The Regenerative World Quest is officially one year old and WOW, what a year! I wanted to take a moment and share what we have done in just 12 short months and what is coming next. The focus in year one was on showcasing real-world examples of regenerative living. The inaugural year took us to the vibrant, innovative landscapes of Costa Rica and the United States, where we documented the practical application of regenerative principles across a diverse range of intentional communities and ecological projects. From comprehensive tours of carbon-negative farms to communities living with off grid energy and water, the first year solidified the quest’s mission: to prove that a regenerative world is not a dream, but an achievable reality.
Big thank you to the RWQ supporters, none of this would be possible without you! The past year has been a wild ride and surpassed all my hopes and expectations for the Quest. But that does not go tone deaf to the chaos and struggle in the world around us.
As the political landscape continues to get more and more volatile, it may seem that our economy and community resilience are weakening. But that does not have to be our reality. True- we are living in a time of system breakdown. The structures we have depended on for generations are changing rapidly and we can no longer rely on them for stability (food, healthcare, government, infrastructure etc.). We need a new model for what is on the other side. As the polycrisis intensifies, how we organize locally will determine our experience and well-being in the years to come.
The systems break down we are living through was human generated, so it can therefore be human “regenerated” or healed. We can recode the systems to create shared prosperity on a healthy planet. But you should know, it is not the government who will come to save us, it is local leadership and community organizing that will. We can do this locally, led by community and connected through a global network of wisdom keepers, filled with lived experience of replicable solutions to our most pressing problems.
I know the news can be bleak and it is easy to get sucked into the doom and gloom, the negative spiral about how it is all F^@&ED. Yes, that is partially true, and there are thousands of communities and millions of people dedicated to living the solutions every day! Find them, engage with them, be one of them!
Inspired by this knowledge and motivated to take action in a different way I launched the Regenerative World Quest (RWQ) in the fall of 2024. It is a multi-year, international, immersive research project to identify, study, and uplift around 100 communities all over the world that are living in a regenerative way. The goal is to find and implement replicable solutions to our most pressing problems that already have proof of concept, measurable impact and lead to community resilience.
Regenerative Living is a paradigm shift beyond extraction, and consumption that represents a way of being, acting, governing, and living in deep harmony with nature. It is the fullest expression of self-sufficiency and resilient community design. As I mentioned above there are thousands of communities living this way right now, the Quest aims to find, research, uplift and replicate these ‘pockets of hope’ during intense times of transition.
The infographic to the left is an example of the Regenerative Ecosystem Assessment by the RWQ from a real community in Costa Rica called The Ark. Here is the full case study on them as an example.
One of the most critical takeaways from the first year of the Regenerative World Quest is that successfully establishing and maintaining a regenerative model is not primarily a technological challenge, but a governance one. The solutions for building net-zero structures, creating circular material flows, and regenerating soil are readily available. I have met the top leaders in these areas, lived and tested these solutions and there are proven models- this is actually the easy part. The “make-or-break” factor is the human leadership and social structure that sustains these efforts. This is the “Invisible Infrastructure”, the regenerative governance—the collective agreements, decision-making processes, values, and organizational structures that guide the community. This is particularly poignant with what we are going through politically here in the US.
If you read my blogs, you know there are three phases in the RWQ: 1- immersive, international research, 2- content creation and awareness building and 3- local implementation. Below I outline what we have done to advance each phase over the last year and a sneak peek at what is coming. Next year I have a series of blogs and content to share more specific lessons learned as well as highlight key replicable solutions. Please stay tuned to learn more in 2026, for now here is what we accomplished in 2025.
RWQ by the numbers:
- 5 Case Studies created sharing qualitative and quantitative data mapped to the REA (Phase 2)
- 6 Replication Projects are in the works for urban and rural regeneration in the USA (Phase 3)
- 13 Months as an official project
- 15 Communities or projects visited, and researched (Phase 1)
- 17 Short educational videos highlight key solutions and communities (Phase 2)
- 75+ New global connections to regenerative leaders wanting to share knowledge and grow the movement
- 110 point matrix developed for regenerative living: Regenerative Ecosystem Assessment (REA)
The really exciting part is translating all of these connections and knowledge into action. One example is with the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive (AATA), the RWQ visited them in Copemish Michigan in the fall of 2025. After learning more about how unique the work of AATA is (literally the only group in the world who can clone and breed 2000+ year old trees, pictured to the left), and how vital the ecosystem services of these ancient trees are (draw down CO2 x12 faster than the average tree and 300-6000 times more) a replication model took shape for urban regeneration.
The RWQ is partnering with AATA to replicate this model, which regenerated several blocks of inner city Detroit, planted 200 old growth sequoias with over 70 inner city youth in one of the most polluted zip codes in the state. Each child who participated had a tree named in their honor, they attended “Tree School” and entered a life-long contract/agreement to care for the tree.
In collaboration with the RWQ, there are four cities on deck for 2026 and dozens more in the years ahead. These plantings will help to regenerative inner cities across the nation starting with the most polluted zip codes, incorporating Tree School and weaving deeply with community roots. The picture to the left shows a girl who participated in the Detroit planting visiting her tree. Please note, these are not just any tree plantings. The trees we are planting with are anywhere from 2000–5000-year-old clones of champion redwoods and sequoias, 100% genetic copies of the mother tree. They can recall their memory with drought, flood, pets, fire etc. They are the most resilient plant alive today and the best natural solution to sequester carbon at scale.
The urban plantings are the gateway to larger community regeneration projects. One example I can share now is in Martin County, Kentucky- pictured to the right (where the ‘war’ on poverty was declared by Lyndon Johnson over 50 years ago and still has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation). It is a 6000-acre property littered with flat-top coal mines. Our partner Renew Appalachia is leading efforts for a full-scale regenerative development project starting with a tree planting with AATA and the RWQ in 2026. As the knowledge base and resource library of the RWQ grows, we will weave together with values aligned partners to implement the best of the best for each project/site. The project in Kentucky is a great example of where numerous elements of regenerative living can be implemented over the years ahead starting with the tree plantings and growing from there.
A Sneak Peek into 2026:
In early 2026 the RWQ plans to visit White Oak Pastures in Georgia to do a deep dive into regional food resilience, then the Hummingbird Community in Arizona to focus on multi-generational systems. Spring of 2026 will ideally take us on journey to Alaska to visit The Native Conservancy (not Nature Conservancy…).
The RWQ will learn more about kelp farming from an Alaksan indigenous elder (Dune Lankard pictured to the left, photo credit Ayse Gursoz) as a model for carbon sequestration, ocean healing, agriculture and alternative plastics. This is a vital part in restoring the carbon cycle.
Many learnings on the Quest are about how to naturally restore the carbon cycle by ways of community living. This has led to the concept of the ‘Carbon Cuatro‘. It is a four pronged approach to restoring the carbon cycle, using natural systems, at scale. It can work whether you are landlocked or on the coast, in mountainous areas or urban deserts. I promise to write a blog entirely on this soon, for now suffice it to say the solutions that are alive and well in the world continue to amaze me. I am extremely excited to put this theory into practice and test the ‘Carbon Cuatro‘ very soon!
The summer and fall will hopefully take us to Australia and New Zealand to live with and learn from indigenous communities. If all goes according to plan, by this time next year we should have visited 20-25 communities and have the videos, case studies and replicable solutions to match. All of these solutions are being compiled and documented. Themes, trends, unique attributes or outliers are tracked, studied and shared.
Ultimately, I plan to write a replication playbook to open source and share the solutions that can not just move the needle but lead to full systems transformation at the pace and scale needed. Learning all of this does nothing if we don’t act on it. While I trust the journey, my focus is translating this knowledge into actions through implementation. The replication projects have taken off faster than I could have imagined, and the real challenge now is managing capacity, and interest. By the end of 2026, four tree plantings with AATA will be either complete or underway while we map the course for the next 10!
The first year of the Regenerative World Quest proves that the blueprint for a thriving, non-extractive future exists today. It’s an integrated vision of self-reliance, ecological restoration, and intentional community, and… it can be done anywhere in the world!
I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season. I hope to get one more blog out to you this year that zooms in on the ancient trees and the reforestation projects with the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive.
If you made it this far in my blog, I thank you for reading it all the way through- you are certainly dedicated and interested. If you feel called, please consider donating here (all donations are tax deductible).
You can follow the rest of the journey and watch all the videos from the channel here: Regenerative World Quest. I am active on LinkedIN, Facebook, Instagram too and I try to share real solutions and inspiration on a regular basis! Please subscribe, engage and share the ‘beacons of hope’ with your network because where we focus grows my friends!
