Activists, scientists and grassroots groups are leveraging new technology and collaborative networks to accurately monitor the quality of the environment, expose governmental and corporate abuses, and enable large-scale ecological research to understand the web of life in the age of climate disruption. Hosted by Teo Grossman, Bioneers Director of Strategic Network Initiatives. With: Severine v T Fleming, Farm Hack; Shannon Dosemagen, founder/President, New Orleans-based Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science; Brian Haggerty, co-designer, USA National Phenology Network, a multisectoral climate change research program using citizen scientists to monitor seasonal behavior of U.S. flora and fauna.

Location: Manzanita Room

Bioneers Associate Producer J.P. Harpignies interviews Kim Stanley Robinson, among our most celebrated, award-winning science-fiction writers and the most ecologically conscious. The author of many classic works including the seminal Mars and Three Californias trilogies explores such topics as: how "eco-futurist fiction" seeks to identify today's most important trends; the power of dystopian and utopian memes; and how science fiction can contribute to helping us shape a desirable tomorrow.

Location: Sausalito Room

Schools, colleges, and universities can become community models for sustainability, inspiring innovation and teaching environmental literacy for the next generation. Learn from leaders and practitioners how to achieve political, financial, and student success. Hosted by Deborah Moore, founder, Green Schools Initiative. With: David Orr, renowned eco-educator and author, Senior Adviser to the President of Oberlin College; Jennifer Seydel, Executive Director, Green Schools National Network; Nik Kaestner, Sustainability Coordinator, and Elishama Goldfarb, Environmental Literacy Specialist, San Francisco Unified School District.

Location: Epiphany Theater

Contemporary science is validating traditional knowledge about the vast pervasive intelligence in nature, and in plants in particular. What is intelligence? How do we learn nature’s languages? Hosted by Melissa K. Nelson, President, The Cultural Conservancy. With: Robin Kimmerer, Director, Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at SUNY-ESF; Monica Gagliano, renowned Australian marine biologist and evolutionary ecologist whose research Michael Pollan reported in the New Yorker.

Location: Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium (VMA)