Wondering how you can help Native youth and Native people in the struggle for justice? Beth Robinette of Lazy R Ranch and LaRae Wiley of Salish School of Spokane will share their story of collaboration, justice, food sovereignty and Native Youth empowerment. You can make a difference!

Speakers:

• Beth Robinette, Owner Lazy R Ranch
• LaRae Wiley, member of the Colville Confederated Tribes and co-founder of the Salish School

Land regeneration comes in all shapes and sizes, and numerous tools are applicable for different places at different times. Join us for a panel discussion on a diverse suite of tools available to you to support rangeland health and agricultural production. Toolkit topics include prescribed burning (Mark Biaggi, TomKat Ranch), bison grazing (Speaker TBD), and silvopasture (Coley Burgess, Cattle & Pecan farmer).

Panelists:

• Mark Biaggi, TomKat Ranch
• Coley Burgess, Cattle & Pecan farmer
• TBA

Truly regenerative agriculture nourishes soil, ecosystems, and people, particularly those most marginalized. Financial support is necessary to advance truly regenerative agriculture. In this split plenary you’ll hear from Jessica Chiartas (UC Davis, REGEN1) about soil carbon and a new food label that supports producers’ regenerative practices. And you’ll hear from Mariela Cedeño (Manzanita Capital Collective, Equitable Food Oriented Development Collaborative) about local economies and resilient food systems, and how she’s collectively catalyzing new models of investment and economic opportunity that center and uplift BIPOC entrepreneurs, farmers, and community-based organizations.

Panelists:

• Jessica Chiartas
• Mariela Cedeño

Roots and shoots of creative, collaborative farming models

In this split plenary, we’ll hear different perspectives on collaborative farming models – their origins and some ways collaborative farming is happening on the ground right now.

First Plenary Session:

Dr. Jessica Gordon-Nembhard

Regenerative Promise of Black Community Economics

Throughout African American history, even when Blacks were discriminated against and oppressed at work, or could not find a job, they engaged in economic cooperation and solidarity. Blacks pooled their resources to provide and pay for services they needed but did not have access to otherwise, either due to their masters’ control, or exploitative economic systems. African Americans used solidarity for escape (i.e., the Underground Railroad); started independent schools, intentional communities, and mutual aid societies. They created intentional communities, and used cooperatives to successfully farm, to run their own cotton mills, to collectively buy equipment and supplies, to provide insurance and health services, to gain access to credit and financial services, to provide electricity and alternative energy, etc. Black Americans have retained a sense of humanity and cooperative practice from their African ancestors, and created alternative economic activities that were jointly owned and democratically governed to provide for their families and strengthen their communities. These community solidarity economic accomplishements and strategies are increasing being used to address 21st century crises.

2nd Plenary Session:

Oliver Chedgey & Tim May

Sharing the Regeneration

Regeneration of farms is about much more than fixing broken soils, we have whole supply chains and farm rural communities that need regeneration as well. At Kingsclere estates we are working towards building more resilient farming models allowing new entrants onto the land. In this two person discussion Tim will give a background to the business and how they got this point. Followed by Oliver Chedgey who runs the Roaming Dairy on the farm under a share farming agreement with Tim. Olly will tell his story about how the system works for him.

Observing, documenting and studying over the past 40 years pursuing greater understanding of how Earth Systems Function have led me to certain important findings. This has changed my life and could change yours as well. First I found certain principles that determined functionality in natural Earth systems. Then I found that it was possible to restore large-scale degraded landscapes including those destroyed over long historic time frames and vast areas. Then I found that functional ecosystems are always beautiful and nurturing and that dysfunctional ecosystems lead to collapsed systems. In walking this path in life to the ripe old age of 70 I have found that to restore the Earth’s ecological function is to walk on “The Flourishing Path”.

Speaker:

John Liu