Virtual—Earlier in October, entrepreneurs, executives, farmers and ranchers, academics, investors, and innovators with an interest in regenerative agriculture and sustainability gathered virtually forRegenerative Rising's Women Leading Regeneration on The Land Summit to hear from leading experts, network, and brainstorm strategies for a more sustainable future. As featured speaker and "food nerd" Christiana Musk, Founder of Flourish Ink, stressed to attendees, "Our food system is not healthy, it's not fair, and it's also not sustainable."

Discussing solutions, Musk noted that more than 80% of the U.S. population lives in cities and has no connection to the origin of their food. "We need to bring the land to the urban schools, giving children an early education and empowerment to grow food. That's what we do atBig Green, where we built learning gardens in 700 schools across seven cities so far, and growing." With schools closed due to COVID-19, she added, all of the gardens have been converted to provide supplemental hunger relief, andwww.biggreenathome.orgwas launched to continue the garden education at home.

Environmental journalist Judith D. Schwartz, author ofThe Reindeer Chronicles, delivered the keynote, stressing the importance of having women join the climate change conversation. In working on her latest book, she said, "I heard from women who work with young farmers and ranchers say that the women often bring to their work a more holistic perspective and a desire to work with nature."

The path to a healthier future relies on connection, Schwartz stressed. "Climate, land, animals, livelihoods, family, wellbeing are all connected, and thriving is all about connection."

In addition to the educational and inspirational talks, the event featured small-group breakout sessions, where attendees were able to meet, network and form those vital connections.

And continuing the conversation, Regenerative Rising is hosting the 4th Annual Regenerative Earth Summit, with the four-part event kicking off October 29-30, 2020. This event is an opportunity to engage regenerative leaders in a co-creational effort, focused on addressing key obstacles to regenerative implementation. The two-day virtual summit will feature keynotes and panel discussions that will set the stage for multi-stakeholder discussions that lead to workable solutions. Working groups will focus on finance, supply chain, regulatory, farming, technology, marketing, and more. Find more information and purchase ticketshere.

Upcoming events include:

Regenerative Earth Summit: Moving to How, Creating Regeneration
  • Session 1: October 29 and 30, 2020 – “Regenerative Leadership”
  • Session 2: December 1 and 2, 2020 – “Building a Regenerative Organization”
  • Session 3: TBA February 2021 – “Regenerative Systems Transformation”
  • Session 4: TBA April, 2021 – “Regeneration and Global Impact”
Women Leading Regeneration
  • In the Wardrobe, November 18th, 12pm-3pm MT

Related: Regenerative Agriculture in the Age of COVID-19 & Beyond #NaturallyInformed: Saving the Planet, Soil First ‘At the Epicenter’ Rebrands as Regenerative Rising