Oct 16-18: Beaming Bioneers!

Bioneers
The first Three Rivers Bioneers conference takes place this October 16-18, 2009 at the Pittsburgh Project on the Northside. The Three Rivers Bioneers (3RB) conference is a leading-edge forum highlighting breakthrough solutions for restoring people and planet.

As a satellite conference of Bioneers
, 3RB provides a hub for people who are hungry for change and are working to make a real difference in their local communities. Bioneers is a nonprofit educational organization hosting the national Bioneers Conference in California for its 20th year. 3RB will broadcast live fifteen visionary speakers from the national conference to Pittsburgh, including Andrew Weil, M.D. and Michael Pollan. Weil is the nation’s foremost authority on holistic medicine and Pollan is author of the bestselling The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and In Defense of Food.

The Three Rivers Bioneers Conference will also feature local leaders in the areas of green jobs, sustainable agriculture, and environmental restoration. Among the forty local presenters will be keynote speakers Khari Mosley, Pittsburgh's liaison for Van Jones' organization Green for All, and Greg Boulos, Western Region Director of Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). In addition to the keynotes we'll have a Water Restoration Panel moderated by Janie French, Director of Green Infrastructure at PA Environmental Council. Finally, the conference is rounded out by tours, as well as local and organic food, art installations, spoken word performances, participatory theatre, and much more. Our full schedule is available here.

3RB endeavors to give residents the tools and inspiration to be catalysts for change in their own community. According to organizer Maureen Copeland, "Combining Bioneers national speakers with presentations from Pittsburgh's brightest and most passionate change agents -- in addition to interactive art, music, and wellness activities -- makes for an event to inspire and re-energize Pittsburgh for our greatest work ahead."

Three Rivers Bioneers builds upon the success of two previous conferences hosted by the Urban Ecology Collaborative—the Green Forum and MERGE (Methods to Engage Residents in Grassroots in the Environment). Providing a space to learn, network, and reflect, 3RB is an incubator for ideas and strategies that inspire positive change. A youth studio, activist network room, and peace garden complement the daily workshops and speakers. The Pittsburgh Project, a community development center on the Northside, provides the backdrop for the 3RB conference.

About the Urban Ecology Collaborative
The Urban Ecology Collaborative is a ten-city collaborative that cultivates healthy, safe and vibrant cities through collective learning and united action. UEC does this by developing a unique multi-city network for urban ecosystem research and restoration that makes the connections to issues of social justice; combining programs in education, urban forestry, and advocacy to address common urban ecosystem issues; and creating an integrated toolkit for sharing these strategies.

About Bioneers
Bioneers is a nonprofit educational organization that highlights social and scientific innovations inspired by nature and human creativity. Its acclaimed annual national conference brings together people passionate about making a difference and serves as an incubator for new strategies for just and sustainable change. Through the conference, recordings, books, a radio series, online social network and other resources, Bioneers provides the tools and inspiration to help people connect with each other and catalyze positive change in their own communities.

The Pittsburgh Project is at 2801 North Charles Street, Pittsburgh 15214. Registration for the three-day conference is $99 until October 11th, $125 thereafter, $75 for low income attendants and students, or $45/day.

For more information, contact Maureen Copeland at 412.334.2072 or mocopeland@3riversbioneers.org .


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