Description
Kyle Trefny was 18 years-old in 2020 when skies in the San Francisco Bay Area and much of the Pacific Coast turned orange with wildfire smoke. He shares how that moment led him to become a wildland firefighter and to join other youth in creating FireGeneration Collaborative (FireGen), dedicated to imagining and building a future beyond intense wildfires and their devastating health impacts, a future of healthy communities and livelihoods that recenters Indigenous leadership in land management. Kyle reflects upon the power of questions, of friendship, of breaking negative cycles, of art, of mentors and elders, and of taking leaps of faith in life.
This Young Leaders talk was delivered at the 2026 Bioneers Conference.
https://bioneers.org/
0:00 Beginning
0:07 Kyle's Keynote begins
10:48 Outro