Why May?
In all honesty, climate change actually has something to do with it. As those living in California and across the West are more than well aware, wildfires are increasingly impacting the day-to-day lives of millions each year. The twin realities of climate change and a legacy of backwards forest management have combined to steadily increase the quantity and intensity of fires in California and throughout Western North America. The Bioneers Conference was nearly canceled twice in the past five years due to heavy smoke and, in one case, the venue being utilized as a Red Cross Evacuation Shelter. In addition, as a primarily outdoor event in Marin, we had originally chosen that time of year because rain is fairly unlikely. The combination of several near-miss cancellations combined with a desire to not have an outdoor event rained out eventually felt like we were just “crossing our fingers,” which is not a tenable strategy (not to mention the karmic issues related to hoping against rain during a mega-drought in fire season). So, after two years of virtual events, we’re excited to see what a spring Bioneers Conference looks and feels like.
Why San Francisco?
Many people are familiar with the Bioneers Conference as an event that takes place at the Marin Civic Center each year. For nearly two decades of our 33-year history, the event was located in Marin. However, a combination of factors led to our decision to try a different location, among them the reality that the Civic Center used the pandemic as an opportunity to invest in seismic upgrades for their facilities meaning large parts of the venue are unavailable for use. The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco is a beautiful facility in a wonderful location. It is on several public transit lines, the adjacent park is magnificent, and there are numerous hotels and restaurants within walking distance. This year actually marks a return to the Palace, as some of the early Bioneers Conferences were hosted at the facility prior to our move to Marin.
What about COVID safety?We’re as concerned as you about COVID and the implications of hosting a public event at this time. To that end, Bioneers has consulted with the venue, our event producing partners and Bay Area epidemiologists to develop a COVID protocol and policy for the event that we encourage you to review. We're grateful to our Bioneers community for their adaptability as we work to make our event as safe and inclusive as possible. See you in May! | 
