The 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit
is about regenerating our future – rippling out from
the GTB (Greater Tkaronto Bioregion) to
the four directions of our planet

The 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit is now over, but you can still register to access recordings of all the sessions.

We are in ecological and cultural overshoot. We face deeply complex, interconnected local and global crises – and they will continue, increasing in intensity.

We are called to whole systems transformation – across generations and bioregions – that manifests as both big and bold (revolution) AND small and steady (evolution).

The 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit is not your normal conference – by design. Emphasizing intergenerational and place-based (bioregional) dynamics, the Summit will connect the dots across seven broad themes: environment/climate, economy, community, health, education, life course, and Indigenous worldviews/ways of knowing. We'll fractally scale-link from the GTB (Greater Tkaronto Bioregion) to the Great Lakes Basin and other parts of Turtle Island, culminating with the entire planet and the birth of the new Bioregional Earth network.

As we slide across themes and scales, the Summit will feature both local and international speakers. The GTB is leading and learning from bioregions forming around the planet.

We're looking to #ChangeTheStory of how we live with each other on a changing planet in uncertain times. The Summit itself will be an unfolding story – like a flower slowly blossoming through the week. Take a moment to feel into that evocative metaphor with this video.

The 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit is a collaborative effort of the Legacy Project, as the core team for 7-Generation GTB, and the Design School for Regenerating Earth, with the Indigenous Environmental Institute (IEI) at Trent University.

If you care about our future, this Summit is a uniquely curated experience unlike any other. Ready to REGISTER?

CONTEXT

The GTB is 3 million hectares on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario, within the subcontinental area of the Great Lakes Basin (which has around 20% of the world's fresh water). The land anchors and brings coherence to the story people co-create – a population of around 10 million people (about a quarter of the population of Canada). The bioregion was originally defined by The Honourable David Crombie in his seminal 1992 Regeneration report.

Through 7-Generation GTB, we're creating parallel structures and processes as we nurture regenerative seeds. The three key structures are a Bioregional Learning Center (the keystone structure), a Portfolio of Projects (both social and ecological regeneration), and a Bioregional Foundation (which supports a funding ecosystem, regenerative economy, and governance). These are woven together through two fundamental social processes: intergenerational relationships, especially connecting youth with elders; and prosocial collaborations (fostering psychological flexibility, collective healing, complexity thinking, creativity) across organizations/municipalities/silos. Throughout the Summit, there will be "reveals" for each of these structures and processes.

7-Generation GTB is systems complexity work. It brings together both social regeneration and ecological regeneration for ecopsychosocial wellbeing on the timescale of lifetimes across generations.

Check out the 7-Generation GTB Introduction.

We take a "short-term for the long-term approach" – helping/saving as much as possible now, while centering life in every decision and action. Metaphorically, we talk about this as growing a Tree of Life.

Find out more about the underlying bioregional and intergenerational dynamics, as well as the seven themes. There's also a collection of videos you can explore ahead of the 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit.

NOT A TRADITIONAL CONFERENCE

Don't expect a traditional conference, where you pick the sessions that interest you and pull out the occasional nugget.

This is a working Summit, in which we invite you to work as hard as we're working to bring together something meaningful and pragmatic in this uncertain moment in human history. Like summiting a mountain, the 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit is reaching for higher insights and practice.

We'll share resources ahead of time and ground concepts in the real world. We hope you'll engage as much as you can with the entire week-long flow to allow your mind to feel into the complexities and enable possibilities to emerge. Each session has been carefully curated; every speaker has been specially invited to bring their unique voice and perspective to the story tapestry.

SUMMIT PROGRAM

The 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit February 5-10, 2024, is the unfolding of a story through a series of sessions that slide across themes and scales.

The first session, around the Legacy Table at The Cedars site in the GTB, will be intimate and personal. We'll move up to the planetary scale on the final day, with the birth of the new Bioregional Earth network.

The story will start as many stories do, "Once upon a time… as the world was in crisis, generations came together, grounded by the land, to #ChangeTheStory…" We'll write the rest of the story together, throughout the week-long Summit… and beyond.

Each day of the 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit is connected to those before and after it. We'll have Threads running through the Summit as a way to help participants make interconnections and build coherence. These are our Threads:

• Patricia Kambitsch is a visual storyteller who will do a series of sketchart pieces to tell the story from day to day, so that by the end of the Summit the week-long story will be visible.


• Joe Brewer is a global regeneration leader and Co-Founder of the Design School for Regenerating Earth. With a background in both earth science and cognitive science, Joe will do weaving and sensemaking as he facilitates sessions throughout the week to help the story emerge.


• Nora Bateson is a complexity thinker, educator, author and filmmaker known for her Warm Data work. Says Bateson, "Developing an understanding of the patterns and processes of interdependency in complexity is the single most practical capacity that we can support in ourselves and each other." Nora will speak on Wednesday. Throughout the Summit, we'll share provocations from her new book Combining.


• An Indigenous thread will run throughout the Summit, in particular through the voices of Oren Lyons and Dr. Dan Longboat.


• Each day of the Summit, we'll share EcoArt created by students and elders who are part of the 7-Generation GTB Intergenerational Zone in partnership with local schools. Said Edgar Degas, "Art is not what you see, but what you help others see." This rhythm of intergenerational voices reminds us to think beyond a given session/moment to lifetimes across generations. The theme of the EcoArt is "Regenerate Earth," inspired by the Regenerate Earth poster with artwork by community artist Clare Attwell.

The 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit is a hybrid experience. Most sessions will be virtual/livestreamed for a local and international audience.

There will be three in-person days in Toronto (partially livestreamed) with limited seating: Tuesday, February 6 as an intergenerational-focused day; Thursday, February 8 as an Indigenous-focused day; and Saturday, February 10 as the celebratory birth of the global Bioregional Earth network.

When you REGISTER for the 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit, you get general access to the Summit platform and to recordings after the Summit. To help us estimate our webinar platform capacity, we ask that you also sign up for each virtual day you think there's a high likelihood you'll participate in live. If you're interested in attending the in-person days, please sign up for those and we'll confirm your seat via e-mail (there is limited seating).

There is no registration fee to participate in the 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit. We appreciate donations to support our work.

Click here to REGISTER. An overview of each day appears below. You can also click through to more detailed descriptions for each day, starting with Monday, February 5. Check back for updates!

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5

#ChangeTheStory and Bioregional Learning Centers
as a Keystone

The Honourable David Crombie, former Mayor of Toronto and federal cabinet minister, and author of the seminal 1992 Regeneration report, will open the 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit. Then join us around the Legacy Table for wide-ranging discussions to set the stage for the rest of the Summit. Can we #ChangeTheStory? In the afternoon, we'll explore Bioregional Learning Centers as keystone structures for (re)learning how to live in our place. Find out more about Monday, February 5.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6

Empowering Generations

In the morning, we'll explore how generations can walk a regenerative path together, in community. Can we all see ourselves as elders-in-training to find the wisdom we need? In the afternoon, participants attending in person will take part in an embodied learning experience using the concept of the Carrier Bag. Find out more about Tuesday, February 6.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7

Dollars and Sense

In the morning, we'll explore what we value and how that might translate into new financial structures, including a Bioregional Foundation to pool resources for regeneration projects. After that left-brain focus, we'll engage the right brain in the afternoon with an interactive and inspiring Warm Data sensemaking experience. NOTE: For those in the GTB, there's an option in the afternoon for a field site experience at Riverdale Farm in the Caledon area. Find out more about Wednesday, February 7.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8

Finding a
Third Way

We want to live in the world of the Eagle and the Condor, and on this day we’ll practice for a Bioregional Earth. We need the best of Indigenous ways of knowing and knowledge with the best of Western science. In the morning, Indigenous voices from across Turtle Island share the stories of their landscapes. In the afternoon, these Indigenous leaders and elders offer their counsel as we explore a Third Way forward. Find out more about Thursday, February 8.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9

People and Place

In the morning, we explore what it means to listen to the land, with on-the-ground examples. In the afternoon, we'll do a deep dive into the nature of humanity and how we might come together in this critical moment in history. For those in the GTB, there's an option in the afternoon for a field site experience at Heartwood Farm & Cidery in the Caledon area. Find out more about Friday, February 9.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10

The Story Emerges: Bioregional Earth

As the 7-Generation Bioregional Earth Summit comes to a close, gather together, ground yourself, find the story. This promises to be a profound and historic moment as we connect with bioregions around the world to birth Bioregional Earth. For those in the GTB, there's an option in the morning for a guided tour of the McMichael Gallery (which is near the Kortright Centre). Find out more about Saturday, February 10.