our story
The Conscious Growth Convergence began with a simple question: what becomes possible when people gather to learn from the land, from each other, and from the universal elements that support life?
2021
the first convergence
OCT 9-10 2021
EARTH SPACE PDX
The first Conscious Growth Convergence took place in 2021 at EARTH Space, a small community center created by Conscious Growth in Southeast Portland. Around fifty people gathered for a weekend exploration of regenerative living, cultural creativity, and community resilience. The gathering brought together local changemakers, bridge builders, artists, and visionaries from across the Pacific Northwest. Workshops explored topics such as regenerative design, permaculture, community building, social justice, sustainability, mindfulness, and cultural creativity. The weekend also included yoga and movement classes, live painters, and music performances from local community members. Though the gathering was modest in size, the experience revealed something powerful. Participants shared meals, knowledge, and creative expression, planting the first seeds of what the convergence would become.
2022
Weaving the Web
of Connection
OCT 1-2 2022
EARTH SPACE PDX
In 2022, the convergence returned to EARTH Space for its second year and continued to grow. That year’s theme, “Weaving the Web of Connection,” reflected a deepening awareness that the challenges of our time cannot be addressed alone. Over the course of two days, participants gathered to share skills, ideas, creativity, and embodied practices that strengthened relationships with each other and with the living world. Workshops, music, art, and community meals created a micro-festival experience where people could reconnect with the understanding that every person carries unique gifts to contribute to the wider web of life. The gathering reinforced the idea that cultural transformation begins not with grand solutions, but with people learning how to show up for one another in meaningful ways.
2023
Course Correcting
Our (R)evolution
OCT 6-8 2023
CENTER FOR RURAL LIVELIHOODS
By 2023, it was clear that the convergence had outgrown its original urban setting. The vision had always included bringing people onto the land — gathering in forests, sharing meals outdoors, and learning directly from the ecosystems around them. That year the convergence expanded into a forest gathering through a collaboration with the Northwest Permaculture Convergence. Hosted at the Center for Rural Livelihoods, the event welcomed hundreds of participants for a three-day campout under the theme “Course Correcting Our (R)evolution.” Inspired by the permaculture principle of applying self-regulation and accepting feedback, the gathering invited participants to reflect on the social and ecological upheavals of recent years and explore how movements for change can grow with greater humility, resilience, and solidarity. Surrounded by forests, gardens, and agroforestry systems, the convergence created an immersive environment where learning, reflection, and cultural celebration could unfold together.
2024
Building Bridges
of Reciprocity
SEP 27-29
LOST VALLEY EDUCATION CENTER
The following year marked a major turning point for the convergence. After relocating to Eugene, Ashley connected with Setesh Free, founder of Reciprocity Music. Though they had not met before, many mutual friends encouraged them to connect. Setesh had previously lived at Lost Valley Education Center, where he served as an event coordinator and helped produce numerous gatherings. As they shared stories of their work, it became clear that their visions were deeply aligned. Conscious Growth had been cultivating spaces for ecological education and cultural transformation, while Reciprocity Music was building a platform for artists whose work centers meaningful impact and community connection. Together they decided to co-produce the convergence at Lost Valley. While walking the land during early planning, Ashley experienced a moment of clarity about how the gathering could be structured. Drawing from the elemental philosophy that had shaped the early vision of Conscious Growth, she designed the convergence around the five elements — Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit — both in the physical layout of the land and in the flow of the event itself. At the center of the meadow stands a sacred fire pit, which became the heart of the gathering. This space represents Spirit, where participants gather each morning and evening for ceremonies, meals, music, and reflection. From this center, workshops unfold across the land within elemental spaces dedicated to earth-based skills, creative expression, communication and systems thinking, and emotional healing. The theme for 2024, “Building Bridges of Reciprocity,” emerged directly from listening to the land. Earlier that year, a winter ice storm had swept through Lost Valley. A tree was uprooted and fell across a bridge that connected two parts of the land, destroying it. In preparation for the convergence, members of the community rebuilt the bridge together. This moment became a powerful symbol for the gathering itself. The convergence was building bridges in many ways — between organizations, between cultures, and between communities. Conscious Growth formed a new partnership with Reciprocity Music, and relationships deepened with Kalapuya elders and Indigenous descendants of the land, who joined the gathering to offer the opening ceremony. In 2024, the Conscious Growth Convergence welcomed around five hundred participants into this living experiment in reciprocity.
2025
Standing Strong
Like an Oak
OCT 2-5 2025
LOST VALLEY EDUCATION CENTER
The convergence continued to grow in 2025, expanding into a four-day gathering that welcomed more than seven hundred participants. Once again, the theme emerged from listening to the land. A winter ice storm had passed through Lost Valley, breaking large limbs from one of the great oak trees near the meadow. Rather than removing the fallen branches, members of the community used them to create a protective circle around the tree. Despite the damage, the oak remained standing — strong, rooted, and alive. This moment became the inspiration for the 2025 theme: “Standing Strong Like an Oak.” Throughout the weekend, participants reflected on what it means to remain grounded and resilient during times of political upheaval, ecological crisis, and social uncertainty. The oak tree itself became a sacred site within the convergence, where grief rituals were held inside the protective circle formed from its fallen limbs. Across the land, the elemental structure of the gathering continued to guide the experience. Workshops explored ecological stewardship, community resilience, cultural healing, and regenerative living, while music, song circles, and evening celebrations brought participants back together around the sacred fire. By this point, the Conscious Growth Convergence had grown far beyond its humble beginnings in a small Portland community space. Yet the heart of the gathering remained the same: a temporary village where people come together to learn from the land, share knowledge, and remember the power of community in shaping a more resilient future.
