Leah Penniman's talk at Bioneers 2026

One of the most powerful moments for me at the Bioneers conference this year was hearing from Leah Penniman. She's a farmer and an activist who co-founded Soul Fire Farm in upstate New York with a mission to end racism in the food system. In her talk, Leah described how they use indigenous techniques to build up the top 12 inches of the earth, what she calls black gold. She says, I see this soil as a million years of love and contribution. She then shared this incredible story about the time when Hurricane Irene hit, causing flooding that devastated the topsoil and crops of surrounding farms. But at Soul Fire Farm, they lost just three garlic plants. The layer of black gold simply acted like a sponge and absorbed the water. Leah says, in healing our relationship with soil, we'll heal the climate and heal ourselves. For me, this is such a profound wonder and hope.