Conservation, Community, and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Campus | Tara Stoinski

Drawing on principles of accompaniment articulated by Dr. Paul Farmer, Sierra shares stories of design that listens deeply to place and community. From locally sourced construction in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the Rwanda Institute of Conservation Agriculture, to large-scale biodiversity restoration at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund campus, this keynote offers proof that regeneration can happen faster than degradation.

At its core, this talk reframes design as an act of care, one that reconnects agriculture and ecology, people and planet, beauty and equity. Through evidence, story, and lived experience, Sierra reminds us that healing is possible, and that every project can become a seed for a more abundant future.