Reclaiming Regenerative in the Age of Tech

Author:  Marlo Weekley

Date Published:  March 12, 2026

Reclaiming Regenerative in the Age of Tech: Ecologists in the Boardroom

      Bless the tech bros and Ai gurus trying to solve modern problems with crypto and technology. Honestly, bless anyone trying to save the planet, the economy, and humanity right now. It is appreciated. But why are the people trained in business finance and digital programming trying to solve problems that are fundamentally about nature? When the goal is climate repair and regeneration, the conversation needs to include people who have actually spent years with their hands in the dirt.

     Ecologists are watching big tech companies and startups writing “ecosystems” into their business structure. Companies are employing the very best software engineers to supposedly mimic nature’s most successful strategies. But there is something fishy about this. Something very amiss, and a core aspect that is missing here. Where are the regenerative ecologists in the boardroom?

     As rogue, unconventional ecologists and determined non-profits incessantly push through a sea of greenwashed businesses that are laser-focused on profit margins and scalability, ecosystems continue to be destroyed in the wake of a hyper-capitalist (and sometimes downright clueless) society.

     Regenerative strategy and carbon neutrality should absolutely be priorities in every industry, but why are these sustainable agendas pushing forward without the people who already understand how ecosystems work in real life? Funding, infrastructure, and large-scale coordination are essential to the great regeneration if we are to successfully continue as a species into the long-term foreseeable future.

    So, when the important meetings are held, and even in the everyday little choices as action plans inch along to their destination, where are the people who know how to compost or conserve wildlife? If we are serious about a regenerative future, founders and chief engineers with big visions need to be building teams that include regenerative ecologists and designers from the beginning.

    So who exactly are we trusting to lead the climate future? Are we putting that responsibility in the hands of people with PhDs in business and tech, but who were trained to make decisions in a sterile classroom, or solitary research in an office building? Or are we bringing in the people who have spent years on the land? We need real regenerative farmers on the front line with them.

     And when people post dreamy solarpunk futures online, it is worth asking who is rendering these ideas, and how sensible these designs actually are. We need regenerative professionals on business teams envisioning the future. People who actually understand nature’s decisions, and the resulting bounties or limitations thereof. People who know how life breaks down, transforms, and builds fertility again...

     If they are not willing to admit that to themselves, then they are not building a truly sustainable future. And if the right people are not in the room, the solutions they are building will never fully match the complexity of living ecosystems.

     Biomimicry in technology and business has a role. But none of it replaces an up-close and personal understanding of healthy, natural ecosystems designed by billions of years of trial and error. None of it replaces lived ecological symbiosis. The people who understand soil, water cycles, and plant communities need to be in the room when the decisions are made. Not as consultants brought in at the last minute, but as equal partners from the beginning. If we actually want regeneration instead of just the appearance of it, then the future needs to be designed with boots-on-the-ground, badass regenerative ecologists.