Celebration Barn, Paris, Maine
May 16-17, 2025, Celebration Barn Theater, Paris, Maine
We want to extend our gratitude to all who took part in 2030 Vision: Resist, Regenerate, Renew. Over the course of two days at the Celebration Barn Theater, we witnessed resistance, regeneration, and renewal amongst our lively crew as the lines blurred between presenters, attendees, and performers. We wrote poetry; we took notes; we signed up for cooperatively-owned community solar; we introduced ourselves; we sang songs; we ate well; we brainstormed; we stretched; we shared knowledge.
It was one of our best-attended Convergences, and the Barn proved to be both great shelter from the threat of storms as well as a source of inspiration as we learned about the history of clowns, jesters, and mimes in speaking truth to power and creating joy together. We appreciate everyone who brought their full self to the Convergence, and we look forward to nurturing the seeds that sprouted during our time together.
Breaking the Cycle: The Impact of Misinformation
on the Climate Transition with Natasha Perez, Friday Keynote
We'll delve into the pervasive influence of misinformation on the climate transition, exploring its effects on public opinion, policy decisions, and the siting of clean energy projects. We'll discuss how misinformation campaigns have been used to sow doubt about climate science and delay renewable energy development.
At the Alliance for Climate Transition (ACT), we're leading the charge on countering misinformation and promoting fact-based discourse. ACT leverages data-driven strategies, community engagement, and partnerships to debunk myths, combat disinformation campaigns, and equip people with the tools to communicate effectively about the benefits of clean energy. Attendees will leave with actionable insights into how they can contribute to building a more informed, resilient public narrative around climate solutions.
Natasha Perez is the Vice President of Strategic Communications at ACT. She has worked across healthcare, energy, and government sectors, including as Chief of Staff for the Massachusetts Senate. She spent some of her youth in Freedom, Maine, and later worked as a political director organizing with Mainers. Natasha holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters in Project Management from Boston University.
Gain an entirely new view of water, soils, biodiversity, and climate. Learn how the living matrix of a soil sponge is foundational to making life on earth possible, and how the work of other species creates our climate and weather. Through this understanding of whole systems, we can address many of our major challenges through changes in land management.
Managing land in ways that restore nature's soil sponge can provide many interrelated benefits: increased resilience to flood and drought; cooler regional temperatures; reduction of wildfire risk, prevention of algae blooms; increased habitat and biodiversity; healthier crops, animals, and humans; reduced erosion and road repairs; and thriving local economies.
Didi Pershouse is an author, soil strategist, and founder of the Land and Leadership Initiative. Her teaching and facilitation work engages farmers and ranchers, schools, policy makers, investors, and environmentalists to reduce flooding and drought, improve local economies, and improve soil health, public health, and climate resiliency. This is accomplished through changes in land management, especially focused on the soil sponge: the living matrix that makes life on land possible.
Find the full workshop schedule here!
What is a Climate Convergence anyway? Each year, our 2030 Vision Climate Convergence provides two days of connecting, knowledge sharing, and movement building. It is an honor for us to be able to hold this space to convene around a common cause, learn from each other, and celebrate the collective wisdom of a diverse and dispersed climate movement in Maine and beyond.
Friday night's show is Koal, created and performed by Jacinta Yelland, an Australian artist of Chinese and Torres Strait Islander descent, currently based in Philadelphia. Part climate-catastrophe, part clown show, Koal takes place during the Australian wildfires and tells the story of a baby koala, a coal miner, and an Indigenous girl striving to hold onto the homes as the fires rage. You can see a video teaser of the show here and read more about the show here.
Reviews of Koal:
"Physical and evocative, engaging and entertaining... Unlike anything I have seen. Yelland is a superb storyteller." - The Theater.au
"This show was absolutely beautiful. I teared up. It was a masterclass in physical theatre and the audience was on their feet almost before it finished."
- Shana Kennedy, Executive Director of The Circadium
Come along with us for two days of movement building in Norway, Maine. 2030 Vision: Connect Catalyze Create took place May 17-18, 2024. This was the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy's fifth annual climate convergence, our flagship event of the year, where we convene around shared work to address the climate crisis to learn from each other and strengthen our movement.
Hallmarks of each convergence include workshops, roundtable discussions and presentations, as well as great food, music, art and poetry to energize the urgent work of climate justice. It is designed to be inclusive, interactive, and to celebrate and engage the collective wisdom of all who attend. In this critical moment, as climate change accelerates and biodiversity is increasingly threatened, we also see unprecedented support for building community resilience and fighting for a livable planet.
If you've never been to one of our convergences before, check out the recordings from previous years.
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