Saturday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Coffee, tea and snacks will be available throughout the day.

A conference about us civilized humans falling in love with
the wonders and beauties of the natural world once again.
For what we love, we protect.

For further information, program and speakers, please visit our website.

We now have a rapidly growing collection of science that demonstrates the abilities – even intelligence – of creatures across the kingdoms of life. We’ll review fascinating scientific research and everyday experiences that must give us pause. Such investigations indicate how brilliant the being that some have called Gaia – Planet Earth – collectively is. It’s not just about animals either – it’s also about fungi, plants and microbes, and how we humans are just one small part of this great symphony of intelligent life.

Indigenous cultures have known this forever, the rest of us have some catching up to do. Fortunately we are finally leaving behind us the scientific curse of “anthropomorphism,” the idea that attributing any form of intelligence to non-human creatures was really just a matter of over-using our imaginations.

You may ask, “What does pan-species intelligence have to do with climate and biodiversity?” In keeping with our striving towards systems thinking we would say “a lot”! Can we let go of our hubris, our belief that we are the chosen ones, and realize that compassion and collaboration, far more than competition, are the essence of life on Earth? If we can, perhaps we will finally become the stewards – and the stewarded – that we can and should be.