Bioregional Governance & Earth laws

AELA's Bioregional Governance program aims to show how 'bioregioning' and bioregional governance offers important pathways to create Earth-centred societies.

'Bioregioning' is a Western term that urges us to see human societies and culture as part of nature, and proposes that modern human societies can be more sustainable, successful and meaningful, if our governance, political, cultural and economic systems are organised within natural boundaries such as bioregions and catchments (watersheds). The practice of bioregional governance is ancient. First Nations' Peoples around the world often developed complex bio-cultural societies that lived in harmony with non-human nature, and used the living world as a guide to inform how human societies could be safe, secure and successful.

AELA's community programs support community groups who wish to build bioregional governance, and our Bioregional Learning Network hosts information sessions and events (including webinars). AELA is also part of a global movement of organisations and networks working to create and advocate for bioregional and Earth-centred governance.

AELA's Bioregional Governance Program - Greenprints 

AELA's Greenprints program provides structured support to communities working towards bioregional governance. Learn more on the Greenprints website here

AELA's Bioregional Learning Network 

AELA's Bioregional Learning Network is a space for connecting with others who are interested in, or actively engaged in, 'bioregional governance' practice. AELA hosts webinars and events to invite people to come together to share, learn and explore what a bioregional life can look like. Please scroll down to see upcoming and past Bioregional events.

WEBINAR SERIES - 'EXPLORING BIOREGIONING'

EXPLORING BIOREGIONING – Bioregional Law

Date: April 16, 2026
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am (AEST)
Location: Online (via Zoom)

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregioning" webinar series!

In our April webinar AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Dr Michelle Maloney will be joined by Karie Crisp, to discuss some of the concepts they explored in their recent co-authored chapter: "Bioregions and Earth Laws".

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EXPLORING BIOREGIONING: Learning with the Design School for Regenerating Earth

Date: March 3, 2026
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am (AEST)
Location: Online (via Zoom)

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregioning" webinar series!

In our first bioregioning webinar for 2026, AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Dr Michelle Maloney will be joined by Joe Brewer and Penny Heiple from the" Design School for Regenerating Earth" to discuss how we can follow a design pathway for regenerating our planet and human cultural, learning and financial, systems.

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EXPLORING BIOREGIONING: How bioregional mapping is creating pathways to decolonising boundaries in South Asia

Date: October 21, 2025
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (AEST)
Location: Online (via Zoom)

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregioning" webinar series! In our final bioregioning webinar for 2025, AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Michelle Maloney and architect, urban and environment planner, Manu Bhatnagur will be joined by Nisha Mary Poulose to discuss an amazing bioregional mapping project in India, led by the South Asian Bioregionalism Working Group.

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EXPLORING BIOREGIONING: Design for Bioregions

Date: August 27, 2025
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (AEST)
Location: Online (via Zoom)

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregioning" webinar series! In our August webinar, AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Michelle Maloney, will be joined by John Thackara and James Oliver, to discuss the role of social and ecological design, in bioregioning and place-based initiatives.

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EXPLORING BIOREGIONING: Stories from the Mystic River (USA)

Date: April 24, 2025
Time: 10:00 am - 11:30 am (AEST)
Location: Online (via Zoom)

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregioning" webinar series! In our April webinar, AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Dr Michelle Maloney, will be joined by Bill Baue, Brenda Geer, Maggie Favretti and Mike Thomas, who collaborate in a bioregioning collective covering the northeast region of Turtle Island (North America), which shares a common forested landscape. Brenda, Maggie and Mike are also members of the Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed and all our guest speakers will share stories about their bioregioning efforts in the Mystic River Watershed (Catchment) in the United States.

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EXPLORING BIOREGIONING: Stories from the United Kingdom

Date: March 12, 2025
Time: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm (AEST)
Location: Online (via Zoom)

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregioning" webinar series! In our March webinar, AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Dr Michelle Maloney, will be joined by Ella Hubbard and Isabel Carlisle, to share stories about bioregioning in the United Kingdom.

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EXPLORING BIOREGIONALISM: First Peoples’ governance systems and the Relationist Ethos

Date: December 5, 2024
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (AEST)
Location: Online (via Zoom)

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregionalism" webinar series! In our December webinar, AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Dr Michelle Maloney, will be joined by Dr Mary Graham, to discuss how First Peoples' governance systems and the Relationist Ethos have inspired - and can guide - bioregionalism and biocultural governance.

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EXPLORING BIOREGIONALISM: Western science, bioregions and boundaries – with Professor Ian Lowe AO

Date: October 24, 2024
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (AEST)
Location: Online via Zoom

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregionalism" webinar series! In our October webinar, AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Dr Michelle Maloney, will be joined by Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe AO, to discuss what Western science can tell us about bioregions, boundaries and 'bioregionalism'.

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EXPLORING BIOREGIONALISM: Re-inventing bioregionalism and bioregioning in the 21st Century – with Sam Wearne

Date: September 19, 2024
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (AEST)
Location: Online via Zoom

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregionalism" webinar series! In our September webinar, AELA Convenor and Greenprints creator, Dr Michelle Maloney, will be joined by Dr Sam Wearne, UTS, to explore how 'bioregionalism' is being interpreted, re-invented and reinvigorated in the 21st Century, in theory and practice around the world.

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EXPLORING BIOREGIONALISM: Can bioregionalism solve our housing crisis?

Date: August 29, 2024
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (AEST)
Location: Online via Zoom

Join us for AELA's "Exploring Bioregionalism" webinar series! In our August webinar, we ask: can bioregionalism solve Australia's housing crisis?

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