World explorer Dan Buettner to speak at 2009 conference

Dan Buettner

World explorer and National Geographic writer Dan Buettner will speak at the Education Minnesota Professional Conference Oct. 15 at Saint Paul RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul. His 10:15 a.m. presentation is free and open to the public.

Buettner, a Minnesota native whose bicycle treks and “quests” have taken him across several continents, currently is exploring what he calls “Blue Zones” – regions of the globe where people live particularly long, healthy lives. With demographers and physicians, he has studied factors such as diet and lifestyle that contribute to a vital old age.

Last year he published a book based on his findings, “The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.” He has also developed several related school curricula, including a four-week health and fitness challenge for kids and an intergenerational Blue Zones Legacy Project in which students learn from “super seniors.”

A pioneer in interactive education, Buettner draws students and teachers into his quests via the Internet. His most recent expedition was this spring, to a newly recognized Blue Zone in Ikaria, Greece.

Buettner set several world records for endurance bicycling before founding Earthtreks – the company responsible for the 1995 MayaQuest expedition – and later Quest Network Inc. His work as a writer and photographer has appeared in National Geographic World and other magazines, and he has discussed his Blue Zones research on several national television shows.

Other speakers at the Professional Conference include broadcast journalist Ray Suarez of national public television and radio, who will give the keynote address Oct. 15. All conference events are free and open to the public.

June 11, 2009