The 2023 Cascadia Bioregional Summit and Activation Tour represented a landmark moment for Regenerate Cascadia. From October through November 2023, more than 200 participants joined 47 presentations and workshops spanning watershed organizing, bioregional governance, ecological resilience, and community-scale regeneration across the Cascadia bioregion.
All recordings are available on the Cascadia Department of Bioregion YouTube channel.
Cascadia Bioregional Summit
The summit took place November 3 through 12, 2023, hosted online via Zoom and this website. The first weekend featured a "Festival of What Works," where presenters from across the bioregion shared lessons and projects essential for others to know and replicate. During the following week, evening sessions focused on watershed organizing. The final weekend was a Cascadia UnConference, an open-space gathering where participants convened around themes they identified as priorities for the movement. It was the first time that communities from the Activation Tour came together to see one another, share their work, and learn from colleagues across the region.
Opening Ceremony with Clare Attwell, Brandon Letsinger, and Jay Bowen
Saturday Morning Opening Session with Joe Brewer
Water, Earth's Blood with Brian Kerkvliet and Inspiration Farms
ProSocial World with Anna Purpera
Bioregional Governance with Benjamin Life
The Resilient Communities Project with Brad Smith
Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology and Poetry with Elizabeth Bradfield
Moving from Project Silos to Collaborative Systems with Clare Strawn
Changing Our Minds with Philip Be'er
Working with the Land with Janaki Kilgore
Cascadian Earthquake Resilience: A Bioregional Regeneration Strategy
The Poetics of Decolonial Cascadia and Zen with Paul Nelson and Jason Wirth
Cascadia: Ancestors and Elders with Lansing Scott
Salish Sea Island Climate Collaborative with David Haskell
Energy and Permaculture with David MacLeod
Sustainable Gabriola Climate Conversations with Fay Weller
Integral Watershed Management with David Ketter
Risk, Resilience, and Restoration with Phoebe Barnard
Music for Environmental Healing and Peace with Sharon Abreu
Lightning Talk: Transition Lopez with Henning Sehmsdorf
Bioregional Mapping with Brandon Letsinger
Watershed Organizing Discussion (November 9, 2023)
Bioregional Activation Tour Presentations
From October 1 through 30, 2023, Regenerate Cascadia traveled across the bioregion to activate watershed core teams in 14 communities throughout the Salish Sea and Willamette Valley. Each presentation followed an intentional arc: establishing the scale of the ecological crisis, making the case for bioregional frameworks as the most realistic pathway forward, and laying out the vision for Regenerate Cascadia as a tapestry of projects working across every watershed, ecoregion, and bioregion.
These events were presented in partnership with Joe Brewer, Penny Heiple, Steven Morris, and the Design School for Regenerating Earth, along with Clare Attwell, Brandon Letsinger, and a core team of more than 150 local organizers.
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center (October 3)
Lost Valley Education Center with Alpha Lo (October 5)
Dharmalya (October 6)
Bridge Space, Portland (October 8)
New Traditions, Olympia (October 12)
Mukai Farm and Gardens, Vashon (October 13)
Woodlawn Hall, Seattle (October 15)
Soundview Center, Whidbey (October 17)
Fort Worden Commons, Port Townsend (October 20)
University of Victoria (October 24)
Surf Pub and Lodge, Gabriola Island (October 25)
Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, Whatcom (October 28)
Skagit and the San Juans (October 30)
Information Sessions
Leading up to the Activation Tour and Summit, Clare Attwell and Brandon Letsinger hosted weekly information sessions every Thursday evening. These sessions introduced the vision for Regenerate Cascadia and provided context for those interested in joining the effort.