Bioneers Report

A Remedy for the 21st Century Blues

by Miranda Leonard

This past October, I was fortunate enough to attend the fourteenth annual Bioneers Conference at the Marin Center in San Rafael, a true "Revolution from the Heart of Nature”!  The Bioneers Conference is the heart of the environmental movement and perches at the very edge of sustainable solutions technology.

My position as an Environmental Health Educator at ECOSLO (the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County) presented an opportunity to coordinate with editor Bob Banner to attend the Bioneers Conference on the behalf of HopeDance.   Coincidentally, my co-worker, Garden Project Coordinator Laura Lopez also planned on attending along with her boyfriend, composter extraordinaire, Noah Smuckler.  We carpooled to the Conference with our bikes strapped to the back of our vehicle.  Our destination was China Camp State Park, a swift three-mile bike commute to the Marin Center.  Coming back to a candlelit tent was much better for my psyche than any hotel could have been during that weekend.

Each day the Bioneers Conference begins with the Plenaries, where participants at the conference gather for a few hours in the morning to listen to a number of brief presentations.  These morning sessions create a real sense of community, especially with twelve Beaming Bioneers satellite conferences around the country participating at the same moment.

I was in awe of the first presenter at the Saturday morning Plenaries.  Mycologist Paul Stamets outlined the remarkable headway he has made with his pioneering work in "fungal bioremediation".  Stamets discovered that oyster mushrooms could be used to break down diesel-contaminated and other toxic soils, as well as replenish clear-cut forests.

On Sunday, a humble man gave a presentation that struck a deep cord in me.  Mayor of his town for twenty-five years, Percy Schmeiser is a Western Canadian farmer and seed breeder.  In 1998, the Monsanto Corporation sued this man and a number of other small farmers, accusing them of stealing intellectual property.  Traces of Monsanto’s "Roundup Ready" canola were found in sparse quantities in and around the farmers’ cropland, likely blown in from neighboring G.M.O. crops.  Schmeiser’s main concern about the presence of the Roundup Ready grain in his crop was the threat to the purity of his own seeds, which he had been selectively breeding for years. Monsanto's genetically altered canola had been released into the environment and had effectively polluted his fields, ruining a lifetime of work.

After Percy Schmeiser's talk, tears, anger, and desperation blinded me.  I made my way out of the screening tent and looked up at the blue sky, overwhelmed by the power of greed which would ruin the life of so decent a man and the lives of so many like him.  Through my tears, I saw another young woman crying and we gravitated toward each other and a big hug, unsure of what else we could do.  For the moment, it was enough.

Monsanto has been making a practice of accusing small farmers of "stealing" the trace amounts of Roundup Ready grain that have been showing up in their fields.  Currently the Canadian government is upholding the rights of the corporation over that of the farmers.  The case has been appealed and will be heard in the Canadian Supreme Court on 20th January, 2004.  I plan to stay involved in this important issue because of the precedence it will set for corporate rights versus human rights as well as for the legality of genetically modified organisms (G.M.O.s).  I obtained a transcript of Schmeiser's full discussion, and would be more than happy to share it with those who have an interest in learning more about his legendary efforts against one of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world.

An afternoon schedule of workshops followed the Plenaries.  I met up with Laura for a session we were both very excited about... a ninety-minute medicinal plant walk with the fabled director of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, 7Song.  We joined this walk to learn about the medicinal uses of local native and introduced species, with a focus on herbal first aid, and street and wilderness medicine.  Laura and I were expecting a hike into the hills of Marin when we gathered with 7Song outside the Center.  However, 7Song began his talk right there on the sidewalk and addressed the uses of a tulip poplar growing nearby.  For example, if you suffer from a mild sore throat, pick one of its leaves and suck on the leaf stem to benefit from its dulcet qualities.  He found several beneficial plants growing in the turf around the base of a Coast Live Oak, itself medicinally significant.  Picking leaves and plucking grasses all the way, 7Song led us from the park area to the salt marsh behind the Center, known in some circles as a ditch.  Here he proceeded to point out a number of species that would be useful for urinary tract infections, asthma, bleeding and splinters.   The depth of knowledge this man carried was staggering in its scope and practicality.  Moreover, 7Song had the most engaging wit I have encountered in some time.  His presentation was by far the most enjoyable of the weekend.  So much for the hike!  Laura and I walked back from the parking lot, taking new notice of the pickleweed and Monterey Pine as we went.

We might as well have camped out at the Marin Center lawn during the Bioneers Conference!  There were so many wonderful options at every turn.  In addition to the presentations mentioned, I had the opportunity to hear from activists such as Oren Lyons, co-chair of the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, and from David Orr, chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College.  Diversity is a key element of the Bioneers Conference, evidenced by the sphere of the presentations offered.  I was able to attend presentations on everything from fundraising from the heart to a wilderness program for inner-city youth to restorative agriculture in the Global South.  I also had the privilege to meet activists such as Julia Butterfly Hill, who recently lighted on our county as part of her non-profit consciousness-raising "We the People" tour.

If you dedicate yourself to your cause, and work tirelessly to promote its inclusion in our troubled world, I would recommend the Bioneers Conference as a way to re-activate your inner fire.  The exceptional weekend I spent at the Conference replenished my faith in humankind and in our ability to make good on the gift of life that the Earth has provided for us.  Next year, I propose that SLO County residents travel to the Bioneers Conference on a bio-diesel bus with bikes strapped to the back, returning to San Luis Obispo with a full array of the tools needed to heal our beautiful part of the planet.