The annual Central Coast Bioneers Conference, a Bioneers Pollinator event hosted by Ecologistics, Inc., is moving to a new location at Pavilion on the Lake in Atascadero this year for a two-day event October 2-3.
Friday’s focus is on inspiring environmental and climate-related topics while Saturday centers on social justice. A pre-conference field trip on October 1 offers a two-hour tour to Traceland Organics in Cayucos, where art meets agriculture.
“There is so much despair about the current political mood in our country, environmental destruction and climate change,” according to conference organizer and Ecologistics CEO Stacey Hunt. “We are here to provide success stories and restore your optimism.”
Topics include the fight to save democracy, the land and food sovereignty movement, green chemistry, nature-based climate solutions, regenerative agriculture, the future of renewable energy, legal observer training, and more.
Local speakers include Jordan Lonborg of Coastal Vineyard Care Associates, Eric Veium of the SLO Climate Coalition, Russ Charvonia of the National Lawyers Guild-Central Coast Chapter, Andrea Lizama Pinto of Voces Que Sanan, and Sandra Sarrouf, Elizabeth Sine and Lata Murti of Our Roots, Our Routes.
Rhizome Theater returns to perform Mawtini: Verbatim Theater, which draws from the oral histories of Arab-American residents of the Central Coast.
Author Kathleen Lockyer speaks on reclaiming the ecological body and signs her book Wild Inside: How Nature Protects Your Child’s Mental Health and Restores Yours.
Keynotes from the 2026 National Bioneers Conference that took place in Berkeley in March will be presented on video, and include such luminaries as Michael Pollan, John Warner, Saru Jayaraman, Leah Penniman, Raj Patel, Brett KenCairn, and Terry Tempest Williams.
The Green Marketplace and the free Repair Café return. Lunch is provided by Gorilla Quesadilla, and thanks to dishes, cups, and cutlery provided by Tableware Share, the conference will be no-waste.
One day or two-day tickets can be purchased online at adult and student rates, and the pre-conference field trip is $10.