Environmental Conference looks at climate change on “Our Unruly Island Home,” March 25th at Bainbridge High School

Margaret Millmore and Kevin Dwyer | Posted on March 13, 2023 |

Keynote speaker is Madeline Ostrander, journalist and author of “At Home on an Unruly Planet”

Seattle science journalist and author Madeline Ostrander will be the keynote speaker at the 2023 Bainbridge Island Environmental Conference, “Our Island Home on an Unruly Planet,” one of Kirkus Review’s 100 Best Nonfiction Books of 2022.

The conference is 12-5 p.m. Saturday, March 25th, at the Bainbridge High School Theater. It is presented by Sustainable Bainbridge, EcoAdapt, the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation, the Bainbridge Island Land Trust and IslandWood.

Ostrander’s book “At Home on an Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth” examines how climate change has destabilized our fundamental notions of “home” – shattering our sense of safety and sanctuary in familiar places, compelling us to find new reserves of strength, adaptation and connection.

Between deeply reported stories of ordinary Americans finding resilience in the face of dramatic environmental change – melting permafrost in Alaska, rising seas in Florida, catastrophic wildfires in Washington state, petrochemical disasters in California – Ostrander offers lyrical essays on our historical, social and psychological constructs of “home” as a place to be cherished, defended and continually renewed.

Ostrander’s book is available before the conference through Eagle Harbor Book Co.

Conference breakout sessions will look at climate change’s impact on Bainbridge Island shorelines, forests, air quality, transportation and infrastructure, and sense of place.

The conference schedule and registration are now online at www.islandwood.org.

For information on Madeline Ostrander and “At Home on an Unruly Planet,” see www.madelineostrander.com

About the Bainbridge Island Environmental Conference

The Bainbridge Island Environmental Conference was established by the Association of Bainbridge Communities, an umbrella organization of island neighborhood and environmental groups founded in 1978. Each conference has addressed an issue of topical concern, from recycling to land conservation to forest management.

The ABC organization sunsetted with the passing last year of founder and celebrated island environmentalist Charles Schmid.

The Bainbridge Island Environmental Conference is now organized and presented by a coalition of five local organizations: Sustainable Bainbridge, EcoAdapt, the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation, the Bainbridge Island Land Trust and IslandWood.