Keynote: Regeneration Through Permaculture, Re-wilding & Community Engagement
Aug 06, 2025
Earlier this year, we were honored to deliver the keynote at the 77th Annual Celebration of the Washtenaw County Conservation District—an evening rooted in community, conservation, and care. We’re now excited to share the full recording along with reflections and resources from the event.
This talk was more than a presentation—it was a moment to ground ourselves in the deeper why of our work and reflect on a lifetime of past projects and learning. An offering of story, soil, and strategy.
From Sustainability to Healing
At the heart of the keynote was a belief that underpins all we do:
We must move beyond sustainability—toward regeneration, and then healing.
Using Gateway Farm as a living case study, we explored what it means to tend not just land, but relationships—between humans, our community and the more-than-human—soil, plants, animals, land and more.
Our work is shaped by decades of design, facilitation, and community engagement. From permaculture to re-wilding, from soil health to inclusivity, our approach is layered and deeply relational.
We share the unfolding process of radically redesigning Gateway Farm from initial infrastructure: earthworks, berms, hoop houses, ponds and riparian repair, perennial food forests, and cover crops; the regenerative agriculture practices of composting and growing certified organic produce; and how we’ve opened the gates to the community as a hub for skill-building, connection and sanctuary.
The Questions That Guide Us
In our keynote, we posed two core questions:
- How do we hold a bold, healing vision in the face of so many challenges?
- How do we communicate the importance of regenerative practice in ways that invite others in?
We offer frameworks—design tools, care practices, and a mindset of radical redesign—strategies developed from our lifetimes’ practical application of regenerative practices that can be replicated to heal people, communities and landscapes around the world.
What’s Next: Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference
We’re honored to continue this conversation as keynote speakers and workshop facilitators at the upcoming Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference, taking place August 18–19, 2025, at Leelanau School in Glen Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Now in its 26th year, this gathering brings together farmers, growers, and land stewards to build skills, share knowledge, and strengthen resilience across the region.
This year’s theme—Incubate & Integrate, weaving farmer wellness and resilience into community solutions—aligns deeply with our approach to place-based healing and regenerative design. In addition to our keynote 'Designing Healthy Future Farms', we'll also be offering workshops on 'Adapt & Design' and 'Healing Self/Healing Land'.
Find out more about the conference and register here.
Resources
Watch Bridget deliver the keynote at the Washtenaw County Conservation District's 77th Annual Celebration from January 2025 on the YouTube recording here. View the transcript.
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Below are a few of the resources, inspirations, concepts, and collaborators we mentioned during the talk:
Garden Juju Collective Projects Page
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Aranya Agricultural Alternatives
European Permaculture Convergence
Great Rivers & Lakes Permaculture Institute
International Permaculture Convergence
Transition Network International
Urban Agriculture Forum, an initiative of Sustain the Australian Food Network
Washtenaw County Conservation District
Wilding - book by Isabella Tree and documentary
