Bioneers Inspire Shift In Thinking About The Web of Life

Aaron Leventman

Our national partners create ways for audiences to learn more about the issues raised in Dirt! The Movie and “get dirty” through environmental service learning projects and be part of imagining solutions for a sustainable future. Aaron Leventman, Media Project Manager, shares why Bioneers is a perfect fit for Community Cinema and Dirt! The Movie.

Bioneers is inspiring a shift to live on Earth in ways that honor the web of life, each other, and future generations. For the past 20 years, we have provided solutions-based education and social connectivity through our national and local conferences our radio series (heard on over 300 stations around the world), anthology book series, television programs and online community. Our two keystone goals are to:

Connect people with solutions by popularizing breakthrough ideas and practices.

Grow social capital by catalyzing, connecting and strengthening strategic networks, including bioregional and community-based alliances.

As Bioneers celebrates our 20th anniversary, our ability to act as a fertile source for the urgent transition to a restored world is converging with an unprecedented receptivity in the world for innovative ways of thinking and acting. Our Dreaming New Mexico initiative is an innovative experiment that uses the vehicle of Bioneersto bring about positive ecological and social transformation at the local and regional level. The Dreaming New Mexico project seeks to reconcile nature and cultures at a state level with pragmatic and visionary solutions, using systemic approaches that address our most pressing ecological and societal challenges. Some of our other programs include:

Cultivating Women’s Leadership- increases the capacity of women of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities to step into greater leadership to effect progressive environmental and social change through media products and trainings.

Youth Program-creates dynamic programming at the Bioneers Conference in October and facilitates relationships and networking opportunities between Youths and organizations throughout the year.

Education- Since Bioneers is a thriving network of visionary innovators who are working with nature to heal nature and offer practical solutions for restoring the Earth and people, a core component of this network is a community of educators, working to bring these concepts and solutions into the classrooms.

20th annual Bioneers Conference in 2009 (photo by ©James Lerager)

Each year at our annual conference, we present social and scientific innovators who focus on solutions inspired by nature and human ingenuity, Some of our past speakers have included Michael Pollan, Eve Ensler, Alice Walker, and Naomi Klein. As part of our conference, we highlight the best and newest in environmental and social justice cinema at our Moving Image Film Festival. In 2009, we screened a sold out showing of Dirt! The Movie which included a post screening Q&A with filmmakers Bill and Laurie Benenson. Dirt! features interviews with many past Bioneers speakers, some of whom were filmed at our conference, including Paul Stamets Andy Lipkis, Fritjof Capra, Jeannette Armstrong, David Orr, Janine Benyus and Jeremy Narby as we share a passion for promoting the importance of the connection between people and nature.

Tags: bioneers, dirt! the movie, earth, eco, partnerships