What is Bioregionalism?
Wellspring Commons follows a bioregional approach. Current human systems separate and disconnect parts from the whole—food from human health for example, or agriculture pitted against ecosystem conservation. However, all aspects of human wellbeing are interconnected with the wellbeing of the Earth community.
A bioregional approach:
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takes a holistic view of the integrity of a landscape, its communities and culture, as shaped by topographic and biological characteristics rather than by man-made divisions
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connects people to place
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links the local to the larger context
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comes from a values base that is life-enhancing regenerative rather than destructive and exploitative, and that celebrates diversity
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supports humans living in that place as integral members of that thriving whole life community.
“The term [bioregion] refers both to geographical terrain and a terrain of consciousness — to a place and the ideas that have developed about how to live in that place.”
— Peter Berg and Raymond Dasmann​​
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“Bioregioning is something that humans and early pre-humans, hominins, have done really since the beginning of time. It means living in a place, understanding that you’re part of the natural systems of that place, and, in a sense, working with those natural systems.”
— Isabel Carlisle, Bioregioning and Our Felt Sense of Place
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“The most difficult transition to make is from an anthropocentric to a biocentric norm of progress. If there is to be any true progress, then the entire life community must progress. Any progress of the human at the expense of the larger life community must ultimately lead to a diminishment of human life itself.”
(Thomas Berry, “Bioregions: The Context for Reinhabiting the Earth,” in The Dream of the Earth)
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Learn more this through our work here>>
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Learn about our work as a member of the Northeast Bioregioning Collective>>
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Learn More Through These Links:​
"Why Bioregions?" from Bioregional Earth (16 min video)>>
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"Bioregionalism, an introduction" article by Peter Berg>>
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"Bioregionalism: A Better Way to Understand Where You Live" by Thomas Berry>>
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"What is a Bioregion?" article by Brandon Letsinger>>
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"What is Bioregionalism?" article by Brandon Letsinger>>
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"What is Bioregionalism" - Dept. of Bioregion>>
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"Ecoregions vs. Watersheds" - Dept. of Bioregion>>
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The Design School for Regenerating Earth
Founded by Joe Brewer and Penny Heiple to foster a planetary network of bioregions with learning exchanges between them, the Design School for Regenerating Earth offers online learning journeys, guilds, and courses geared toward sharing and directly applying knowledge and skills to the work of organizing on the ground. “The challenges humanity and the Earth are facing now are extremely complex and unlike anything that has come before in the history of the planet. In order to regenerate the Earth at the scales needed, we must consciously and intentionally evolve humanity into a planetary species and learn to cooperate at unprecedented levels. Members of the Design School are choosing to step fully into this challenge by organizing ourselves around holistic, integrated landscapes known as bioregions, and connecting those bioregions into a planetary network with learning exchanges between them.”
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Bioregional Awareness Quiz (how well do you know your home place?)>>
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