About Bioregional Learning Center North Sea Delta
In the North Sea Delta where rivers meet the sea, communities are rediscovering how to live in harmony with the land that sustains them. The Proeftuin for Transition Acceleration, internationally known as the Bioregional Learning Center (BLC) North Sea Delta, is part of a growing global movement to regenerate the Earth from the ground up. Rooted in the landscapes, cultures and watersheds of the Netherlands, we work with pioneers and communities to reconnect ecological health, social well-being and local economies creating living examples of what a regenerative future can look like.
From a movement to a living laboratory for change
In the spring of 2023, the WWW movement (Wellbeing, Prosperity and a Deep Sense of Belonging) was born in the Netherlands, when transition thinker Kees Klomp brought together hundreds of pioneers, forerunners, inspirers and system changers in a WhatsApp group. It was a call to action, an invitation to join forces and turn shared purpose into practice.
From that moment, a co-creative process unfolded: events were organized, knowledge was exchanged, and a core group began mapping the needs, values and existing initiatives of the network. This process led to the creation of BLC North Sea Delta. A living laboratory where pioneering regional initiatives come together to learn, collaborate and accelerate change.
Driven by the understanding that connecting what already exists multiplies impact, BLC North Sea Delta became a space not only to talk about transformation, but to practice it through regenerative projects that strengthen both communities and landscapes.
A bioregional approach to regeneration
BLC North Sea Delta is part of the Design School for Regenerating Earth network. As Joe Brewer, founder of the Design School for Regenerating Earth writes:
The political boundaries of the world as they are today do not readily map onto the landscapes of challenges for ecological or social health. We need a different way of organizing ourselves. The most coherent way to organize humanity is in the bioregional approach of holistic landscapes and cultural identities.
This insight lies at the heart of our work.
Here, we connect ecological restoration with social and economic renewal. Where rivers, soils and communities are the guiding forces for a sustainable future. We see the watershed as a living system and our mission is to help communities rediscover their role within it. By linking local initiatives, we create coherence across projects and regions, accelerating systemic change.
What is a bioregional learning center?
This short video Joe Brewer introduces the idea behind bioregional learning centers: places where communities learn to see themselves as living landscapes and work together to regenerate their regions.
Location
The BLC North Sea Delta is physically located in Bunschoten, the Netherlands, at Buitenplaats Eemlandhoeve. A working farm with cows and arable fields, a small campsite, daycare facilities for the elderly, “randakkers” that provide food for the local asylum center and food bank, conference and meeting spaces, and of course, our own office in the attic of the old hay barn (below on the left). Above you see one of the fields.
Our mission: restoring watersheds as living systems
Rivers, soils and ecosystems are the lifelines of our world.
Yet decades of fragmentation and intensive use have depleted many of these natural systems. We work to restore entire watersheds, integrating nature and human life, by focusing on:
- Ecological restoration – Water, soil and biodiversity guide our actions.
- Empowered communities – Resilient futures begin with people who feel rooted and responsible in their region.
- New economic models – Local, regenerative economies that strengthen both land and livelihoods.
- Connecting initiatives – Creating synergy between existing efforts to accelerate transition.
Together, we aim to build a society that actively heals and regenerates its environment — for current and future generations.
On the left, you can see the rivers that flow into the North Sea. The North Sea Delta is part of this system.
Our vision: a regenerative future from within
Transformation happens locally: in landscapes, in communities, in daily life. We envision a future where regions are self-reliant, regenerative, and deeply connected to their ecosystems.
- Water, soil and biodiversity form the foundation for action.
- Communities are the driving force behind regeneration.
- New forms of ownership and governance keep value within the region and in service of the common good.
By shifting focus from short-term profit to the long-term regeneration of landscapes and societies, we build an economy that is not only circular, but restorative.
We work bioregionally — not within political borders, but within natural ecosystems. Our approach connects communities to their watershed, from source to sea.
Learning with living landscapes
As Joe Brewer puts it:
We can take existing knowledge and local organizing capacities and re-imagine them as being in service to holistic landscapes. Whether organized as a watershed, coastal estuary, inland trade network of rivers and lakes, or any other landscape pattern with a long history of ecological or economic connectivity, it is possible to treat this landscape pattern as a way to integrate and cooperate for regenerative goals.
This is what we practice in BLC North Sea Delta: activating learning ecosystems that help communities see themselves as living landscapes. We experiment with landscape funds, new governance models, and cross-sector cooperation to unlock the regenerative potential of regions.
The future of transition lies in the regions and it begins here.
Everyone can contribute.