Regenerative Whidbey
Donate to Regenerative Whidbey
You can donate directly to this landscape! Regenerative Whidbey is a 501(c)(3) program of Regenerate Cascadia and the Department of Bioregion. All donations are tax-deductible.
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About Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is a 37-mile-long island in the heart of the Salish Sea, forming the northern boundary of Puget Sound between the Olympic Peninsula and mainland Washington. It is a place of rich ecological diversity and deep cultural history — home to coastal prairies, coniferous forests, seasonal wetlands, and nearshore eelgrass beds that once supported abundant salmon, orca, and shellfish populations. Our landscape includes not only Whidbey itself, but its interconnected watersheds and ecological neighbors — including Camano Island and the Skagit River delta — forming one interwoven bioregion.
Where did this group come from?
The Whidbey regeneration community began informally gathering in 2023, catalyzed by conversations around climate, water, food systems, and cultural healing. Yet our roots go deeper. Many of us have worked for years in organizations dedicated to ecological stewardship, mutual aid, indigenous solidarity, and community preparedness. Recognizing the limits of siloed work, we have come together now to launch Regenerative Whidbey — not as a new initiative, but as a shared container for coherence, collaboration, and long-view regeneration.
Our group’s purpose is to support a bioregional way of life on Whidbey Island — one that is ecologically grounded, culturally inclusive, and intergenerationally wise. We face challenges: aquifer stress, habitat loss, waste infrastructure failures, and the trauma of colonial disconnection. But we also hold tremendous potential. Our island is alive with grassroots energy — from neighborhood resilience teams and indigenous justice work to community compost initiatives and ecological restoration projects. Regenerative Whidbey exists to weave this energy into a whole-system movement of renewal.
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Seven Generation Vision
Seven generations from now, Whidbey Island has become a resilient and ecologically vibrant community, shaped by generations of intentional care. The island’s forests are healthy and diverse, supporting wildlife corridors and native species. Prairie ecosystems have been protected and expanded, while coastal bluffs and wetlands are actively stewarded to reduce erosion, recharge aquifers, and support biodiversity.
Nearshore marine habitats — including eelgrass beds, kelp forests, and shellfish areas — have recovered and thrive under collaborative restoration. Pacific herring and forage fish once again teem in Saratoga Passage and Admiralty Inlet, providing essential support to seabirds, marine mammals, and the endangered Southern Resident orcas that travel these waters.
Groundwater, the island’s sole source of drinking water, is carefully monitored and sustainably managed. Wetlands are restored and new development honors recharge zones and hydrological limits. Organic waste is no longer sent off-island; instead, it is transformed through community composting into fertile soil that supports regenerative agriculture and home gardens across the island.
People live with a strong sense of place and responsibility. Communities are planned within ecological carrying capacity, with infrastructure and land use aligned to protect ecosystems. Local food production is widespread, and cultural practices emphasize reciprocity with the land and water.
To live in right relationship here means recognizing Whidbey as a living system. Stewardship is collaborative, intergenerational, and inclusive of Indigenous voices and knowledge. Regeneration has become not just a practice — but a shared ethic woven into how people live, learn, and care for one another and the island they call home.
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Geoff McNeely WashingtonDavid Haskell Freeland, WashingtonThomas Buxton
Jon Ramer
Realistic optimist.
Kiki La Porta
Virgil Lovelace
Langley, Washington
I am dedicated to the sustainability of our sacred water resource. Rising communities' with syntropic focus have to be created because the old 3D system of...
Becky Porter