Bioneers 2024 Day 2: “Nature’s the Boss”
The second day of Bioneers 2024 brought forth a cascade of thought-provoking ideas and actionable insights from our speakers. As we reflect on their words, we are reminded of the power of collective action and the urgency of our shared mission.
From Kenny Ausubel’s call for solidarity to Claudia Peña’s stark truth about prisons, each speaker illuminated pathways toward a more just and sustainable future. We were challenged to reconsider our relationships with the Earth, with each other, and with the systems that shape our world.
As we absorb these inspirations, let’s commit to amplifying their impact. Together, we can turn ideas into action and catalyze change on a global scale.
In Memorium
This year and in the years to come, we’ll hold in our hearts our kin who have passed.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Inspiration from Bioneers 2024 speakers.

- “To start healing and stop the stealing, either we stand together or fall apart. Our common ground literally begins with Mother Earth. Solidarity works.” -Kenny Ausubel, Bioneers
- “There’s nothing really special about human beings aside from our intellect. We can make decisions, and these decisions can be made individually. So every morning, when all of us wake up, you have an option: to either be the best for the world or the worst. And there’s over 8 billion of those options right now.” -Oren Lyons, Onondaga Council of Chiefs and the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy
- “Across this land, there is a pervasive sense of powerlessness, and powerlessness leads to terrible places. Powerlessness is poison in the veins of a democracy.” -Stacy Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
- “A circular economy isn’t about what we lose, it’s about what we gain. It prioritizes investing in experiences and services rather than material possessions.” -Sage Lenier, Sustainable & Just Future
- “When people tell you that prisons are about community safety, they are lying to you, to themselves, and to their creator. Prisons are about industry and making the rich richer.” -Claudia Peña, For Freedoms & Center for Justice at UCLA
- “We can actually work with these forests so they don’t burn down. They have all that resistance and resilience built into them. But we need to tend to them.” -Suzanne Simard, University of British Columbia
- “Raising livestock is really about these amazing, intimate connections we have to beings other than humans, and seeing how our relationships with them impact the land. To be present for animals to be born, to breed, and to die, is profound and life-changing.” -Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, Quivira Coalition
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The power of the ideas shared at Bioneers can be even greater with your help in getting the word out. Download the graphic below and share it on social media, via email … everywhere and anywhere! On social, don’t forget to include the #Bioneers2024 hashtag.

CAMPAIGNS TO SUPPORT
- Support the Awi’nakola Foundation and the Mother Tree Network, both working to protect and restore our critical forests. Learn more about the Foundation’s groundbreaking work in this video. (Mentioned by Coreen Child-Yakawilas)
- Read Fighting Monopoly Power from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance to learn how states and cities can beat back corporate control and build thriving communities. (Mentioned by Stacy Mitchell)
- If you’re interested in working toward a sustainable and just future at your school, get in touch with Sustainable and Just Future. (Mentioned by Sage Lenier)
- Join together to stop Amazon’s growing, powerful grip over our society and economy. Join Athena. (Mentioned by Sheheryar Kaoosji)
- Become a member of Women in Cleantech & Sustainability to connect with a global network of over 5,000 community members, all collaborating to further women’s roles in growing the green economy and positively impacting the environment. (Mentioned by Sara Fuentes)
- Take action for the Earth and Indigenous Peoples alongside Amazon Watch’s multiple action initiatives. (Mentioned by Leila Salazar-López)

WATCH SELECT VIDEO CLIPS
Full video recordings of all Bioneers 2024 keynote presentations will be available to our entire audience soon. In the meantime, you can enjoy and share a growing selection of video clips by visiting us on Instagram and TikTok.