With spring and green on the minds of many Minnesotans this sunny March 1, the city of Minneapolis has announced its agenda for its Fifth Annual Neighborhood Sustainability Conference, where neighbors can gather for an all-day event focused on sustainable issues and grassroots projects like neighborhood energy conservation, rain gardens, composting, community gardening, and more. An entire schedule is listed below.
The event is free (that's right--free!), but registration is required.
5th Annual Neighborhood Sustainability Conference
Saturday March 13, 2010 8:30am to 4:30pm,
Central Lutheran Church,
333 12th Street South Minneapolis, MN 55404
(next to the Minneapolis Convention Center)
FREE - Please please pre-register at
www.afors.org or call 612-331-1099
(Optional box lunch for $5, parking $8 or car pool or take metro transit)
for community volunteers from neighborhoods, congregations and schools.
Find great resources for your spring and summer neighborhood projects including funding sources, project tool kits and successful project ideas from other neighborhoods. Network with volunteers from your neighborhood over lunch and with 500 volunteers from other metro communities in topic workshops. Link up with more than 30 resource organizations with project resources on gardening, water quality, walking/ biking, trees and energy.
Detailed AGENDA Twin Cities Neighborhood Sustainability Conference, Saturday March 13, 2010, 8:30am to 4:30pm, Central Lutheran Church, Mpls
8:30am - Registration and Refreshments
9am – Keynote - Placemaking – Reclaiming our Public Spaces and Building Community- through street painting, public art and greening projects. Mark Lakeman from the City Repair Project, Portland OR
10 to 11:30 - Grassroots Project Workshops – Energy Conservation (Metro CERTS), Complete Streets/ Biking and Walking (Bike/Walk Twin Cities), Rain Gardens (Master Gardeners), Composting (Eureka Recycling), Emerald Ash Borer/ Tree Planting (Hamline Midway, DNR), Community Gardening (Gardening Matters), Transition Northfield, Global Sufficiency Network/ Dual Currencies
11:30 to 12:30 - Participatory Design Charrettes - Participate in extreme makeovers with permaculture designers, and neighborhood residents - Seward Block Clubs – traffic calming, St. Luke Presbyterian suburban food production, Central Corridor/ Frogtown Farm and the Natural Step for Communities
12:30 - Meet for lunch with others from your neighborhood to share your project ideas for the spring /summer. $5 box lunch available please pre-register or bring your own lunch.
2pm to 3:30pm - Organizing and Outreach Skill Building Sessions – Learn ways to grow your green team with School Environmental Clubs, Congregations, Taking the 12 Steps of Transition in your Community, Block Clubs & Neighborhoods, Public Artists, Urban Farmers, Community Gardens, Environmental Commissions, State and Federal Policy, Green Career Networking
3:30 to 4:30- Networking, exhibitors and reception - with food donated by local organic restaurants.
The public is invited to the free conference but pre-registration for the conference is requested through the Alliance for Sustainability, www.afors.org or 612-331-1099.