For those who’ve been following, the Whidbey Institute is just coming off its 2nd Annual Thriving Communities Conference, where for two and a half days over a hundred people from across the Cascadia bioregion gathered on the Chinook land to cross-pollinate, learn, and turn ideas into action on behalf of thriving communities everywhere.
A total of 32 communities were represented at this year’s gathering, of which 9 were new communities in this burgeoning conversation. This year’s focus was resilient local economies – their roots, how they work, and how they support community flourishing. We extend hearty thanks to our guest blogger Shelly Randall for covering the conference!
Highlights of this time together included a keynote address by Jeff Vander Clute, a leader of the thrive movement and executive director of New Stories, and videos featuring the different exemplar communities of this year’s economic focus, including Port Townsend, Shelly’s own hometown.
Shelly said: “it’s a thrill to report on the second annual Thriving Communities Conference. Last week 100 attendees from around Cascadia were encouraged to nurture and ‘find your own Port Townsend’ — that is, to take the pulse of your own community and listen for direction on how its uniqueness might be nurtured. Then find that path and set forth on the journey to realize your community’s best potential.“
To read Shelly’s blog post, and learn more about her work via her website, Sustainable Together, click here.
We are grateful for the hearts and minds of all who participated in making this year’s gathering of communities so powerful.