Knox to Host 'Beaming Bioneers' 2012

Knox College will host the second annual Prairie Fire Bioneers Conference October 26-28. Affiliated with the National Bioneers Conference held in San Rafael, California, Knox's conference is one of 24 satellite conferences across the country.

According to the national Bioneers website, "Bioneers are social and scientific innovators from all walks of life and disciplines who have peered deep into the heart of living systems to understand how nature operates, and to mimic 'nature's operating instructions' to serve human ends without harming the web of life."

Bringing this mentality home to Galesburg, the conference will feature renowned speaker Julia Butterfly Hill delivering a keynote address on the Knox campus, as well as numerous plenary speakers via satellite. The conference will revolve around events and workshops that focus on exploring solutions for the world's most pressing environmental and social challenges.

The local workshops will be hosted by regional leaders such as John Curtis, a farmer from Macomb; and representatives from Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW), the University of Illinois Extension Office, and the Sustainable Business Center.

The conference will last from Friday, October 26 to Sunday, October 28. Cost of admission for the entire weekend is $30 with meals included from local Galesburg vendors Baked, Cornucopia, and Q's Café, or $20 without meals.

To register or get more information go to: http://www.knox.edu/bioneers.

The conference is sponsored by the Knox College Department of Environmental Studies and the Eleanor Stellyes Center for Global Studies.