal that
all scholarships are fully funded. As the Bioneers community, your energetic support is essential
to make this goal a reality.
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A strong and healthy community of youth leaders is a sign of a thriving movement for change. Your
investment in the Bioneers Youth Leadership Program and John Mohawk Scholarship Fund will
bring many untold blessings to the lives of youth and others they touch for generations to come.
Please read on to learn more about this program’s impact—your partnership makes it possible.
Nourish change by supporting youth leadership!
Please see the Bioneers Youth Leadership chapter in our 25th Anniversary Yearbook, which tells the
program’s story along with the moving stories of great accomplishments from our network of Youth
Scholars.
ORIGINS, LEGACY & INTENTIONS
The annual National Bioneers Conference is the focal point of our Youth Leadership Program. Each
year, youth and staff co-create an unparalleled opportunity for youth to explore and experience
authentic leadership that is balanced and sustainable, including self-care and spiritual connection.
In 2000, Julia Butterfly Hill came to the Conference and challenged us to consider the impact of
working with youth to further our efforts at restoring people and planet.
The following year, Kristin Rothballer, who was present at that inaugural session, took the reins to
develop the Bioneers Youth Leadership Program (YLP). That first year we hosted more than 200
young leaders and offered 20 scholarships to underserved youth.
At the 1998 Bioneers conference, a spontaneous round of applause rang through the hall as
mobile phone connection was made (when mobiles weighed half a pound). Julia Butterfly Hill
was protesting the clear-cutting of old-growth forests from her 180-foot perch in a 1000year old redwood tree. She electrified the audience as she described life in the canopy and
reflected on her activism as a 25-year-old youth. After Julia descended from Luna and keynoted
in person at the 2000 Bioneers conference, she saw the need to expand the presence of
youth and organized an impromptu session on the lawn with about 30 young people. She
sowed the seeds of the Bioneers Youth Leadership Program and helped get it off the ground.
Thank you, Julia.
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Over the past 14 years, the YLP has grown and evolved to offer four days of workshops and programs
and a devoted Youth Unity Tent at the conference, which embody all that is Bioneers—life-affirming,
nature-based, and socially engaged.
Our goal through the Youth Leadership Program is to nourish change by supporting those youth
who are attracted to be a part of the Bioneers Youth Leadership Program. We create a safe,
welcoming, and sacred space where youth can:
Nourish Change by learning how to be effective leaders and build powerful strategic
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relationships.
Nourish Minds in a pre-conference intensive, numerous workshops, and intergenera-
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tional mentorship sessions.
Nourish Spirits by creating art, altars, and other activities for creative self-expression,
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exploration, and reflection.
Nourish Bodies with nutritious meals and snacks provided through generous
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community donations.
To ensure that the seeds planted at the conference continue to grow throughout the year, Bioneers
staff support Youth Leadership Program participants to bring what they learned at the conference
back to their local communities, and work with schools, educators, and other programs to build the
network of youth leaders.
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NOURISHING CHANGE
AT BIONEERS WE KNOW THAT YOUTH ARE KEY TO
the future for which we all aspire. Our Youth Leadership
Program is oriented to providing a unique blend of elements
that foster youth as future and present change makers.
“
The best way to predict
your future is to create it.
– Abraham Lincoln,
16th U.S. President
Youth Leadership builds alliances across race, ethnicity, age, gender, class and culture. It represents
the most diverse constituency within Bioneers. The program continues to expand the consciousness
of the Bioneers community on issues of privilege and oppression. Youth are prominent in the
conference program, including daily Youth keynotes and performances on the main stage, as well
as in panels and workshops.
We nourish change by creating a safe container where youth can connect with living examples of
dynamic change makers their own age—our Youth Peers, who also appear as conference keynote
speakers—and with older Youth Mentors who offer wisdom drawn from added years of experience.
2014 Youth Peers
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, a now 15-year old Boulder, Colorado-based Indigenous
environmental activist (since age 6!) and rapper, is the Youth Director of Earth
Guardians, a non-profit organization committed to protecting the water, air,
earth, and atmosphere. He has organized many rallies, actions, demonstrations
and events, and has traveled widely internationally to speak about environmental and Indigenous issues. Watch video of Xiuhtexcatl
Chloe Maxmin, a senior at Harvard College, became an activist when she was 12
and started a Climate Action Club in her high school, galvanizing a movement
in community. She then founded First Here, Then Everywhere to empower youth
environmentalists, and then co-founded Divest Harvard, receiving national and
international recognition for her activism.
Watch video of Chloe
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Arielle Klagsbrun, is an organizer with Missourians Organizing for Reform and
Empowerment, based out of St. Louis, MO. She is also on the collective of Rising
Tide North America. Arielle is the 2013 recipient of the Brower Youth Award for
a campaign to confront Peabody Coal, the world’s largest private- sector coal
corporation headquartered in St. Louis.
Watch video of Arielle
Council & Intergenerational Mentoring
By its very nature, Bioneers is a community of mentors. In 2012, we piloted the Community of
Mentors project to connect youth with Bioneers leaders across diverse disciplines, issues and
backgrounds. Special youth programming and mentoring have included Chief Oren Lyons, Van Jones,
Michael Pollan, Nikki Silvestri and Charlotte Brody among many others. In truth, it’s a mutual mentoring process, and the Bioneers “mentors” get as much or more from the interaction as youth do.
The practice of council is both ancient and modern, with roots in many civilizations throughout the
world as well as in contemporary organizational disciplines. By removing the social barriers that
keep us separate, council allows the kind of listening that brings instant recognition that we are all
related.
The Bioneers Community of Mentors project, facilitated by our partners at Weaving Earth, offers an
opportunity for intergenerational council and reciprocal mentorship in these distinct ways:
Community of Mentors Council & Small Group Mentoring—Beginning with Thursday
night orientation and council, youth are introduced to the practice of council and
form small mentoring groups that meet in council at lunchtime throughout conference, plus a Peer-to-Peer Council on Sunday, to process their life-changing Bioneers
experience.
In 2014, youth were excited to welcome and hold their final Sunday council with the
Onondaga Council of Chiefs of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations (Iroquois Confederation) including Chief Oren Lyons and the ancient nation’s chief of chiefs.
Community of Mentors Office Hours—Each year, select Bioneers conference speakers
join in facilitated council sessions with small groups of youth for mutual exchange
of life experiences, work and ideas. Many youth cite these groups as particularly
inspiring.
2014 Youth Mentors
Karolo Aparicio, MBA, is Executive Director of EcoViva, an organization working
with community-led organizations in Central America to promote environmental
sustainability and social justice, build a green rural economy, protect mangrove
forests, address the effects of climate change, and empower young people.
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Woman Stands Shining (Pat McCabe), is a Navajo (Diné) tribal member living in
Taos, New Mexico. A mother, activist, artist, and writer, she speaks widely, including on such topics as “The Science of Right Relations,” and “The Feminine Design
and Sustainability.”
Krithika Harish is an Indian-American social justice activist passionate about
building inclusive communities around the world. She serves as Associate
Director of Global Programs and Network Development at the United Religions
Initiative (URI), a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and
justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work
together for the good of their communities and the world.
David Shaw, 32, a Permaculture and whole systems designer, facilitator, and
educator, co-founded the Common Ground Center at UC Santa Cruz. It’s an intergenerational partnership focused on education for a just and sustainable world,
which seeks to support communities locally and globally to transform their
shared future through dialogue and collective action.
Marilyn Cornelius, Ph.D., co-founder of and Principal Consultant at d.cipher,
specializes in behavior change and design thinking in the fields of climate
change and wellness. She is also a co-founder of the Research as Design (RAD)
project, and was formerly an Environment Associate for the United Nations
Development Program, managing projects in ten Pacific island nations.
Shannon Biggs, Director of the Community Rights Program at Global Exchange,
is co-author of: Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grass
Roots and The Rights of Nature. She currently assists California communities
confronted by corporate harms (including fracking) to enact binding laws that
place the rights of communities and nature above corporate interests. She is
also a leading international activist for the “Rights of Nature” movement.
Erin Switalski, Executive Director of Women’s Voices for the Earth, has worked
as a social justice and environmental health advocate for over 15 years. She is a
2010 winner of the “40 Under 40” Leadership Award in Advocacy from the New
Leaders Council, and is featured in the brand new Link TV special, UNSAFE: The
Truth Behind Everyday Chemicals.
Nik Kaestner, a former science teacher and Activities Director at Gunn High
School in Palo Alto, CA, is the first Director of Sustainability for the San Francisco
Unified School District, where he collaborates with teachers, staff and students
to develop a nationally recognized sustainable schools program. He formerly
worked in similar capacities at Stanford’s Student Housing division and for
the Palo Alto Unified School District.
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Luisah Teish, an initiated elder (Iyanifa) and chieftain in the Ifa/Orisha tradition
of the West African Diaspora, is an artist-activist, performer, teacher, spiritual
guidance counselor, and renowned author of such classics as Jambalaya: The
Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals. Her most recent
work is On Holy Ground: Commitment and Devotion to Sacred Land, co-authored
with Hawaiian Kahuna, Leilani Birely.
Through providing access to these wise mentors and the deep knowledge contained in the Bioneers
conference, your support of the Bioneers Youth Leadership Program is predicting the future by
creating it.
“
I feel really blessed (literally) to have been given the opportunity to attend the Bioneers
Conference. On a personal, professional, private, public, wholesome, holistic level,
I stumbled upon everything I had been searching for.
—Suma Viswanadha, Sonoma State University, Fremont, Age 23
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NOURISHING MINDS
YOUTH NOURISH THEIR MINDS AND EXPAND THEIR KNOWLEDGE WITH POWERFUL
educational opportunities at the Bioneers conference. Along with the main conference programs,
the Youth Leadership offers dynamic customized programming through a pre-conference intensive,
orientation, youth council, workshops, intergenerational reciprocal mentorship, caucuses and talking
circles. It’s a major undertaking and a powerful program that most youth describe as “life-changing.”
Just Us for Food Justice Pre-Conference Intensive
Each year up to 40 youth learn seed saving, healthy food preparation, and activist art techniques, and
explore food justice issues from a personal and global perspective. This one-day intensive is designed
to enhance leadership skills for youth involved in food and farming projects in their communities.
The intensive is held in collaboration with Rooted in Community, a national network of youth
groups, and Ceres, a youth empowerment program that provides organic, healing meals for people
with serious illness. Thank you to our esteemed partners.
We also offer opportunities intended to create a welcoming space specifically for youth of color and
Indigenous youth to fully engage:
Youth of Color Caucus—Youth gather to discuss issues
regarding the mainstream environmental movement and
the inclusion of people of color. Luisah Teish, an initiated
elder (Iyanifa) and chieftain in the Ifa/Orisha tradition of
the West African Diaspora, facilitated the 2014 Caucus,
which drew an unprecedented 89 youth of color.
Indigenous Youth Talking Circle—Co-facilitated by an
Indigenous youth leader, the Indigenous Youth Talking
Circle encourages expressing thoughts and feelings
in a safe and accepting environment of peers, a space
where youth can talk rather than be talked at.
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“
The circle talk was most
inspiring to me. It inspired
me because there was a
14-year-old telling us that we
can make a difference in this
world and that we matter.
Our voices MATTER!
– Jordan White Crane, 2014
Indigenous Youth Scholar
Youth-led & Youth-centered Conference Sessions
Youth speakers are featured on the main stage of the conference along with other keynote speakers.
These speakers then join other youth presenters for panels and workshops on various topics
relevant to youth attendees. In 2014, YLP conference sessions included:
“Stepping Up to Leadership: Strategies and Advice for Youth Activists” featured Brower
Youth Award-winning young environmental leaders, hosted by Earth Island Institute.
“Fossil Fuel Divestment” highlighted youth leaders sharing practical resources, strategies and opportunities for other youth to engage with divestment campaigns.
“Map Your Future” invited youth to learn how to use a Community Climate Assessment
Tool, envision their ideal communities, work with planners and build resilience.
We deeply thank our invaluable longtime partners Earth Island Institute and the Brower Youth
Awards for their dedication to the Bioneers Youth Leadership program and to youth leadership.
“
Bioneers, you have really affected my life and the way I work in the social justice
movement…thank you so very much for giving me the opportunity to attend
and for providing so many great speakers and panels, especially for
the people of color who at times feel left out of the movement.
– Victoria Pozos Bernal, Food What?! 2014 Youth Group
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NOURISHING SPIRITS
IN ADDITION TO THE BREAKTHROUGH PROGRAM CONTENT AND HEALTHY, DELICIOUS
foods, the Bioneers Youth Leadership Program also seeks to nourish the spirits of our youth scholars
with multi-dimensional opportunities for creative self-exploration and self-expression.
ALTARS
Altars made by and for youth are a powerful way to create intention, values and beauty.
Using native plants, trees, and other natural materials donated by our friends at Garden Sanctuaries,
our youth scholars decorated the stage and created a beautiful altar inside the 2014 Youth Tent, as
well as a flower mandala outside the tent.
They also created a special seed altar with instructions and supplies for making “seed bombs.”
Seed bombs are simple, fun-to-make delivery vehicles for a multitude of plants and flowers that
youth can take back to their communities to help spread the life, fertility and color that these
natural wonders provide.
Many of our young scholars reported enjoying exploring the diversity of seeds, making the seed
bombs and taking seeds home with them. They are spreading Bioneers’ seeds of change in their
home communities.
CREATIVE EXPRESSION
Bioneers is a transformative experience that requires exploration and expression. We created many
opportunities for youth to engage in creative expression through activities designed to help integrate their experiences.
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New in 2014: An Open Art Space supported youth, Indigenous artists, and EcoArt Matters
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Silk-screening with Bobby Fuentes, an Indigenous artist with Dignidad Rebelde, was a
artists to facilitate an inclusive, inviting, and safe space for creating art in diverse media.
highlight for many, especially the Indigenous youth.
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Indigenous youth contributed to an interactive mural painting, facilitated by artists
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Laurie Marshall of Unity Through Creativity and local youth created an interactive
from the Institute of American Indian Arts.
art mural with colored chalk where all conference attendees could explore our 2014
conference theme “The World We Want and How to Get There.”
New in 2014: Photo Booth! This participatory real-time exhibit was designed and
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created by Bioneers intern Ember Vosmek-Park in collaboration with Sheila Conrado
and Claire Parkinson.
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Truckee High School’s rowdy Envirolution Club performed their “Trashion Show”
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Dave Shaw hosted the Wiser Together World Café, which provided a powerful
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New in 2014: Youth took full ownership of the annual poetry slam, collectively
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There were many spontaneous expressions of creativity and play. Bloom played his
modeling their fashions made from trash and recyclables.
interactive, intergenerational forum to discuss and reflect.
deciding to shift from a competition to a dance party and free-share of their work.
guitar and Sophia serenaded us, Dan played his violin—the creativity was contagious!
“
Where to go from [Bioneers]? …I know I want to help people remember their aliveness
and access the deepest passion for change. I know I want to take a stand.
And I know there are many others standing with me.”
– From a blog post “Committing to Activism from the Heart: Reflections on Bioneers 2014”
written by Bioneers Youth Scholarship recipient Dan Jubeliler
NEW IN 2014: BIONEERS YOUTH MEDIA CENTER
Youth use digital media to learn, share ideas and express themselves creatively. It’s how they connect and stay connected.
This year Bioneers partnered with Synergia Learning Ventures and Marin Community Media Center
to create the first ever Bioneers Youth Media Center where youth could explore their conference
experiences and tell new stories of planetary healing using digital media.
Using tents and many straw bales, Synergia and MCMC built an outdoor studio that included a recording studio and workstations.
Youth interviewed conference presenters and other youth, then edited video and audio footage onsite to produce short videos to share on the conference main stage via social media. Other youth
wrote blog posts about their conference experience. The word is spreading fast...
You can view some of the media here on their YouTube playlist.
The Youth Media Center was a wonderful partnership and one that we hope will continue.
Unleash the power of a new generation of storytellers—support the conference scholarship fund today!
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NOURISHING BODIES
Youth need to be surrounded by beauty, have opportunities to explore and express themselves, and
eat healthy and nutritious food—all reminders of our abundant and life-nurturing world. They need
opportunities for reciprocal mentorship and cross-pollination of ideas. Perhaps above all, they need
recognition of who they are and the integral part they play in the community.
“
I loved the youth tent and the magical energy of us young people. We discussed
some of our passions, struggles, and we all had inputs. Loved our food, enjoyed
the people and, all in all, this experience will take me onward to my passions.
I am happy to be living in a world that believes in change.
– Miguel Zarate, Food What?! 2014 Youth Group”
As part of our commitment to the Youth Scholars, in 2014 we:
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Served over 1,100 nutritious meals during the four days of the Bioneers 2014
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Provided healthy snacks of organic fruit and nuts in large bowls and baskets
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Gathered hundreds of youth as a group before meals to bless the food with a song
conference.
available to youth throughout the day in the Youth Tent.
of gratitude and a spirit plate set on the altar—a very moving and emotionally
powerful act.
Upon entering the 2014 Youth Tent and seeing the beauty, abundance and food, a youth scholar
from Urban Tilth said she “felt like royalty.” Many other youth repeated similar sentiments expressing their appreciation for the nourishment they received throughout the 2014 conference.
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Youth Leadership Program Donors
We are deeply grateful for the generosity of our community of Youth Leadership and Scholarship
Fund donors who help create an unforgettable Bioneers conference experience for young leaders.
If you’d like to feature your business as a supporter of Bioneers youth, please contact Dorothée
Royal-Hedinger at [email protected] for more information about business partnerships.
Businesses & Organizations
Individuals & Foundations
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
Lotus Cuisine of India Restaurant,
San Rafael, CA
Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
Eileen Fisher, Inc.
RSF Social Finance
County of Marin
Tides
Mary’s Gone Crackers
Andy’s Produce Market
Casa Mañana
Good Earth Foods
Guayakí Organic Yerba Mate
The National Heirloom Exposition
Runa
Slow Food Russian River
Whole Foods Novato
(gifts of $500+ as of December 31st, 2014)
Pond Foundation
Anonymous (3)
Susannah Schroll
Liese Keon
Ananda Fund
Evelyn Newell
Harriet Denison
Mary Bonnie Brooks
Anne Hemenway
Scott Wachenheim
Sara Nichols
Hathaway Barry
Sabine von Glinski
Cheryl Shnell
Victoria Fullerton
Lee Tepper
Kelly Filon
Julia Winiarski
Anneke Campbell
Martin Gregori
Mike Persinger and family
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A WISE INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE
IN 2014, YOUTH CAME IN UNPRECEDENTED NUMBERS TO THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY
National Bioneers Conference—20% of the attendees! In the early days of the program, we practically had to beg young people to come. Today we cannot keep up with the demand. For us, this
milestone is the single biggest signal of the health of Bioneers.
Youth are the most diverse group of conference attendees, with youth of color, Indigenous youth, or
youth from other cultural diversity constituting over 50% of youth scholars.
In the past, all youth who applied for scholarships received them, but then in 2014 we got over
650 applications. Despite budget pressures, we stretched like Spandex to award a record 357 full or
partial scholarships, but we had to turn down 300 more. We literally did not have the staff capacity
even to process all of them. It’s a good problem to have, but it’s a very real problem.
Our goal is to fully fund all scholarships and offer more discounted tickets. That’s where you come
in. By funding youth scholarships, you are making a difference that really makes a difference.
You may not be aware that the conference is not a money-maker. We work hard to secure funding to
cover our costs, and your participation is crucial.
As our Board member Chief Oren Lyons of the Iroquois Six Nations says, “Raise up your leaders.”
Please join with us to raise the dough necessary to raise up our Bioneers youth leaders! Thank you!
“
I see funding scholarships as a powerful investment in
the next generation of visionaries. Their lives are changed,
their own potential for visionary leadership catalyzed and
empowered. I love being able to help make this possible.
– Shaina Noll, Port Townsend, WA
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Will you play a crucial part in making the Scholarship Fund stronger than ever and support youth to
experience the transformation and growth of the Youth Leadership Program?
Donate $750 to fully fund a youth for all three days of the conference
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Donate $250 to fund a student discount ticket
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Donate $50 to cover nutritious meals for one youth for all three days of the conference
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Make a larger gift—or a heroic gift!
There are three ways to make your generous gift:
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Visit conference.bioneers.org/donate-scholarship/
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Email [email protected]
Call 415.660-9305
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Thank you for supporting these young bioneers and partnering with us to grow this movement!
John Mohawk Scholarship Fund
The John Mohawk Scholarship Fund is the “mother ship” that
includes our Youth Scholarship Fund as well as scholarships for
countless other worthy change-makers: women leaders, leaders
from Indigenous communities and communities of color, and
many other super-charged change-makers who lack sufficient
financial resources to participate.
John Mohawk (Seneca) was a legendary activist, historian,
writer, journalist, farmer, visionary, and 12-year Bioneers Board
member. This precious teacher and generous mentor loved
working with young people and emerging leaders, mentoring
them and supporting their development.
Diversity was also a central priority in John’s work. He knew
that diversity is where nature gets its strength—and where
communities and movements get their strength, too.
Through the John Mohawk Scholarship Fund, you can join us
in carrying on his vision of a diverse and inclusive movement. Your gift ensures the conference is
accessible to everyone attracted to attend by providing full or partial scholarships and discounted
tickets—not only to youth but also to students, educators, activists and elders on a fixed and limited
income. The John Mohawk Scholarship Fund exists to serve them, and through them, all of us.
We’re endlessly grateful to those of you who have invested in the Scholarship Fund. The continued
success of the Youth Leadership Program is a powerful legacy in which you share! By supporting
these dverse scholarships, together we honor the vision of John Mohawk for helping spawn this
program and this legacy, and we are forever grateful for his vision and heart.
Please visit the John Mohawk Scholarship Fund online at bioneers.org to learn more and help
nourish change through your direct support of this visionary initiative.
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BIONEERS
25 Y E A R S
OF
VISIONARY
LEADERSHIP
YEARBOOK
YOUTH LEADERSHIP
PROGRAM
CORN ERS
SE E ING AROUND
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PROGRAMS: YOUTH LEADERSHIP
Youth Leadership Program
A
t the 1998 Bioneers conference, a spontaneous round of applause rang through the hall as mobile phone
connection was made (when mobiles weighed half a pound). Julia Butterfly Hill was protesting the clear-cutting
of old-growth forests from her 180-foot perch in a 1000-year old redwood tree. She electrified the audience as
she described life in the canopy and reflected on her activism as a 25-year-old youth.
The next year after Julia descended from Luna and keynoted in person, she saw the need to expand the presence of
youth and organized an impromptu session on the lawn with about 30 young people. She sowed the seeds of the
Bioneers Youth Leadership Program and helped get it off the ground. Thank you, Julia.
We launched the program in 2001 because the values and skills young people gain in their formative years shape the
rest of their lives and society’s future. Young people are often prime movers of social change and leaders in innovation. Youth movements do change the world.
In the early days, we had to actively seek young people and convince them to come. Today we cannot keep up with
the demand. Entire school classes participate in the conference along with many educators working across diverse
institutions. Bioneers media are being used in growing numbers of schools.
We prioritize the participation of young people from low-income backgrounds, communities of color and Indigenous
heritage. Most young people don’t have money, which necessitates scholarship support. (Hint, hint…)
Bioneers Youth Speaks
“At Bioneers, I learned…”
… Mushrooms will save the world, it is possible to make a huge company entirely sustainable,
and there are people out there who not only care, but also are doing something about it.
… How interconnected all the issues at Bioneers are.
… With Google Earth, you can annotate and tell a story of how houses and communities are
destroyed. They actually taught Natives from the Amazon how to use it to stop the loggers
and people destroying their land. Biomimicry is about entering a new covenant of nature.
… Women can be as powerful as anyone else in this world.
… The U.S. Government needs to reform their relationship with businesses and corporations.
Youth have the power to make a difference. Indigenous people ROCK! And there are many
people who care about us and are not selfish.
“I TOLD THEM THAT I WAS TWELVE. I TOLD THEM THAT I WAS SCARED ABOUT MY FUTURE, AND I
told them that before their duties as politicians or professionals, their first duties were as parents,
and that they have to remember their own children when they’re making those decisions.”
– SEVERN CULLIS-SUZUKI, THEN YOUTH LEADER RE 1992 UN EARTH SUMMIT
BIONEERS: 25 YEARS OF VISIONARY LEADERSHIP
iPhotos from top: Girls Gone Green, Lower East Side, NYC;
Julia Butterfly Hill organizes youth; Severn Cullis-Suzuki with
Julia Butterfly Hill and other youth panelists at Bioneers.
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PROGRAMS: YOUTH LEADERSHIP
Youth Leadership builds alliances across race, ethnicity, age, gender, class and culture. It represents the most diverse
constituency within Bioneers. The program continues to expand the consciousness of the Bioneers community on
issues of privilege and oppression.
Much of the program focuses on conference participation and a host of youth-oriented projects and activities, such
as Just Us For Food Justice and talking circles. Arts and media projects support youth to express their vision, passions
and aspirations in venues such as the Poetry Slam, Singing Tree Mural and Trashion Show. Youth are prominent in the
conference program, including daily Youth mini-keynotes and performances on the main stage as well as in panels
and workshops.
By its very nature, Bioneers is a community of mentors, and in 2012, we piloted the Community of Mentors project to
connect youth with Bioneers leaders across diverse disciplines, issues and backgrounds. Special youth programming
and mentoring have included Chief Oren Lyons, Van Jones, Michael Pollan, Nikki Henderson and Charlotte Brody
among many others. In truth, it’s a mutual mentoring process, and the Bioneers “mentors” get as much or more from
the interaction as youth do.
As former Youth Leadership program director Kristin Rothballer recently said, “Youth are now defined by ecological crises in a way that past generations have not been.” The challenges are formidable. We are grateful to nurture, mentor
and support the education and leadership of our youth as they carry forward the long struggle for peace, justice and
a green civilization. Thank you, Bioneers youth.
Zenobia Barlow,
Executive Director, Center for Ecoliteracy
“The invitation early on to create an Ecoliteracy strand at the conference provided CEL with a platform for reporting regularly on work
fostering ecological literacy and a place to exchange ideas with visionary educators from around the world. We had the good fortune
to edit the third volume in the Bioneers book series, Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World, to collaborate
on an award-winning program in the Bioneers radio series, and to
present our work on the Bioneers website. Because of Bioneers, our
message has reached a greatly expanded circle. Through Bioneers,
we have met many people who have become treasured partners in our work. You have enriched our
lives and furthered our mission, and we are proud to count ourselves as members of the Bioneers
community.”
“MY EXPERIENCES AS A YOUNG WOMAN OF COLOR HAVE POSITIONED ME TO WORK BEST TO FIGHT
at the intersection of class, gender, race, ethnicity and food access that keeps everybody oppressed.
As soon as we can liberate that intersection - that point that holds the entire web of oppression together - what will we have?”
– MAYA SALSEDO, ROOTED IN COMMUNITY
BIONEERS: 25 YEARS OF VISIONARY LEADERSHIP
iPhotos, clockwise from top: Art as a form of activism; Brower Youth Award winners Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison
Vorva; Ceres hosts Just Us for Food Justice; Zenobia Barlow.
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PROGRAMS: YOUTH LEADERSHIP
YOUTH LEADERSHIP MILESTONES
2001
s New Youth program hosts 200 youth including
20 scholarships, with help from Julia Butterfly
Hill and new program director Kristin Rothballer.
We create an informal space where youth meet,
network and inspire each other about activism.
s Allies including young Canadian Cree activist
Clayton Thomas Muller (soon a Board member)
shape the vision of bringing highly diverse youth
to conference.
2002
s Dedicated Youth Tent with interactive programming designed for and by youth.
2003
s Destiny Arts Center youth perform for the first
time and become an ongoing partner and conference highlight.
2004
s Ongoing partnership with Earth Island Institute,
founded by legendary environmentalist David
Brower, hosts Brower Youth Award Winners extraordinary young environmental leaders - to
share successes and inspire other youth.
2005
s Just Us for Food Justice begins: Youth food
justice activists from Boston, Bay Area and Costa
Rica join in one day pre-conference intensive.
Teen Environmental Media Network from Marin
produces Bioneers radio segments that air on
NPR.
2006
s Chef Bryant Terry does healthy food demo in
youth tent.
2007
s Youth host the International Council of the 13
Indigenous Grandmothers.
2012
s Pilot Community of Mentors project promotes
intergenerational exchange for movement building by cross-pollinating wisdom, vision, experience and accomplishments across ages. Youth
meet in small groups with Bioneers presenters
who provide guidance, and vice versa.
2013
s We initiate daily Youth mini-keynotes. Youth of
Color Caucus forms as safe space to discuss issues such as race and class, race and oppression,
and environmental justice.
s Community of Mentors expands, forming
mentoring teams facilitated by Weaving Earth,
nature-based mentoring group.
2014
s A record number of 350 youth scholarships is
awarded, including over 65 Native American
youth. A formidable 89 youth participate in the
Youth of Color Caucus, facilitated by author Luisah Teish, a spiritual leader in the Yoruba Lucumi
tradition of West Africa.
“THE WORD ON THE STREET WAS THAT THERE WAS NO WAY WE COULD STOP THIS MULTI-BILLION
liquefied natural gas corporation to come to our city. If 3,000 community members from Oxnard
were able to stop this multi-billion liquid natural gas company, how many more companies can we
stop? Through those experiences, I found my voice. I found that there’s always something that you
can do. But the most important lesson is that a united community is more important than money. Si,
se puede!”
– ERICA FERNANDEZ, BROWER YOUTH AWARD WINNER
BIONEERS: SEEING AROUND CORNERS
iPhotos from top: Maya Salsedo, Lyla June Johnston and Gerardo Marin facilitate Just Us for Food Justice; Destiny Arts
performance; filmmaker Jeremy Kagen interviews youth.
4
PROGRAMS: YOUTH LEADERSHIP
Jess Rimington
Founder & former Executive Director, One World Youth Project
I first came to Bioneers at 17 years-old on a scholarship in 2004. I can remember sitting in the youth
tent outside on the lawn and feeling alive with the
*magic* of the gathering. It was an awakening. I
met other young people who cared as passionately as I did about changing the world, other young
people who believed another world was indeed
possible. I received encouragement to apply for
the Brower Youth Awards, and the next year won
for having started the first version of One World
Youth, of which I would become Executive Director. If it were not for a pivotal conversation at the
fall 2004 conference, I’m not sure I would have had
the gumption to apply. Thank you, Bioneers.
By 2006 I was a sophomore in college, came on a
scholarship and learned about climate change. I
was fired up to do something about it! I also learned
about mycelium and the secret lives of mushrooms
as well as being introduced to the concept of biomimicry. Can you imagine how mind-blowing this
all was for me?! I wasn’t getting cutting-edge,
important and centering information like this at
my university. I concluded Bioneers was like ‘life
school’ for all ages. Thank you, Bioneers.
In 2010, I had been running the non-profit One
World Youth Project for 6 years and was asked by
Bioneers to present a plenary. I was incredibly nervous and extremely honored. A little voice inside
me said, ‘You’re up for this challenge; you can do it.’
This voice was made possible because I had had the
opportunity to practice and develop my confidence
and ideas through previous Bioneers gatherings
as well as via Nina’s Cultivating Women’s Leadership training. Seeing people connect to One World
Youth’s work and our vision was electrifying! I left
Bioneers believing: WE CAN REALLY DO THIS! Thank
you, Bioneers. In 2011, I came to Bioneers and connected with a
donor who gave our non-profit one of its largest
gifts to date, helping to really secure our work. The
*magic* was multiplying and growing. Thank you,
Bioneers.
One World Youth Project is celebrating its 10-year
anniversary this year and continuing to thrive! It
is entirely accurate to say that Bioneers informed,
strengthened, and helped make possible the journey of our work. I recently transitioned out of my
role as Executive Director. I am now a 28-year-old
confident woman and change-maker. I came to you,
Bioneers, as a passionate, young, striving, open
17-year-old. You opened me up to all the magic the
world needs and has to offer. I grew up with you.
You were my teacher. Thank you, Bioneers!
“I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS YOUNG I WAS GOING INTO A GROCERY STORE AND I WAS PAYING FOR
pickles with food stamps. This woman looked at me as though I was crazy, and she started talking [to]
the woman next to her about me and how that’s what poor people did is they used those food stamps to
buy snacks. What she didn’t understand is I hadn’t had a sandwich with meat in it before. We had pickleand-cheese sandwiches for lunch because you got free cheese and you got pickles. But when I walked out
of that grocery store feeling that I wasn’t okay, that I was less than, I knew I had done something bad.
When you carry with you the very physical feeling of poverty, when you know you have shame and fear,
you know something’s wrong with you, and you sometimes aren’t able to talk about what’s going on. If
we aspire to be a movement for real change, we have to acknowledge the shame we carry. We have to
see it in other people, so when we relate to them in change, we don’t diminish who they are. Any movement that doesn’t acknowledge the dignity of any human being is not okay.”
– PHAEDRA ELLIS-LAMKINS, FORMER CEO, GREEN FOR ALL
BIONEERS: SEEING AROUND CORNERS
iPhotos from top: Jess Rimington; Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins.
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PROGRAMS: YOUTH LEADERSHIP
Trathen Heckman,
Founder Daily Acts, Transition U.S. Board
“Bioneers is a force of nature that nurtures engaged citizens, leaders, networks and movements. This conference and community have
been one of my greatest sources of inspiration, learning and connection. Year after year it has shaped and influenced the work of Daily
Acts to grow, and support our local community. It has greatly contributed to my work serving on the Board of Directors for Transition
U.S., as well as my efforts in other organizations, alliances and our
community at large. Even when not at Bioneers I would listen to the
tapes in the car, watch the videos; kick off team retreats with a little
Bioneers inspiration in the early days of Daily Acts. It was like gathering around the fire for warmth,
light and connection to this wide network, a movement of bright lights. Feeling this connection to
a larger something gave us hope, strength and inspiration: hope in how David Orr spoke it from the
stage, ‘as a verb with its sleeves rolled up.’ Honest about our reality but renewing our inspiration and
reconnecting us to what makes everything possible, our power and joy, community and nature.”
TESTIMONIALS
“For the past 16 years, I have incorporated into my curricula the heartfelt strength of ideas that are inspired, nourished, and presented by Bioneers. It is alchemic, sparkling, and challenging to law students
clamoring for studies that are alive and transformative.” – Robert Hershey, University of Arizona, Professor of Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy, and Globalization & the Transformation of Cultures
“We’ve sent all of our first-year students to Bioneers every year since 2001 because we want them to get
the sense of the larger community of which they are a part, with the social and environmental movements and activists, educators, and the variety of movements at Bioneers. Our students are going to be
leading initiatives and they have to be able to develop networks and communities of support if they’re
going to be successful in the classroom.” – John Stayton, Co-Founder, Green MBA at Dominican University of California
“The knowledge I gained, the people I met, the connections I made have made my life richer, my work more
productive, and my future as a youth of this planet brighter.” – Kai Neander, Sequoia Park Zoo Roots &
Shoots youth leader, Jane Goodall Institute
“The way to get teenagers to think deeply on issues is to spark their passion. Last weekend, we had a
script-writing session and we showed the DVDs of Bill McKibben and Diane Wilson’s plenaries. The youth
decided they wanted to use what they learned about global warming as the theme of their spring performance piece. The kids are super-passionate about having this material reach young audiences. They want
other kids to know, too.” – Sarah Crowell, Artistic Director, Destiny Arts
BIONEERS: 25 YEARS OF VISIONARY LEADERSHIP
iPhotos clockwise from top: Trathen Heckman; Michael
Pollan with young leaders at Omnivore’s Dilemma for Youth
workshop; Destiny Arts performance; Yoni Landau (right),
founder of CoFED, at World Café.
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PROGRAMS: YOUTH LEADERSHIP
“Thank you for providing a forum for youth of color. It can be very intimidating for youth of color to attend
events like this, and the fact that you created a space to discuss this and even had speakers talk about
the tension between environmental justice and racial and class inequalities made the conference more
accessible to the youth.” – Brian Katz, Educator at Desert Mirage High School, Coachella Valley, CA.
“This is my fourth year at Bioneers and it has changed my life. Bioneers has played a considerable part in
making me who I am. The speakers I have seen every year have affected me in fundamental ways, not
only with their information and stories, but with their optimism, intellectual problem solving, and hope
for my generation. Seeing them has caused me to face many fears and stick up for what I believe in. The
Community of Mentors and the amazingly inspirational people at Bioneers have shown me what it means
to be compassionate, and how one can both be their best and do the best for the world around them.”
– Taysa Mohler, Truckee High, Envirolution Trashion Show
“Bioneers has elevated our youth awards program, providing new visions and ideas to our winners, new
networks and contacts for future work, mentors from the older generation, and financial support to the
program and individual winners.” – Brower Youth Awards, Earth Island Institute
“WE NEED A NEW KIND OF EDUCATION WHICH
honors the foundations of Indigenous teaching.”
– GREGORY CAJETE, NATIVE EDUCATOR
“ALFRED NORTH WHITEHEAD, IN WHAT IS A CLASSIC OF EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE, DESCRIBED
the goal of education as to help young people fall in love with the world. In our case it’s fall in love
with the natural world. That’s not something that happens from as he called it ‘third-handed book
learning.’ It happens in direct contact with the world.”
– DAVID W. ORR, PAUL SEARS DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND POLITICS
AND SENIOR ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT, OBERLIN COLLEGE, AUTHOR, BIONEERS BOARD
BIONEERS: 25 YEARS OF VISIONARY LEADERSHIP
iPhotos clockwise from top right: Singing Tree youth mural
project led by Laurie Marshall; Chief Oren Lyons meets with
youth at Bioneers; Truckee High School’s Trashion Show
crew with Climbing Poetree; Youth Poetry Slam.
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PROGRAMS: YOUTH LEADERSHIP
“I got a small grant to purchase the entire Bioneers DVD collection as a resource available to faculty across
our campus. Most instructors teaching in the Sustainability Studies program have incorporated them
into their curriculum, and students are well acquainted with Bioneers before they enter into the capstone
seminar that centers on our attendance at the conference. They were instantly electrified inspired and
motivated to make big changes in their own lives, on our campus and in our community as a whole. That
first cohort went on to do amazing things. Immediately! They have traveled all over the state and country
to make their voices heard within government. All these students are from low-income situations and
most are supporting themselves (and some their spouses and children) while they go to college.”
– Mimi Riley, Butte College, CA
“Bioneers is a movement builder. It defines a community, encourages dialogue, learning what works,
shared information, contacts, goals. I use this learning in my teaching and my research. Influenced by
the Bioneers, I have developed a class on ‘NGO’s and Corporate Social Responsibility,’ for which students
have written case studies, available online to anyone at any institution. I am organizing researchers for
a conference on these materials. In all of this, Bioneers has been a great stimulus for me – a vital instrument in the world of policy, research, ideas, social movements, inspiration, communications, networking and ……CHANGE.”
– Peter Gourevitch, Professor of Political Science, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific
Studies at the University of California, San Diego, member Council on Foreign Relations
“I DON’T WANT TO WRITE WORDS THAT FILL JAIL CELLS, AND YET IT IS MY ABIDING RESPONSIBILITY
to protect my children from harm and plan for their future. My neighbors feel the same way. If the air,
food and water out of which our children’s bodies are constructed are contaminated, we can’t do our
job as parents. If the day comes when I can be a better mother inside of jail than outside, I will be that
mother.”
– SANDRA STEINGRABER
“IT’S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT WE GIVE CHILDREN
this experience of nature, even if they become
stockbrokers.”
iPhotos, clockwise from top right: Interactive youth mural
project; Sandra Steingraber; Fritjof Capra.
– FRITJOF CAPRA, AUTHOR, CO-FOUNDER,
CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY
BIONEERS YEARBOOK CREDITS
Edited by Kenny Ausubel
Designed by Diane Rigoli
Editorial Assistance by Shannon Biggs
and Mia Murrietta
BIONEERS: 25 YEARS OF VISIONARY LEADERSHIP
Cover “Emergent” painting by Isabella
Kirkland
Photos by Sarah Cavanaugh, Jennifer Esperanza, Jan Mangan, Doug Mason, Tim Porter,
Republic of Light, Genevieve Russell
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