Soil ~ Soul ~ Social Conference Celebrating 100 Years of Biodynamics
We invite you to join us in the beautiful Hawkes Bay May 4-5th during organic week to celebrate the biodynamic community and the agriculture course birthed 100 years ago.
Biodynamics Conference 2023
What a fabulous weekend! Three days of learning, inspiration and connection 🙂
Here’s what one attendee said ->
“It was incredible to be able to connect with everyone! In the beginning everyone was basically strangers, and by the end I knew so many people! The food was fab and the range of speakers was great. Also loved to get some of the older BD magazines”
Pre-Conference Introductory Workshop
The Pre-Conference Introductory Workshop was the first (unofficial) day of this year’s Biodynamics Conference and it was hosted by Joanne and Greg Turner at Woodhouse Farm Organics.
Rachel Pomeroy and Katrina Wolff were our tutors for the day, and we started with Rachel taking us through a bit of the background of Steiner’s the Agriculture Course. Katrina then takes us through the preparations.
A great overview for anyone new to biodynamics!
We then got the group outside to start building the biodynamic compost! You can see everyone standing around the work of art that was created 🙂
If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you can check out a few short snippets of the wisdom and inspiration that Rachel and Katrina shared at this workshop.
Conference Day One
After a productive Pre-Conference Workshop – it was time to dive into the Biodynamics Conference proper. On Saturday we heard from speakers; Gary Williams, Dieter Proebst, Kaitlyn Lamb, Peter Bacchus and Andrew Criglington.
Attendees were particularly inspired by Kaitlyn, our youngest speaker who shared her story and journey with composting and biodynamics. Kaitlyn became interested after being introduced via Katrina’s social media – Blue Borage.
Charlie was the last speaker of the day and he surprised us by doing a short interview with Rachel Pomeroy! Giving us a little laster of what his podcast – The Regenerative Journey – is like.
“Loved Charlie Arnott, Kaitlyn and the homeopathic speakers.”
Conference Day Two
The final day started with some yoga and meditation for those who wanted to join, then we got straight back into it! Charlie took Sunday’s first session on ‘Why Regenerative Agriculture Matters – Lessons from my Farming Journey’.
Monique Macfarlane took us through her inspiring journey and ‘The grounding perspective of the interconnectedness of everything’. And last, but certainly not least, was Cathy Tait-Jamieson with a poignant story about her journey with BioFarm and learnings from incorporating the philosophy of Hua Parakore.
Sunday wrapped up with some group collaboration and brainstorming. We gathered in our regional groups to talk about the best ways to connect and work together. Some great ideas came out of this session!
If you weren’t at conference but have some ideas – please feel free to fire them through to Laura marketing@biodynamic.org.nz. Especially as we have the 100 year anniversary coming up next year…
Attendee feedback
“Hearing the younger members giving talks, bringing up the real needs and renewal of Biodynamics. The conversation night was such a brilliant idea, an amazing evening!”
“The connections I made! All the people I was able to talk to! Such great people!”
“Very good and interesting presentations.”
Video Snippets from Katrina and Rachel at the Pre-Conference Workshop
Vine & Wine Online
Biodynamics New Zealand is committed to working together with you to bring learning opportunities, create stronger relationships and build community. We have identified the need for an industry specific platform to engage our members and others on a social level that is easy to access.
You are invited to collectively engage in our latest initiative ‘Vine & Wine Online’.
These FREE monthly one-hour online meetings offer opportunities to gather with like-minded others and serve as an informal platform for sharing knowledge, inspirations, and aspirations around biodynamic and organic vineyard management, viticulture and wine making.
We will be covering themes which are relevant to seasonal activities and inviting some of our biodynamic champions to the discussions to share their wisdom through regular gatherings. Join us on the last Thursday of every month beginning August 26th 6.30 p.m to 7.30 p.m Pacific Time.
A Zoom link will be sent out closer to the date for members of Biodynamics New Zealand. If you are not currently a member we welcome you to join the Association.
This auspicious time of year lends itself to conversation around compost, pruning, tree paste and planning for the Spring season, but will be a general forum for sharing ideas, and insights into all things biodynamic.
Bring your questions, thoughts, and viewpoints to this informal gathering hosted by our Education Coordinator Su Hoskin.
Please feel free to share to your networks and the wider community. The Education Coordinator program is generously funded by The Kete Ora Trust.
CULTIVATING CONVERSATIONS
Biodynamics New Zealand is committed to working together with you to bring learning opportunities, create stronger relationships and build community.
You are invited to collectively engage in our latest educational initiative ‘Cultivating Conversations’.
These FREE (for members of Biodynamics New Zealand) monthly one-hour online meetings offer opportunities to gather with like-minded others and serve as an informal platform for sharing knowledge, inspirations, and aspirations around biodynamic land management.
We will be covering themes which are relevant to seasonal activities and inviting some of our biodynamic champions to the discussions to share their wisdom through regular gatherings. Join us on the third Thursday of every month. Our next session will be on 16th September 2021, 6.30 p.m to 7.30 p.m Pacific Time.
A Zoom link will be sent out closer to the date for members of Biodynamics New Zealand. If you are not currently a member we welcome you to join the Association.
This auspicious time of year lends itself to conversation around compost, tree paste and planning ahead for the Spring season, but will be a general forum for sharing ideas, and insights into all things biodynamic
Bring your questions, thoughts, and viewpoints to this informal gathering hosted by our Education Coordinator, Su Hoskin. The Education Coordinator program is generously funded by The Kete Ora Trust.
Biodynamics Workshops
We update this page regularly with upcoming workshops so come back soon. As a member we will send you regular updates of what is coming up via our e-newsletter.
You can also register your interest in workshops with Biodynamics New Zealand. You might be looking to attend a workshop or deliver one with our support. Please email us here and let us know what you are looking for and which region of the country you are in.
Please remember that if you are a member of Biodynamics New Zealand you get all these benefits listed here.
