Watch the 2011 National Bioneers Speakers at http://www.bioneerslive.org/vod.html

Sue Blouch’s incredible drawing capturing the live presentations of the seven Fast Track Project ideas presented the opening morning of the Bioneers Cleveland 2010 Conference.

2010 National Bioneers Conference

Alec Loorz: iMatter

Alec Loorz: iMatter from Bioneers on Vimeo.

The now 16 founder of Kids vs Global Warming calls upon the “ruling generation” to consider the needs of his and future generations in their actions, urges youth to lead the way to a sustainable, just society, and tells us about the “million kid march” on Mother’s Day, 2011.

Gather 'Round Farm, photograph by Marianne Eppig

The more you become involved with the various environmental and community-building projects in Northeast Ohio, the more you hear about other great people and projects filling niches you had never even considered. It’s a nourishing, uplifting experience that reminds you your work is not in vain and that you’re not alone. Yet much of this great work goes unnoticed. Often you don’t learn about something until you meet that person who heard from her sister that the co-worker of an old neighbor of theirs is involved in this wonderful project that….

A large part of what Bioneers Cleveland is about is bringing people together. We strive to be a group that fosters inclusiveness and connections. As part of that, we are launching a “Stories From the Field” page on this site to keep readers apprised of various efforts being made to better life in our area. Our volunteers hail from many different locations and backgrounds; they have their hands in a wide array of projects and know of many more.

Still, we’re sure there are a lot of good things we’ll miss. That’s why we’re hoping that visitors to our site will jump in and share their stories too. Are you involved in a community arts project? Tell us about it. Planting an urban garden in your neighborhood or even your own backyard? Let us know how it’s going. Want to shine a light on a new education initiative in a local school? We’d love to hear about. In short, if you know of any project, event, organization or person that’s working to make a positive difference in Northeast Ohio, please write something up about it and send it to us at: info@bioneerscleveland.org.

We’ll post your story to the “Stories From the Field” page and invite others to comment. Or, if you’d rather, simply submit your story, links, etc. as a comment to a post that’s already on the page. Together, we can create a vibrant community discussion and help to spread awareness, participation and pride in Northeast Ohio’s web of creative and meaningful energy!