Meriwether Hardie

Meriwether Hardie is a writer, land steward, and business leader whose work explores the intertwined futures of people, place, and food. Trained as both an environmental scientist and journalist, she has spent more than two decades at the nexus of climate, agriculture, and rural community resilience. Formerly president of a mission-driven land development and consulting firm, she oversaw complex working landscapes across the United States that linked regenerative agriculture, conservation, and rural economies. Earlier, at the Rainforest Alliance, she guided innovation initiatives with smallholder farmers in more than 15 countries, co-designing field-based experiments and mobilizing resources for sustainable finance. Her career began as a journalism fellow for Bill McKibben, reporting on the lived realities of farmers and ranchers throughout the Americas—a practice that continues to inform her attention to story, power, and place. A longtime instructor and guide for NOLS, Meriwether believes deeply in the power of facilitating wilderness experiences for people. She is currently at work on a book about the future of the American West, grounded in questions of land use, water, belonging, and rural change and informed in part by a five-plus-month horseback expedition she completed across the West in 2025.