Wildfire resilience begins closer to home. A forest is an ecosystem, not a fuel load. In Wildfires: Mythology vs. Reality, Hart Hagan and his guest speakers explore practical ways to protect people and property — home hardening, ember-resistant vents, clean gutters, defensible space, and evacuation planning — while taking a closer look at the assumptions behind large-scale thinning and fuel reduction.
Thursdays, September 17–November 5, 12–1:30 PM ET, on Zoom.
Posted: August 22, 2026
What keeps a forest, wetland, or grassland alive is often hidden beneath the surface. Join restoration ecologist Jim Laurie for a 10-week exploration of Mother Trees, fungi, water, wildlife, soil, and the relationships that help ecosystems recover and thrive.
Wednesdays, September 16–November 18, 12–2 PM or 7–9 PM ET, on Zoom.
Curious for a snippet? Join Jim’s free introductory webinar on September 2 at 12 PM or 7 PM ET.
Posted: August 22, 2026
Join us on Saturday, September 19 from 10 AM to 12 PM ET on Zoom for the third session of Bio4Climate’s mini-conference series. The health of the ocean begins long before water reaches the coast.
Rob Moir of the Ocean River Institute and Tom Goreau of the Global Coral Reef Alliance will explore how watersheds, rivers, coastal ecosystems, and coral reefs are linked, and how restoration on land can help protect life downstream. Free and open to all.
Posted: August 22, 2026
Last week, Bio4Climate’s Second Annual Miniforest Summit successfully wrapped up several days of education, collaboration, and community, both online and in person.
Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for details, videos, and more. In the meantime, check out a couple of Instagram reels created by happy attendees!
Posted: July 31, 2026
Every handful of soil and every fluttering moth tells the same story: life is connected. Bio4Climate was delighted to co-host the third annual Cambridge Moth Ball on July 22 at Kingsley Park, Fresh Pond Reservation, alongside the Boston Birding Festival. Executive Director Beck Mordini, Retired Associate Director Paula Phipps, Futurist and Restoration Ecologist Jim Laurie, and IT Director John Minkle welcomed an enthusiastic crowd of children, families, and longtime Cambridge residents to the Bio4Climate table.
Our living-soil display drew people in to discover the extraordinary life beneath seemingly quiet soil, while caterpillars and Jim’s collection of ecological books sparked conversations about moths, pollination, food webs, and the connections among all living systems. It was especially meaningful to see young people and elders gathered around the table, sharing curiosity, stories, and knowledge in a joyful intergenerational celebration of biodiversity.
For the full recap and more pictures, read our latest blog post.
Posted: July 31, 2026
Take a peek inside Bio4Climate’s 2025 educational series, Water: The Missing Climate Solution, led by instructor Hart Hagan, with exclusive access to the presentation and discussion with Atmospheric physicist Dr. Anastassia Makarieva.
She explores the biotic pump and explains how forests generate rainfall, transport moisture, regulate water cycles, and function as active climate regulators not merely carbon sinks.
This video is part of Bio4Climate’s 2025 educational series, Water: The Missing Climate Solution.
Posted: July 24, 2026
Bio4Climate is once again teaming up with the Boston Birding Festival and local partners for the Cambridge Moth Ball 2026—a magical summer evening celebrating moths, art, biodiversity, and the living world after dark!
Join us on Wednesday, July 22, at Kingsley Park in the Fresh Pond Reservation, Cambridge, for creative activities, community science, moth photography, fascinating presentations, and the chance to meet some of Cambridge’s remarkable nighttime pollinators. Come dressed mothical or mystical, bring your curiosity, and prepare for an evening that promises to be mothier than ever.
The event is free and open to everyone, including families and first-time moth enthusiasts, but please register in advance!
Posted: July 17, 2026
Last Chance to Register! Free Event Begins Today, 11 AM Eastern
Saturday, July 18 | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM ET Free and Open to All
Join renowned Forest Historian John Perlin and voice of the youth Climate Action Taskforce, Felix Finkbeiner for Forests: Past, Present, Future—a powerful conversation on what forest history can teach us about climate resilience, restoration, and the role of the next generation.
Posted: July 17, 2026
Have you registered yet?
There is so much to choose from including: a documentary film screening, an in-person tour of four Massachusetts miniforests, and two virtual half-days with more than 20 speakers and panelists. Don’t miss our amazing keynote speakers.
Mio Urata, a Miyawaki forester who trained directly under Dr. Miyawaki and has more than two decades of restoration experience in Japan. Urata recently translated Hannah Lewis’s Mini-Forest Revolution into Japanese, helping strengthen connections across the international miniforest community.
Day two keynote speaker, Ethan Tapper, is an internationally recognized forester, ecologist, educator, and bestselling author of How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World. Here is a sample of his dynamic story telling.
The Summit creates space to share lessons learned, explore emerging questions, and strengthen relationships across a growing movement of people working to bring miniforests to life.
Posted: July 17, 2026
This spring, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate piloted Soil to Sky Curriculum, a six-week hands-on education program for 20 Cambridge Public School students in Grades 2–5 at East End House.
Through modules on Trees Cool the City, Soil Is Alive, and Pollinator Match Up, students built model mini forests, investigated soil microorganisms, explored fungal networks, and learned how native plants and pollinators support one another.
By the final week, participation increased by 80% among Grades 2–3 and 95% among Grades 4–5, with many students able to explain how trees cool the air, how fungi connect trees, and how soil life supports ecosystems.
Posted: June 27, 2026
Bio4Climate’s Associate Director of Regenerative Projects Alexandra Ionescu has a photograph featured in the group exhibition “Learning with Trees: Artists and Ecologies of Connection.”
The photograph, taken in 2019 during a biomimicry field trip in an old-growth forest on Meares Island in Tofino, British Columbia, depicts a 1,000-year-old red cedar—what Suzanne Simard refers to as a “mother tree.” The image marks a pivotal moment in which Alexandra was invited to begin perceiving nature beyond its visible, static form and to develop a new way of relating to, and being in relationship with, the more-than-human world. By shifting the camera sideways, a vortex-like movement emerged, suggesting the presence of invisible processes and relational energies that extend beyond what the eye can perceive.
The exhibition is open Fridays and Saturdays, 12–5 PM, at HallSpace Gallery, 950 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester, MA. A related exhibition on the same theme is also on view at the Scollay Square Gallery on the third floor of Boston City Hall.
Posted: June 19, 2026
Week 6 of the Less Lawn More Life Challenge is under way! This week, Murray Fisher, Chief naturalist of Wildrplaces encourages us to go outside and pay attention!
Research is unambiguous: noticing nature–really noticing it–reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. You don’t need a forest or a national park. You need to go outside and pay attention!
Posted: June 12, 2026
The 2026 Thinking Like Water Summer Film got off to a great start Tuesday evening with about 60 registrants and over 30 showing up for our live discussion. After screening Episode 1, we started our Film Club conversation with the question of how people in the Film Club have learned to live and observe from the perspective of their landscapes. The theme of deep listening, to the land and to each other, emerged as an essential practice. As we wrapped up, participants shared what they’d be “Willing to Try.” Perhaps you might be inspired by some of their intentions this summer?:
Share what you are “willing to try” and read more about our first session here.
Registrations remains open until next Tuesday.
Posted: June 12, 2026
Last Saturday, Bio4Climate joined with others in the Cambridge Community to celebrate Biodiversity Day 2026.
Jim Laurie, futurist, biologist, and co-founder of Bio4Climate shared his knowledge of the swimming copepods & water insects with the next generation. As well, Bio4Climate supporters Katharine Harkins, Deane Coady, Doug Pinney came together to connect and promote community.
Posted: June 12, 2026
Begins this Tuesday!
TWO WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:
Watch each episode on your own prior to Tuesday, then join the live discussion.
You’ll receive a private viewing link for each episode during the week prior to the conversation, along with the Zoom link for the live discussion.
Attend the online film screening on Zoom, followed by the live discussion.
If you’re unable to watch ahead of time, plan to join the Zoom screening at 6:00 PM ET, followed by the live discussion at 7:30 PM ET.
Featured Creature readers know that water cools the planet but water needs to be in the soil to feed the microbes, to support plants and evapotranspiration, to become high albedo clouds, and to replenish the aquifer. As Jan Lambert and Michal Kravčík told us over a decade ago, our system of getting water off the streets and the land is part of the problem.
But how do we solve it?
Learn to “think like water.” Starting this Tuesday, June 9, we will follow filmmaker Renea Roberts and legendary “water wizard” Bill Zeedyk over a decade of work in various ecosystems to bring water back to dehydrated land. The same principles can be applied to urban streets, as the segment with Brad Lancaster shows us. Don’t get stuck talking about the problem, learn the solutions and become an advocate in your community for thinking like water and creating a New Water Paradigm.
Learn more, and register today so you can watch the first episode over the weekend!
All registrants will receive the video recordings of the live conversations.
See below for information on Bill Zeedyk’s book!
Posted: June 5, 2026
Join thousands across America restoring nature in their own backyards through the Less Lawn More Life Challenge. This fun, easy, and free program guides participants through a step by step journey to turning their outdoor space into a thriving habitat, one small step at a time.
Over the course of 12 weeks, participants will be guided through a series of fun, expert-led weekly challenges that show up in their inbox. It kicks off with the Wildr Score, a free digital assessment on the ecological health of their yards. You’ll also be invited to go deeper with industry leaders forging this new wave of conservation via a series of live webinars and Q&As.
Whether you’re new to habitat gardening or a long time rewilder, there is something for everyone. You’ll learn how to grow native plants suited to your region, manage water on your property, eliminate harmful chemicals, and connect with conservation efforts in your community. No experience needed. No lawn required. Just you, your patch of earth (balconies and windowsills count), and a community of thousands doing the same thing all across America.
Even if you took the challenge last year, new experts, resources and tools, including the new Wildr App, make it a new challenge for 2026.
Dig in, sign up, and let nature surprise you!
Posted: May 15, 2026
The Global Earth Repair Convergence continues online throughout this weekend until Sunday, May 10. Bio4Climate is well-represented, with many of our instructors and partners speaking including: Hart Hagan, Katie Ross, Michal Kravcik, Zuzka Mulkerin, John Feldman, Renea Roberts, Jon Schull, Rob de Laet and Russ Speer.
Many of the speakers are Bio4Climate experts spotlighted in our annual conferences and courses, including: Didi Pershouse, John D. Liu, Anastassia Makarieva, Tony Rinaudo, Judith D. Schwartz, Renea Roberts, Vijay Kumar, Russ Speer, Rob Lewis, Andrew Millison, Brock Dolman, Sonia Demiray, Lois Arkin, and Michael Pilarski, the founder and host of this convergence.
Posted: May 9, 2026
Last week, Bio4Climate brought its living, climate systems-centered education program to India for the first time through the “Soil to Sky: Cool Your City Challenge.”
Hosted in Hyderabad, India at an after-school center led by science educator Varenya Sankarsri, this three-day program reached students in Grades 1–10 with an engaging, hands-on climate learning experience. Designed by Bio4Climate Research Scientist Poulomi Chakravarty, Ph.D., and co-facilitated by Dr. Sai Gattupalli (Society & AI), the program introduced children to biodiversity through soil exploration, pollinator games, Earth-themed art, and a “Cool Your City” design challenge.
Students learned across four languages—English, Telugu, Hindi, and Bangla—creating an inclusive space where every child could participate fully.
In partnership with the Global Climate Association and Society & AI, this marked the first international rollout of Bio4Climate’s Soil to Sky Biodiversity Curriculum, developed by Beck Mordini, Poulomi Chakravarty, Paul Barringer, and Dr. Jed Katch.
This global partnership is empowering young people to see themselves as designers of climate solutions.
Posted: May 1, 2026
If you are attending the Global Earth Repair Convergence, look for film director John Feldman who will be launching the interactive version of An Earthling’s Guide to Planetary Health—the study guide to his film Regenerating Life.
Posted: May 1, 2026
A groundbreaking gathering of global change-makers dedicated to restoring ecosystems, regenerating our planet, and fostering community is happening in May.
The Global Earth Repair Convergence will take place from May 7–11, 2026, hosted by the Global Earth Repair Foundation. This international, multi-day gathering will be held online and in person at the historic Fort Worden State Park & Conference Center in Port Townsend, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula.
The convergence brings together a diverse network of scientists, farmers, Indigenous leaders, land stewards, climate educators, and permaculture practitioners committed to advancing practical, nature-based solutions for ecosystem restoration and climate resilience. The program features talks, panels, and collaborative exchanges focused on soil regeneration, biodiversity restoration, water cycle revitalization, regenerative agriculture, and community-led ecological stewardship.
Among the presenters are many BIo4Climate thought leaders who have shared their knowledge with our students and mission-aligned stakeholders, exploring the essential role of biodiversity and ecosystem restoration in creating a resilient and livable future.
Posted: April 11, 2026
Would you like you and your community to be more prepared for the impacts from climate change?
Join Mark Haubner, member of the Bio4Climate Leadership Team, president of the North Fork Environmental Council, and co-chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee of the Town of Riverhead, Long Island, as he explains the nature-based solutions he has been promoting in his community to cool the temperatures and to “slow the flow” of rainwater in order to rehydrate the landscape.
Thursday, March 26 7:00 – 8:00 PM EDT on Zoom
Posted: March 20, 2026
Bio4Climate’s Associate Director of Regenerative Projects, Alexandra Ionescu, will be presenting at the 2026 Land & Water Conservation Summit March 21, 2026 at the University of Rhode Island. Her sessions will focus on the role of beavers in creating water-retention landscapes (jointly with Molly Hastings of Rhode Island Beaver Management) and Bio4Climate’s Miyawaki Forest Program and the ecological principles behind it. Keynote Speaker Ethan Tapper is an internationally recognized forester and the author of the best-selling How to Love a Forest. His keynote will focus on “The Work Ahead: Caring for Our Land and Water and Creating a Just Future” and will explore the complex and necessary acts of conservation and stewardship across Rhode Island’s landscapes and watersheds.
Posted: March 13, 2026
What does it mean to improve water quality through floating wetlands—especially in urban waterways where ecological function has been most disrupted? Join a webinar curated by our Associate Director of Regenerative Projects, Alexandra Ionescu, in collaboration with Water Stories, as she shares the floating wetland work of the Below and Above Collective in Providence, Rhode Island, alongside Max Rome of the Charles River Floating Wetland project in Boston and Nick Wesley of the Wild Mile project in Chicago.
Posted: March 13, 2026
Starts This Wednesday!! Register Now!
Among the thousands of tree species humans have used for medicine, few have had a greater global impact than Cinchona (Cinchona officinalis), the evergreen tree native to the humid forests of Ecuador and Peru. For centuries, Indigenous Quechua communities used its bark for healing, and the compound quinine, extracted from the tree later, became the world’s first effective treatment for malaria, saving millions of lives.
Yet quinine isn’t produced by trees for humans. Like many plant chemicals, it evolved as part of the tree’s own survival strategy. Quinine is a bitter alkaloid that helps defend the tree against insects and pathogens, protecting its tissues from being eaten or infected. This illustrates a profound ecological principle that many of the compounds humans use as medicines originate as plant defense mechanisms shaped by evolution.
To understand this deeper intelligence of life, namely, how trees engineer chemistry, soil, water, and the atmosphere, please join us for our upcoming course, Emergent Intelligence of Trees: How Symbiosis Shapes Living Systems, led by Restoration Biologist Jim Laurie.
Course begins Wednesday, March 18 Two live sessions each week: 12 PM ET or 7 PM ET (choose either one or both)
Join us to explore how trees from rainforest giants like Cinchona to forests across the globe quietly shape the systems that sustain life on Earth.
Posted: March 13, 2026
Trees are not passive components of ecosystems. They are active system-builders that regulate water, carbon, climate, and biological relationships throughout Earth’s living world.
In this course, Jim Laurie examines the intelligence of trees – how trees sense, respond, and adapt through symbiotic relationships with fungi, microbes, insects, and animals, including humans. Drawing on contemporary ecological science and two companion texts—The Genius of Trees by Harriet Rix and Trees: An Illustrated Celebration by Kelsey Oseid—this course explores how trees drive transpiration and cloud formation, stabilize atmospheric chemistry and carbon sequestration, and generate large-scale cooling through the biotic pump.
Rather than treating intelligence as a uniquely human trait, the course reframes it as an emergent property of living systems, expressed through physiological feedback, cooperation, and adaptive symbiosis. These insights offer a scientific foundation to deepen your understanding of how trees and living ecosystems work—and how protecting and restoring biodiversity in nature can reset the path of humanity towards a livable future.
REGISTRATION OPENS SOON!
If you need financial assistance or are interested in a scholarship, please email courses@bio4climate.org.
Registration Deadline Extended!
Due to increased interest, we’ve extended the registration deadline for How Trees & Forests Shape Our Climate until Tuesday, February 17.
Recordings for all classes are made available weekly, including all previous classes and guest speakers.
Join us on March 11 for a free class! If you need financial assistance or are interested in a scholarship, please email courses@bio4climate.org.
Posted: February 20, 2026
The Bio4Climate Film Club Presents Thinking Like Water January 20 – February 17 Tuesdays | 7:30 pm ET / 5:30 pm MT
Did you know there are thousands of watersheds across North America that flow into seven major drainage basins?
Imagine if each of us took steps to restore our own local watersheds, and return life and rain to our landscapes!
Are you curious to be inspired by people who have already begun this work, and to learn practical next steps you can take where you live?
Join us this January to be part of a very special screening of Thinking Like Water, a five-part docuseries which follows restoration pioneer Bill Zeedyk and his collaborators, as they transform degraded watersheds into more resilient ecosystems – girding against the ravages of drought and climate change.
The docuseries and conversations with filmmaker Renea Roberts and other featured speakers begin on January 20 and continue for five Tuesdays. Registrants can choose how they’d like to participate—watch each documentary episode in advance and join the live conversation, or come together for a weekly viewing party with discussion shortly after. Each session will also make space to connect with others in your watershed and discover ways to learn more about the local waterways that connect us.
Registration opens soon with early bird savings available. More info to come in Featured Creature. You can also email us and we’ll send a registration email directly to you once registration opens.
Check out this short video that further explains how the biotic pump works: The Biotic Pump: How Forests Create Rain, created by Jimi Sol.
Throughout the course, you’ll hear from and speak live with author and journalist Judith Schwartz, Scot Quaranda of the Dogwood Alliance, and several other expert guest speakers still to be announced!
Don’t miss the upcoming course, How Trees & Forests Shape Our Climate! The course runs from February 5 through March 26 and meets weekly on Thursdays from 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET.
Register by January 17 to receive our lowest rate! Group rates, reduced rates, and scholarships are available. Email courses@bio4climate.org for more information.
Posted: January 3, 2026
We invite you to attend a Free, special session of Jim Laurie’s ongoing course Biodiversity 13: Rivers, Forests, and the Rights of Nature.
On Wednesday, November 12, Gillian Davies from the Rights of Wetlands initiative will join our 12:00 and 7:00 P.M. (U.S. Eastern) classes. Gillian is a leader in the global effort to develop the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands, bringing together scientists, policymakers, and communities to recognize wetlands as living systems essential to biodiversity, water, and climate balance.
Join us for this inspiring conversation to explore how recognizing the rights of wetlands can help restore harmony between people and nature.
Posted: November 7, 2025
Is there someone you know who cares deeply about Nature, food, animals, plants but might not yet understand how Nature regulates the climate?
In Dr. Katie Ross’s upcoming course, “What if we can balance our climate quickly, naturally, safely?”, Katie starts with the basics—why the planet is warming, why living landscapes matter, why we focus so much on carbon, the role water plays in regulating the climate, and what we can actually do about it.
This course is a clear and welcoming introduction to how Nature regulates water, energy, and climate—and how we can help restore that balance.
So who do you want to bring into this conversation?
Invite them to join you in taking this course. Because when more people understand that it’s living species and living systems that keep the temperatures cool, the land hydrated, and the rains gentle and steady, the sooner we will create a livable future for us all. When: Mondays — Nov 10, 17 & Dec 1, 8 — 7:00 PM ET Format: 4 Live, 60-Minute Zoom Sessions (with recordings each week) Instructor: Dr. Katie Ross
Posted: November 2, 2025
Wildlife & Climate, taught by Hart Hagan and an exciting roster of guest experts, explores the actual connections between wildlife and climate change and gives us a real and viable framework for living with nature, restoring habitat and addressing climate change.
Posted: October 17, 2025
Jim Laurie leads a new 10-week journey guided by the questions and travels of author Robert Macfarlane. Each week we’ll connect these stories to larger ecological truths: that rivers, forests, wetlands, and fungi-rich soils function as one interconnected system, critical to rehydrating continents and cooling the climate. examine how biodiversity infiltrates water into soils, how plants cover and protect landscapes, how fungal networks sustain resilience, and how living shorelines can buffer rising seas. This is a 10-week course that meets every Wednesday, September 24–December 3. Classes are offered 12 – 2 pm ET or 7 – 9 pm ET on Zoom.
Posted: September 21, 2025
With Hart Hagan Friday, September 12 3:00 PM ET
Posted: September 6, 2025
With Hart Hagan Monday, September 8 7:00 PM ET
Posted: September 6, 2025
Wildlife & Climate, taught by Hart Hagan and an exciting roster of guest experts, explores the actual connections between wildlife and climate change and gives us a real and viable framework for living with nature, restoring habitat and addressing climate change in a way that works and can be implemented wherever we live, work and play. Meet your second guest instructor, fourth generation rancher and founder of the Grasslands Regeneration Project, Alejandro Carrillo. Carrillo will speak on Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 PM.
Alejandro Carrillo grew up on the back of a horse, on his family’s ranch in northern Mexico. After twenty years as a tech executive, he returned to Las Damas ranch in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, where he has applied livestock management methods which are known to restore soil and vegetation.
In a world of failing farms and ranches, Las Damas is not only profitable, but is home to thriving wildlife communities.
Birds, hares, rattlesnakes, desert turtles, mountain lions, black bears, and javelinas, and also populations of lynx, skunk and bobcat all live in balance.
Carrillo’s “secret” is the careful rotation of his livestock, using techniques that mimic natural rhythms, thereby providing food not only for his cattle, sheep, horses and donkeys, but also for wildlife populations.
Posted: August 26, 2025
What if your lawn could fight drought, sequester carbon, and grow food? In the first Water & Climate class last week, Brock Dolman shares how transforming suburban lawns into ecological powerhouses is easier (and more impactful) than you might think!
Posted: July 19, 2025
Learn from the very best. Water is one of nature’s most powerful, yet most overlooked, climate regulators, acting as a built-in cooling system. Join us and a roster of the leading experts and thinkers in an exploration of how water, not just carbon, holds the key to a livable future. Want to start with a brief introduction on how water regulates the climate? Attend a free webinar hosted by instructor Hart Hagan: The Cooling Power of Evaporating Water Monday, June 30 – 12:00 noon ET Your Climate Friendly Backyard Wednesday, July 2 – 7:00 pm ET Regenerative Farming & Water Thursday, July 3 – 3:00 pm ET The Worldwide Loss of Soil Moisture Monday, July 7 – 12:00 noon ET Reforestation has Cooled the Eastern US Wednesday, July 9 — 7:00 pm ET
Posted: June 28, 2025
Virtual | 2025 Northeast Miniforest Summit Coakee William Wildcat, founder and executive director of Mother Tree Food & Forest, will close out the first day of the Northeast Miniforest Summit! Presentation: Using the Miyawaki Method to Empower Agroecology and Food Forestry To conclude our first day together, Coakee invites us to explore how the Miyawaki method and successional agroforestry systems illuminate and empower each other. Native species forests are food forests. We’ll take a look at what the Miyawaki method teaches us about the ecology of the metaorganism, and how we can use this wisdom to grow healthier farms and gardens. Spread virtually across two days and an in-person bus tour, the Northeast Minforest Summit brings together practitioners, researchers, and leaders from a range of disciplinary perspectives—including city officials, landscape architects, scientists, and community organizers—to explore the Miyawaki method from root to canopy. Keep an eye out…but tour tickets go on sale next week! LEARN MORE AND REGISTER
Posted: June 21, 2025
Much of the US is (or is about to be) buried under record-shattering heat to start the summer. Water is one of nature’s most powerful, yet most overlooked, climate regulators, acting as a built-in cooling system. Join us and an impressive roster of experts and thinkers in an exploration of how water, not just carbon, holds the key to a livable future.
Posted: June 21, 2025
Virtual | 2025 Northeast Miniforest Summit Meet our Northeast Miniforest Summit opening keynote speakers! Hannah Lewis, Author of Mini-Forest Revolution Keynote: The Miyawaki Method: Past, Present, Future In this opening keynote address, Hannah will present what the Miyawaki Method is, who Akira Miyawaki was, how this practice became a global phenomenon, and mini-forests as a mechanism for embracing and understanding ecology. Doug Tallamy, Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware and co-founder of Homegrown National Park Keynote: Miniforests as part of the Homegrown National Park Doug will address the ecological potential of miniforests. Urban centers have never been seriously considered for conservation, yet adding productive native plants to our cities can help manage the watershed, support complex communities of pollinators, support local food webs, and sequester carbon. Evidence is mounting that mini forests can meet all of these essential ecological goals. Spread virtually across two days and an in-person bus tour, the Northeast Minforest Summit brings together practitioners, researchers, and leaders from a range of disciplinary perspectives—including city officials, landscape architects, scientists, and community organizers—to explore the Miyawaki method from root to canopy. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER
Posted: June 14, 2025
What are climate models missing about water? The planet has a built-in cooling system—through the cycling of water—and it’s one of nature’s most powerful, yet most overlooked, climate regulators. Join us and an impressive roster of experts and thinkers in an exploration of how water, not just carbon, holds the key to a livable future.
Posted: June 14, 2025
Virtual | Ecorestoration & Social Justice Around the World, June 10 Join us on Tuesday, June 10, as we team up with MAPA Peace & Climate Group to explore ecorestoration efforts around the world that challenge colonial models and extractive climate responses with community-driven solutions. As top down aid programs face political challenges, we will talk with programs in Senegal and the Amazon working from the ground up with local communities to leverage eco-restoration into both climate and economic resilience. John Leary, Executive Director, Mother Trees Rob de Laet, Project Lead, Cooling the Climate Ousmane Aly Pame, PhD, distinguished professor of literature at Université of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal and founder and President of REDES Moderated by: Beck Mordini, Executive Director, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate REGISTER AND LEARN MORE
Posted: June 7, 2025
Join Walter Jehne in the classroom! Soil Microbiologist and Innovation Strategist, and Co-Founder of Regenerate Earth Walter Jehne joins what might be Bio4Climate’s most stacked classroom ever. Instructor Hart Hagan leads a four-week study of water & climate, and how forests, grasslands, and wetlands act as Earth’s air conditioners, and how we can restore these powerful systems right where we live. He’s accompanied throughout the course by guest instructors Jehne, Katie Ross, Didi Perhouse, Anastassia Makarieva, and Brock Dolman. Join us is an exploration of how water, not just carbon, holds the key to a livable future.
Posted: June 7, 2025
More expert instructors added! Katie Ross was raised in central Wisconsin and graduated with a degree in Ecology from Columbia University. She has focused on climate change by supporting Tribes and rural communities in their transition away from fossil fuels, both in Wisconsin and later in Australia. After 15 years as a transdisciplinary action researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Futures within the University of Technology Sydney and a doctoral inquiry into transformative learning, her focus shifted to the life beneath our soles – within our soils. She worked for and led Soils for Life, an Australian organisation supporting farmers transitioning to regenerative agriculture. Didi Pershouse is the author of The Ecology of Care: Medicine, Agriculture, Money, and the Quiet Power of Human and Microbial Communities and Understanding Soil Health and Watershed Function. She teaches participatory workshops on the nested relationships between soil health, human health, water cycles, and climate resiliency. She is the founder of the Land and Leadership Initiative and the Center for Sustainable Medicine, and a co-founder of the “Can we Rehydrate California?” Initiative. She is an independent trainer and curriculum developer for the UN-FAO Farmer Field School Program and the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming Initiative in India. New research has uncovered a surprising driver of sea level rise: shrinking soil moisture is sending more water into the oceans than melting glaciers—more than twice as much. It points to something most climate conversations miss: nature’s water cycles are breaking down. In our new course, Water & Climate, you’ll learn how forests, grasslands, and wetlands act as Earth’s air conditioners, and how we can restore these powerful systems right where we live. Join us and discover alongside a roster of experts how water, not just carbon, holds the key to a livable future. Early bird registration ends today and gives you immediate access to our private Water Cools group, where you’ll receive valuable resources and conversation ahead of the course.
Posted: May 31, 2025
Meet your instructors! Visionary experts Brock Dolman and Anastassia Makarieva will each join our upcoming Water & Climate course to teach a class as guest experts. Instead of “Planet Earth,” biologist, educator, and policy changemaker Brock Dolman calls our home “Planet Water” to help reframe thinking about more progressive settlement systems, land use and water management practices at the watershed scale. Dr. Anastassia Makarieva is a leading researcher of how ecosystems shape the water cycle. Listen to her explain the biotic pump theory she co-invented. Water & Climate is a new 4-week course that will change the way you think about climate solutions. Early bird registration gives you immediate access to our private Water Cools group, where you’ll receive valuable resources and conversation ahead of the course.
Posted: May 24, 2025
Boston | Women’s Fly Casting Clinic, June 14 Greater Boston Trout Unlimited is hosting a free Women’s Fly Casting Clinic on Saturday, June 14 (9am–12pm) at Herter Park, along the Charles River in Boston. Open to all skill levels, this event offers women a welcoming introduction to the art of fly casting and the joy of connecting with nature through fishing. Led by experienced female instructors, including Cynthia Harkness of Fearless Fly Fishing, the clinic will cover casting techniques, body mechanics, and different casting styles. Participants will receive hands-on instruction, opportunities for practice, and a chance to build community with fellow women anglers. Pre-registration required.
Posted: May 22, 2025
Virtual | Native Plants Planted Right, May 20 As part of Week 3 of the Less Lawn More Life Challenge, Wild Ones is hosting a free beginner-friendly webinar: “Native Plants Planted Right: A Practical Guide for Beginners” on Tuesday, May 20 at 6pm ET. Designed for those new to native gardening, the 30-minute webinar covers site assessment, plant selection, planting techniques, and simple maintenance tips, plus real-world garden examples to inspire any yard transformation. No advance registration required. Tune in for Native Plants Planted Right
Posted: May 22, 2025
Essex County, Mass. | What does it mean to love a forest? Join author & forester, Ethan Tapper, at Veasey Park to explore the deep connection and meaning behind loving a forest on May 5th, 2025. Tapper, author of How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World, will lead an exploration of what it means to care for forests and other ecosystems at this moment in time. Prior to Ethan’s talk, at 6:00, all are invited to tour the new Miyawaki Forest on the Veasey property with Massachusetts Master Gardener, Dianne Plantamura.
Posted: April 29, 2025
Online | Bio4Climate is proud to co-host the 2025 Midwest Beaver Summit this June, centered on the theme, “Resilience Through Relationships.” Thursday, June 5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT This theme reflects a fundamental truth: thriving ecosystems depend on strong relationships—between species, landscapes, and people. Advocating for beavers means fostering connections across different perspectives, listening to concerns, and working together to find solutions that benefit both communities and ecosystems. In-person attendance available in Des Plaines, Illinois. Whether you join us online or in person, we hope to see you there!
Posted: April 15, 2025
Join Katya Stupina for an upcoming Planetary Boundaries Fresco workshop to understand the bigger picture and gain a systemic perspective. This interactive workshop will help you make sense of the complex relationships between biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate, and how we can act to keep the planet within a safe operating space. Grounded in the Planetary Boundaries Framework — a scientific model that defines the thresholds within which humanity can thrive — the workshop explores the root causes of ecological breakdown and the collective steps we can take to secure a safe, just, and resilient future. Register for the upcoming workshop on Saturday, April 12
Posted: March 29, 2025
The 2025 Living Landscapes Learning series by Prickly Ed’s Cactus Patch brings together local experts to reimagine our own outdoor spaces in ways that boost biodiversity, absorb carbon, and connect us to nature. Through science, design, and creativity, these fun and practical workshops help transform our own spaces into thriving, eco-friendly havens. Learn more and register. Next workshop March 14
Posted: March 12, 2025
Remote/Northern Virgina | Join ACT! for the next Climate Friendly Friday on March 14 at 7:00 PM ET, featuring Doug Tallamy, renowned environmentalist, entomologist, and author of Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope. Doug will inspire us to create Homegrown National Parks by transforming our own yards into thriving ecosystems. Join live via Zoom or attend our on-campus watch party for an immersive experience. Be in the first 20 to RSVP for the in-person party and receive a free packet of native plant seeds to start your own green space!
Posted: March 12, 2025
Long Island | The North Fork Environmental Council will host a special three-part screening of Regenerating Life on March 13, 20, and 27 from 5:00-6:30 PM in Southold. Each session includes a film segment and a conversational exploration of tangential topics like Zero Waste, Circular Economy, and Systems Thinking. Light refreshments provided. Contact NFEC to register.
Posted: March 5, 2025
This one’s for our Providence folks! Break free from “Lawn and Order” with Prickly Ed’s Cactus Patch and the 2025 Living Landscapes Learning Series! This event series brings together local experts to reimagine our own outdoor spaces in ways that boost biodiversity, absorb carbon, and connect us to nature. Through science, design, and creativity, these fun and practical workshops help transform our own spaces into thriving, eco-friendly havens. Learn more and register. Next workshop Feb. 27.
Posted: February 24, 2025
How can we leverage the power of fungi, microbes, and plants to reduce erosion, clean up pollutants, and promote natural recovery? Southern California’s recent fires, along with the risks of debris flows and widespread contamination, have raised serious concerns about protecting homes and ecosystems. Danielle Stevenson and the new The Center for Ecological Remediation (CAER) present “Strategies for Bioremediation of Fire-Impacted Sites in Southern California”, a webinar conversation with bioremediation practitioners & scientists. We hope to see you there! Wednesday, February 26, 7–9pm EST
Posted: February 24, 2025
On Valentine’s Day exactly 10 years ago, Bio4Climate Restoration Biologist & Futurist Jim Laurie uploaded this photo from his camera to his computer for a closer look. Earlier he’d watched a critter leave a neighborly message, a trail of “hearts,” in the sidewalk snow. What creature do you think left them? Send us your guesses! And in the meantime, explore more curiosities with Jim in his new course, Earth Alive: Exploring Our Home. Classes begin February 26. Enroll today!
Posted: February 18, 2025
On Sunday, March 9, Bio4Climate is teaming up with a handful of our Northern Virginia community partners to host renowned entomologist and best-selling author of Nature’s Best Hope, Doug Tallamy, in conversation on creating habitat in our own backyards. Learn more or rsvp!.
Posted: February 3, 2025
No single industry impacts our world more than farming. Our industrial farms could be carbon sinks. Instead, most emit significant amounts of carbon. They could double as water-rich oases of biodiversity, preventing both flooding and drought. Instead, many contribute to both. Join us for Food & Farming: How Farming Impacts Our Water, Wildlife, Climate, Health & Economy, taught by Hart Hagan. This 8-week course runs Thursdays from February 6 – March 27, live on Zoom.
Posted: January 27, 2025
What we’re excited for: the December 19 virtual premiere of Beaver: A Medicine of Possibility, co-created by Beaver Institute and Indigenous Led, will explore what beavers have to teach us about ecological healing and reconnection. Directed by Laurie Hedges with narration by Lailani Upham, the film spotlights beavers’ crucial role in climate resilience, Indigenous culture, and ecosystem restoration. A live Q&A will follow; rsvp required.
Posted: December 13, 2024
There’s still time to enroll in Bio4Climate’s new course, Trees & Forests: wildlife, wildfires, water & climate change. This 8-week course, taught by Hart Hagan, begins December 5 and dives deep into the power of forests to absorb and hold billions of metric tonnes of CO2, and nurture water cycles.
Posted: December 13, 2024
It can be difficult describe and convey our fascination for this ecosystem, that is in a way hostile but also very fragile,” says Polar Bears International climate scientist Flavio Lehner. Join us this Monday, Nov. 25, for a conversation on the science and the stories reshaping the Arctic with Lehner and Patagonia author and explorer Jon Waterman.
Posted: November 25, 2024
