This year, OGS has selected the theme of Resilience, Recovery, and Renewal for the 2025 Spring Conference. This theme serves as a strategic framework to guide our efforts in assisting the region's recovery from Hurricane Helene while also fostering the imagination of a new future. It is essential to recognize that restoring our food system to its former state is insufficient; we must come together as a community to engage in constructive discussions and develop the necessary skills to advance collectively toward our goals.

In addition to a core curriculum that will remain consistent with previous years for gardeners, farmers, and individuals interested in sustainable living, all speakers will reflect on how their expertise can provide value during this pivotal moment. Additionally, OGS will introduce three specialized tracks that will address our most urgent needs in the rebuilding process. These topics will encompass:

• Understanding water and soil contamination

• Rebuilding/repairing damaged soils

• Closed loop systems

• Solar and other “off-grid” systems

• Mutual Aid

• Cooking and food preservation as resilience practices

• Lean farming and risk management

Evolutionary Change founder, Don Hall, will be presenting a workshop on “Five Steps to Regenerative Food Systems” from 11:00am to 12:30pm on both Saturday and Sunday: “Although the benefits of local, regenerative food systems are widely known, local food is still only a small percentage of the whole. How can we spread this movement beyond a core of dedicated supporters into the mainstream? The Five Stages of Transition present a clear and accessible pathway for broadening, deepening, and scaling up our efforts.”