Celebrating 25 Years of Youth Leadership at Bioneers

Help fund the movement that’s rewriting the future—one young leader at a time.

At the annual Bioneers Conference, our multicultural Young Leaders Program creates a dynamic space for over 450 youth voices. Our dedicated Native Youth Leadership track uniquely brings together more than 100 Indigenous youth from 20 different tribes alongside hundreds of other young leaders from every background imaginable.

Young people across all communities are already building solutions for ecosystem protection and social justice. From urban Oakland to tribal territories, from immigrant communities to rural towns, they’re organizing their schools, protecting their watersheds, and fighting for environmental justice in their neighborhoods.

With Bioneers’ support, Native youth from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe just became the first Indigenous youth group to pass a Rights of Nature law within their Tribal government. Bay Area youth regularly return from our conference to start initiatives, mentor peers, and pursue opportunities they once believed were unattainable.

Ciara Oakley- Robbins, Amaya Balbuena, Jyzrie Alves, Jacelle Stieding, and Talia Landry (Mashpee Wampanoag), “Native Youth Organizing for the Rights of Nature,” Indigenous Forum 2024. Photo credit: Boris Zharkov Photography.

Our youth don’t just attend—they lead. They take the stage as keynote speakers. They facilitate workshops ranging from climate justice to food sovereignty. They create art, share stories, and build solidarity along with priceless long-term relationships across cultures and communities.

Many come from frontline communities besieged by extractive industries, colonization, and climate disasters. They arrive as passionate individuals. They leave as an unstoppable force with lifelong allies and mentors.

• The Mashpee Wampanoag youth who passed Rights of Nature legislation? They learned organizing skills here.
• The Oakland youth now leading housing and environmental justice campaigns? This program gave them the tools and network.
• The rural youth implementing sustainable agriculture projects? They found their community and confidence here.

Our youth return because they find hope and support here—and they’re creating hope for all of us.

Environmental destruction and social injustice hit frontline communities first and hardest.
Young people from these communities—Indigenous, immigrant, and rural youth as well as youth of color—are ready to lead solutions that address both ecosystem protection and social justice together.

These young leaders understand that they can organize, advocate, and build movements that honor both environmental health and community wellbeing. They know their communities hold pieces of the solution. What they need is investment in their leadership development and mutual support.

We’re living in a time when those in power take pride in denying the interconnection between social and environmental justice. Young people are building grassroots momentum for a future where our communities and ecosystems can both thrive.

It is our responsibility to fund their success. The solutions they’re creating—and the future they deserve to inherit—depend on it.