We need to transform how we interact with one another and the world — but how can we achieve the required level of change without working together? Once a year, at the annual Bioneers Conference, thousands of us gather in person to hear from visionary thinkers, doers, and creators working in myriad ways to address the many crises facing us at this critical juncture. It’s a heartening reminder that new ways forward are possible — and that in coming together, we can help turn ideas into meaningful action. 

We’re excited to begin sharing the brilliant solutions discussed at Bioneers 2025 with the wider world, giving everyone a chance to experience the powerful insights from these truly inspiring leaders. To start, we’re releasing three incredible talks today (with more to come in the future). Imagine a city that functions like a forest with “Godmother of Biomimicry” Janine Benyus, explore how recognizing our interdependence can change our perspective with storyteller Baratunde Thurston, and learn about the Indigenous-led movement that led to the removal of four dams on the Klamath River from Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group Executive Director Amy Bowers Cordalis. Watch, learn, and share these visions for a more just and regenerative future. 

Want more news like this? Sign up for the Bioneers Pulse to receive the latest news from the Bioneers community straight to your inbox.

Janine Benyus – Becoming a Welcome Species: Biomimicry and the Art of Generous Design

If humans are to come home to this planet, we need to become a welcome species, a gift-giver to the places we inhabit. Janine Benyus, the world-renowned “Godmother of Biomimicry,” and her colleagues at Biomimicry 3.8 have been demonstrating what it takes to design human settlements—cities, villages, homes, and businesses—that create the same ecological gifts as the wildlands next door. In her presentation, Benyus helps us imagine a city that functions like a forest—storing the same amount of water, cleaning and cooling the same amount of air, cycling as many nutrients, and nurturing as much biodiversity. She also shares inspiring news about some of Biomimicry 3.8’s “Project Positive” initiatives that reveal that this regenerative vision is indeed achievable and within our reach, if we are able to quiet our human cleverness sufficiently to be able to ask: What would Nature do here?

Watch now

Baratunde Thurston – From Me to We, A Story of Interdependence

We are facing so many crises—climatological, technological, “democratilogical”—that even the use of the word “crisis” has reached crisis levels. While there are of course policies and investments and direct actions we need to fervently work on in response, we also need to pay attention to the story, because what we tell ourselves about ourselves shapes how we show up in these times. Baratunde Thurston, Writer, Producer, Proud Earthling, creator of the How To Citizen and Life with Machines podcasts and author of the comedic memoir How to Be Black, shares stories he has been unearthing about our relationships with the natural world, our fellow humans, and even with machines that provide strong hints of where we need to go and how to get there.

Watch now

Amy Bowers Cordalis – The Water Remembers: Year Zero

In 2024, the removal of four dams on the Klamath River marked a historic victory for an Indigenous-led movement, achieving the largest river restoration project in history. A revolutionary approach is underway, blending Indigenous knowledge, modern science, and sustainable practices, and the early results are remarkable—salmon are returning in unexpected abundance to spawning grounds that have been inaccessible for 100 years. In her presentation, Amy Bowers Cordalis, mother, fisherwoman, Executive Director, Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group and former general counsel of the Yurok Tribe who has played a major role in this struggle, highlights the Indigenous values and lessons from the Klamath, showcasing nature-based solutions that heal the land, waters, and people while benefiting the economy. The goal is to restore the river as a living relative, ensuring its health for generations. The Klamath’s renewal is not just history—it’s a path forward for all.

Watch now

Turn Ideas into Impact: Apply Now for the 2025 J.M.K. Innovation Prize

With the consequences of climate change, cultural loss, and systemic injustice at our doorstep, the urgency for social-impact organizations and community leaders to act has never been greater. The J.M. Kaplan Fund believes in the power of innovators to reshape our future — and knows that this work is already underway in unexpected places and through nascent projects across the country. 

The Fund created the J.M.K. Innovation Prize to help transform these ideas into lasting impact. The prize seeks to identify and support bold problem-solvers leading transformative, early-stage projects in the fields of heritage conservation, the environment, and social justice. In 2025, the Fund will award up to 10 Prizes, each including a cash award of $150,000 over three years and $25,000 in technical assistance funds. Awardees will also receive guidance through the Fund’s resource network, accessing hands-on training and support to help turn their ideas into sustainable growth and impact.

Learn more

Upcoming Bioneers Learning Courses

Through engaging courses led by some of the world’s foremost movement leaders, Bioneers Learning equips engaged citizens and professionals like you with the knowledge, tools, resources and networks to initiate or deepen your engagement, leading to real change in your life and community. Together, we will cultivate our inner awareness, learn to harness nature’s timeless strategies to drive social transformation, and explore how regenerative agriculture can heal the planet. 

• EveryWoman’s Leadership: Cultivating Ourselves for Full-Spectrum Flourishing | April 16-May 7, 2025 | Guided by Bioneers co-founder Nina Simons, this four-week experiential program invites women, female-identifying individuals, and allies into a transformative space to cultivate inner awareness, relational intelligence, and clarity of purpose. 
• Biomimicry for Social Innovation: Nature’s Lessons for Movement Leaders | May 13-June 3, 2025 | This four-week experiential course reveals how biomimicry—a practice that draws on the genius of ecosystems—can inform leadership, partnership building, and decision-making for lasting, regenerative change.
• The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times | Self-Paced | Discover how the Four Sacred Gifts of forgiving the unforgivable, unity, healing, and hope in action provide us with a path to our most grounded, loving, healed, and generous selves.
• Regenerative Agriculture: Nourishing the Soil, Healing the Planet | Self-Paced | Be enlightened on the practical applications and impressive potential that regenerative agriculture has to revive healthy landscapes; contribute to human and animal health; create an equitable food system; and help heal the climate.

Learn more