Conscious Choice: Bioneers: The Pilgrims of Restoration

July 2001

Bioneers: The Pilgrims of Restoration

Modern day pioneers are creatively healing the Earth

by Ana Arias Terry

A brave new movement is afoot. Against the backdrop of a declining ecosystem and a U.S. political climate that is narrow-minded, conservative, and anti-conservation, a beacon of light is stubbornly shining through. Bioneers are springing into the scene with creative plans to solve many of the Earth’s environmental problems by mimicking Mother Nature herself.

Plant medicine guru, author, and filmmaker Kenny Ausubel was the first to refer to these committed individuals as bioneers. He was inspired by their efforts at developing pragmatic solutions to serious environmental problems, but troubled that the vast majority worked without the knowledge of each other’s existence. In 1990, Ausubel established a forum to bring these practical visionaries together with the first bioneers conference. He co-produces these annual meetings with his wife and partner, Nina Simons.

Today the conference is alive and well as a gathering place where experts are accessible to provide guidance on restorative methods to individuals, communities, and companies. The focus is on practical, actionable solutions in areas such as biodiversity, bioremediation (where decontamination of soil and water is accomplished with the creation of natural treatment systems), culture, spirituality, and feminine vision.

The State of the Earth

In his book Restoring the Earth: Visionary Solutions from the Bioneers, Ausubel comments that the one undeniable fact of today’s environmental health is that "...all the basic life-support systems on Earth are in serious and accelerating decline." According to Ausubel, author and bioneer Paul Hawken believes that sustainability is the half-way mark between destruction and restoration. Ausubel agrees. "Because we live in such a dramatically depleted world, it is not enough to seek merely to sustain it," says Ausubel. "Sustainable systems may be a reasonable long term goal in a regenerated world, but for now we need to tip the scales toward restoration to regain the subtle equilibrium that is the nature of nature."

Ausubel also shares a quote from journalist Robert Kaplan who, in an article entitled "The Coming Anarchy," illustrates how the state of our environment is acting as a catalyst to an increasingly tense political crisis. "It is time to understand‘the environment’ for what it is," writes Kaplan, "the national security issue of the early twenty-first century."

Kaplan goes on to add that the impact of maladies such as air pollution, water depletion, deforestation and soil erosion, disease, booming populations, and maybe even rising sea levels on overcrowded areas of the world will stimulate mass migrations and fuel conflicts. This, he explains, "will be the core foreign policy challenge from which most others will ultimately emanate, arousing the public and uniting assorted interests left over from the Cold War."

Restoration and Renewal

The movement unleashed by bioneers is based on practical, working models and prototypes that can be replicated and shared with the world. These include economic renewal, water purification, power generation, restorative agriculture, ecological design, biodiversity conservation, spiritual politics, and cultural revival.

Indeed, the bioneer movement has a cast of characters that represent expected as well as unexpected vocations: ecologists, biologists, botanists, anthropologists, public employees, entrepreneurs, gardeners, activists, poets, and artists. These individuals share a common set of codes and hold deep-rooted values. They see kinship as a concept that underlies life at the molecular level, whether mammal or microbe. They see biodiversity, deeply rooted in evolution, as a required condition of life. They also see the importance that community plays in biology. According to Ausubel, these restoration experts believe that the "essence of any practical solution for restoring the Earth is a change of heart" and a willingness to "live in a relationship of mutual aid with Mother Earth."

Ausubel says that bioneers do nothing less than herald a coming "Age of Biology." He points out, for example, that despite our best efforts, we can’t do away with the laws of gravity or control the weather. "In that sense," he adds, "biology is indeed destiny, as the ultimate fate of our species rests upon the ability to live within the limits of the natural world." Bioneers not only accept that fact but welcome the challenge it entails.

Taking his explanation to its logical limit, Ausubel turns on its head the common notion of human dominion over the earth. "Our bodies may be little more than convenient hosts for the three-and-a-half billion-year-old microbial community, " he says. In fact, over 80 percent of our planet’s biomass is made up of these minuscule organisms, and current wisdom has it that these organisms have been the key protagonists in forming and arranging the soils, oils, rocks, minerals, metals, and gases of the planet’s surface. "Without these organisms," notes Ausubel, "all life would cease because decomposition would no longer occur and we would be buried in a matter of weeks under a heap of eternal biomass. Perhaps we should learn some respect for this invisible microbial polyverse, which cohabits our own universe and generously harbors us as guests."

Bioneer Efforts

Exactly what sorts of things are these pilgrims of restoration up to? Here’s a brief sampling of the people and the projects making a positive difference in the state of the planet’s well being:

• Midwestern farmer Fred Kirshenmann has made a complete switch to organic, biodynamic farming, and has been key in assisting other farmers who wish to come together closer to the consumer. He’s involved in public policy developments to encourage greater use of organic farming practices and less centralized food production.

• J.L. Chestnut is an African-American attorney whose conviction and sense of justice has led him to fighting for human rights, including the rights of African-American farmers. Chestnut was pivotal in the victory for black farmers who faced institutional racism at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• John Todd, a biologist, has created sophisticated wastewater management treatments by simulating ecosystems and implementing solar designs. Thanks to this nature-mimicking activity, he has been able to successfully treat water polluted with extremely harmful substances.

• With Natural Treatment Systems, Dr. Donald Hammer has designed wetlands to treat wastewater more effectively and less expensively than traditional purifying systems. The extended application of these systems will significantly improve water quality and conserve water.

• Social activist Vandana Shiva has been instrumental in a widespread movement to preserve native agricultural seeds and ancient, sustainable farming traditions in India. Her efforts led to the development of community seed banks, enabling farmers to regain control over their country’s food supply and seed legacy. She has rallied against big-scale patenting of seeds by corporations and introduced biodiversity conservation based on spirituality.

• Mestizo poet Francisco X. Alarcon has used his poetry as a gateway to understand humanity’s multicultural heritage and spread greater respect for divergent cultures and the land.

• Botanist and artist Kat Harrison focuses on medicinal plants and their spiritual aura. Employing shamanic and medicinal traditions, she has carried out biodiversity preservation and plant collection efforts.

• Dr. Stephen King has created Shaman Pharmaceuticals through the use of plants to create pharmaceutical drugs rooted in indigenous wisdom. His models are based on harvesting and cultivating plants sustainably, as well as helping to preserve the lands and cultures from where the plants originate.

• Anna Edey has helped create solar greenhouses with the capacity to grow extensive quantities of fresh organic foods one community at a time. These greenhouses can be customized to retrofit to many types of buildings, and through them, Edey is providing a way for community entrepreneurs to produce local and regional produce and supplies.

• William McDonough, an architect and designer, has brought about a blending of design structures with ecological principles. He is championing a comprehensive effort to swap unsustainable and toxic materials and supplies for organic materials.

• Judy Wicks, founder and owner of the White Dog Café and the Black Cat gift store, blends superb food, social activism, and plain fun to help people see their connection to others who may be different from themselves. From community garden tours to vegetarian meals with prison inmates, Wicks leads a kind of social activism that extends beyond U.S. borders.

The list of individuals who are making a difference through their contributions goes on. Some — like Julia Butterfly Hill, Amory and Hunter Lovins, Frances Morre Lappé, David Orr — have greater name recognition than others. But regardless of their fame factor, bioneers are pooling their collective areas of expertise to help in the restoration process.

The Conference

Held in San Rafael, California last October, the 2000 version of the Bioneers Conference focused on globalization, the relationship between corporations and the environment, nature and spirituality, restoration, green design, media and social change, and environmental health. Bioneers such as Jerry Mander, Alice Walker, Julia Butterfly Hill, and William McDonough spoke at the event. You’ll find excerpts from five of the lectures in this issue.

The 2001 conference will be held October 19-21 in San Rafael’s Marin Center. This year’s conference, which offers a special focus on health and the environment, promises to be as riveting as last year’s. Panel discussions will be held on topics such as gender and the environment, conserving biodiversity, food and farming (including mad cow), natural design, environmental education, spirituality and nature, fundraising techniques, indigenous vision, business for social change, investigative journalism, and organizing meetings. A few repeat speakers from last year will be participating again this year, including Julia Butterfly Hill, as well as other innovators such as Frances Morre Lappé, Hunter Lovins and Walter Link, Lynn Margulis, Dr. Tierona Low Dog, and Dr. Andrew Weil.

At the End of the Day

It’s encouraging to learn that this pioneering movement is expanding. Given the state of our planet’s health, it can use every passionate person willing to be creative and experiment by learning from nature.

Ausubel sums it up beautifully when he shares what he thinks may just be the most crucial contribution that bioneers offer: "...they show innumerable ways that we can all begin to make a tangible difference in our personal lives and in our larger communities and political domains."

Resources

Check out the Bioneers Web site. You’ll learn a great deal more about the efforts of other bioneers, enjoy the access to useful links, and find out how you can make a difference. You can even support this organization by joining.

If you have questions about the 2001 bioneers conference, or to order conference tapes, or receive a free newsletter, call 877-BIONEER, or send an e-mail to info@bioneers.org.

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