Rooted in Place, Connected in Purpose

Building Regenerative Futures Locally

Techa Beaumont and Simon Jankelson from Seed Northern Rivers share what happens when you deeply invest in place-based change. In this intimate conversation, they explore why local ecosystem building matters more than ever—and how supporting grassroots changemakers with resources, infrastructure, and connection creates cascading impact across communities. From their base in the Northern Rivers (Bundjalung Country), they'll reveal the principles, learnings, and radical hope that sustains this work, including innovative funding models like the Seed Giving Circle that shift power back to communities. They'll invite you to consider how regeneration doesn't start from the top down, but grows from the roots up.

What They'll Cover:

• Why place-based regeneration is the antidote to extractive systems

• The backbone model: How to build ecosystem infrastructure for grassroots changemakers

• What we've learned supporting 35+ local initiatives over 16 years

• The Seed Giving Circle: democratising funding and shifting power to communities

• Alternative funding models that centre local agency and collective decision-making

• The role of relationship and connection in driving systemic change

• How localisation strengthens resilience in times of crisis

• From individual action to collective power: unlearning individualism through shared work on issues that affect us all—healthy food systems, river regeneration, community wellbeing

• Practical strategies for inspiring and supporting the next generation of changemakers

Speaker Bios

Techa Beaumont : Executive Director, Seed Northern Rivers

Techa Beaumont is a creative activist and decolonial practitioner with a decade of frontline international advocacy experience supporting remote Indigenous communities resisting extraction. Over the past 10 years, she has reoriented her work locally, founding Kulchajam artist-run venue, co-founding the Mullum Food Cooperative, and now leading Seed Northern Rivers—a backbone organisation linking and resourcing 35+ grassroots groups regenerating the Northern Rivers. Techa's practice is rooted in moving beyond siloed existence into deep collaborative practice, interbeing, and the belief that true transformation emerges when we can emerge from competition and individualism to ways of being based on respect and care for all our  human and more than human kin. 

Simon Jankelson : Project Lead, Seed Northern Rivers

Simon is the Project Lead at Seed Northern Rivers, supporting member organisations, growing the ecosystem of regenerative changemakers, and leading collaborative initiatives across the region. His work centers on building the connective tissue that allows grassroots initiatives to flourish—from administrative backbone support to facilitating collaboration and supporting  the growth of alternative funding models like the Seed Giving Circle. Grounded in the Northern Rivers, Simon embodies the commitment to place-based change that animates Seed's work, believing that local regeneration depends on both practical infrastructure and the power of communities deciding together how to resource their own futures.