As people who care deeply about their local landscapes, we know we need to be effective stewards. How do we find others who will help co-create the conditions for openness, curiosity, cooperation, and learning? And how do we catalyze and embody the cultural and worldview shifts necessary for the regeneration of the planet, our bioregion, and our local communities?
Regenerate Cascadia partnered with the Design School for Regenerating Earth for their 2025 learning journey, "How to Organize Your Bioregion," starting March 18th. As part of this learning journey, we invited a Cascadia cohort, bringing people together from across the Cascadia bioregion. The cohort connected with other bioregional organizing teams worldwide as we learned more about what it means to organize at a bioregional scale and cultivate thriving, regenerative landscapes.
Cascadia Cohort: Program Description
This program was designed for those who wanted to deepen their understanding of bioregionalism, become part of a shared community of practice, take meaningful action towards bioregional regeneration, and form landscape hubs around Cascadia.
Purposes of the Learning Journey
- Learn more about bioregionalism, bioregional mapping, bioregions, and Regenerate Cascadia's programs.
- Come together with others in a landscape to start forming local landscape groups as part of a regional coordinating strategy in a healthy, pro-social way.
- Meet regularly, either in person or virtually, and foster nested connections with other bioregions from around the world.
- Re-engage with former Learning Journey members who are already active and support deepening the work in their landscapes.
- Identify bioregional leaders and teams for the 2025 Landscape Hub Cultivator, encouraging participation in bioregional mapping, fostering local funding ecosystems, and envisioning guilds around cross-regional topics.
Course Information
Duration: March through September 2025 (six months, bi-weekly rhythm)
Days: Tuesday and Thursday
Time: 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM Pacific
Time Commitment: Approximately 3 hours per week
Registration Options
- Basic Registration ($50): Covers the cost of an annual Design School membership.
- Standard Registration ($150): Covers membership plus the Cascadia Cohort coordination.
- Pay It Forward ($300): Includes a donation to Regenerate Cascadia.
- No Stress ($0): For anyone where cost was an obstacle, Regenerate Cascadia covered the cost of a one-year Design School membership, including the Learning Journey.
Course Schedule
This six-month journey followed a bi-weekly rhythm. During "on weeks," participants joined other Design School members from around the world for the following sessions:
- Webinar (Tuesdays): 9:00 to 10:30 AM every two weeks with leading voices in bioregionalism, regeneration, and organizing.
- Global Community Call (Thursdays): 9:00 to 10:30 AM every two weeks to share experiences, challenges, and successes.
- Cascadia Call: Every two weeks to practice sociocratic meeting facilitation, group organization, and landscape-level collaboration.
Participants also joined activities in the "Inner Space," focused on cultivating the inner capacities for effective bioregional leadership.
Meet Andra Vltavín, Cascadia Cohort Coordinator
To facilitate learning about bioregionalism, networking in the landscape, and connecting to the knowledge commons in the Design School for Regenerating Earth, Andra supported students during the 2025 Learning Journey as Regenerate Cascadia's first Cohort Coordinator.
In this role, Andra facilitated onboarding to the Design School platform, held Cascadia Cohort calls every other week, and acted as a liaison between the Design School and Regenerate Cascadia to provide regular updates. Through this structure, participants found support for greater involvement in their landscape and across Cascadia.
What Is the Design School for Regenerating Earth?
The Design School for Regenerating Earth has grown to more than 500 members organizing together on the ground in bioregions while simultaneously building a planetary network through an online learning community. This structure enables focused actions to arise with clear design and intent so that organizers can effectively regenerate at the bioregional scale and create interactions and supports between and across bioregions.
Connection to the Previous Learning Journey
During the previous learning journey, "Birthing Bioregional Learning Centers," participants identified ways that bioregional organizers need support, particularly in terms of leadership skills, group formation strategies, and ways to bring the landscape deeply into the work. The 2025 learning journey brought both new participants and seasoned bioregional experts into discussions about the practical matters associated with on-the-ground landscape work and organizing within a fractal, nested-scale system.