Registration:

Pre-registration is no longer available, but you can register on the day of the conference at Old Town Plaza, 102 W. Eufaula St.  Follow this link for a map to the location.

Tracks:

Friday
Powering Up: Energy, Business, and Design
Human to Human: Non-Violent Communication and Building Communities
On the Porch: Politics, Policy, and Leadership
Taking It Easy: Authentic Lives and Simple Living

Saturday
Sharing Space: Humans and Other Creatures
Green with Spirit: Religion and Environmental Ethics
Getting Around Lite: Transportation and Biofuels
Dwelling Well: The Sustainable Home from Concept to Construction
Growing Up Green: Stories, Imagination, and Play (ages 3-12)

Both Days
Around the Kitchen Table: Food, Farming, and Permaculture

Keynote Speakers:

Friday's keynote speaker is Julie Frieder, an environmental analyst for the Calvert Group, a large mutual fund company specializing in socially responsible investing. Frieder has worked for sustainability in the public and private sectors for 15 years, including positions at the Environmental Protection Agency and on the President’s Council on Sustainable Development.

On Saturday the keynote speaker will be Joel Salatin, a nationally known sustainable agriculture pioneer. Salatin is the owner of Polyface Farms, which he describes as “a family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.” He is the author of several books, including Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From The Local Food Front.

Other Speakers Include:

• David Fleischaker, Oklahoma Secretary of Energy, discussing the “Ten Rules for a Rational Energy Policy.”
• Diana Leafe Christian, author of Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities.
• Todd Stephens, sales and marketing director for Tulsa Biofuels LLC and co-chair of the American Institute of Architects Committee On The Environment.
• Duane Elgin, author of Voluntary Simplicity: Toward A Way Of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich and Promise Ahead: A Vision Of Hope & Action For Humanity’s Future.
• Dr. Linda Wallace, University of Oklahoma botany professor, speaking on the ecological ramifications of biofuels.
• Fenton Rood, director of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, on the DEQ Green Team and how other organizations can reduce their environmental impact.
• Harlan Hentges, attorney with the firm Mulinix Ogden Hall Andrews & Ludlam, on sustainability in government and the law.
• Ellen J. Censky, director of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, speaking on biodiversity.
• Tom Boyd, professor and director of outreach for the Religious Studies Department at the University of Oklahoma, on Christian understanding of the natural world.

Exhibitors:

If your organization wants to become an exhibitor at the conference, e-mail Susie.Shields@deq.state.ok.us.

You can also download our exhibitor packet (PDF).

Exhibitors confirmed so far include:

• ACOG Clean Air Committee
• Barefoot Books
• Buy Fresh, Buy Local
• Carrie Dickerson Foundation
• Centaurus Technologies and Innovations, Inc
• DEQ Green Team
• Edward Jones Investment Office, Edmond
• Electric Green, Inc.
• Good Karma Domes
• Goodwill Industries
• Guaranteed Watt Savers
• Homestead School
• Keep Oklahoma Beautiful
• Land Legacy
• Native Landscapes
• OG+E Energy Corp.
• Oklahoma Master Naturalists
• Oklahoma Sierra Club
• OSN Chapters
• OSU Environmental Science Graduate Program
• Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB)
• Oklahoma Windpower Initiative (OWPI)
• Quaker Earthcare Witness
• Sunrise Alternative Energy
• Task Design, Inc.
• The Current
• To Market, LLC
• Troque Farms

Farmers' Market Exhibitors:

• Earth Elements Farm
• Wagon Creek Creamery

Accommodation Information:

http://www.visitnorman.com/normanhotels.asp
or when registering, you can request a host family.

Click here for more information on Building a Sustainable Oklahoma Workshop for Green Oklahoma that will take place during the conference.

Sponsors for the conference include:

OG+E Energy Corp.; Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; Sierra Club Oklahoma Chapter; Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture; Suzette Hatfield; OU Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environment (IPE); Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment; Bergey Windpower; Sunrise Alternative Energy; NONZine; Modern Wealth Management; Dr. Huntian Cao and the American Planning Association.

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

For more information: Gene Perry at (405) 640-9119 or info@normansustainability.org

Annual Oklahoma Sustainability Conference to be held March 28-29

Red Dirt, Green Culture: growing healthy communities

OKLAHOMA — A sustainable agriculture pioneer and an analyst for a socially responsible investing mutual fund will deliver keynote addresses at the 7th annual Oklahoma Sustainability Network Conference on March 28-29.

Downtown Norman will host more than 30 speakers and workshops on subjects including transportation, biofuels, community building and conflict resolution, alternative energy, religion and environmental ethics.

“This event is important because it attracts people from all backgrounds and professions to access sustainability from perspectives on science, business, faith, advocacy and community-building,” said OSN President Kim Cooper-Hart. “Very few events offer this breadth of diversity in speakers, topics, and attendees. Everyone and their families are welcome – this year for the first time we have special sessions for kids. Please join us, you’ll love it!”

The Saturday kids’ sessions will feature storytelling and other programs designed for parents and children ages 3-12 to learn together what they can do to protect the environment. On Friday night, The Tall Cotton String Band will play at a Hootenanny open to all attendees.

Friday’s keynote speaker, Julie Frieder, is an environmental analyst for the Calvert Group, a large mutual fund company that specializes in socially responsible investing. Frieder has worked for sustainability in the public and private sectors for 15 years, including positions at the Environmental Protection Agency and on the President’s Council on Sustainable Development.

On Saturday the keynote speaker will be Joel Salatin, a nationally known sustainable agriculture pioneer. Salatin is the owner of Polyface Farms, which he describes as “a family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.” He is the author of several books, including Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From The Local Food Front.

A special reception and book signing with Salatin and author Diane Leafe Christian will be held Saturday from 6 - 7:30 pm in the Santa Fe Train Depot.

Additional presenters include:

• David Fleischaker, Oklahoma Secretary of Energy, discussing the “Ten Rules for a Rational Energy Policy.”
• Diana Leafe Christian, author of Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities.
• Todd Stephens, sales and marketing director for Tulsa Biofuels LLC and co-chair of the American Institute of Architects Committee On The Environment.
• Duane Elgin, author of Voluntary Simplicity: Toward A Way Of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich and Promise Ahead: A Vision Of Hope & Action For Humanity’s Future.
• Dr. Linda Wallace, University of Oklahoma botany professor, speaking on the ecological ramifications of biofuels.
• Fenton Rood, director of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, on the DEQ Green Team and how other organizations can reduce their environmental impact.
• Harlan Hentges, attorney with the firm Mulinix Ogden Hall Andrews & Ludlam, on sustainability in government and the law.
• Ellen J. Censky, director of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, speaking on biodiversity.
• Tom Boyd, professor and director of outreach for the Religious Studies Department at the University of Oklahoma, on Christian understanding of the natural world.

Events will be located throughout downtown Norman, at venues such as the Norman Public Library, Mainsite Art Gallery, Norman Chamber of Commerce, Dreamer Concepts Studio and Foundation, Andrews Park and Republic Bank. Transportation between sites will be assisted by bike taxis and walking guides.

“We are so excited to hold the conference in downtown Norman,” said conference organizer Kara McKee. “Sustainability is about how we live our lives, and this year’s conference will take place inside Norman’s active community centers, from the city council chambers to the Mainsite Art Gallery and everywhere in between. Downtown Norman will transform into a walkable sustainability festival!”

Exhibits will be displayed at the Norman Santa Fe Train Depot, and participants will also have options to tour a local community garden and Norman’s first strawbale house construction site.

“This year we’re taking a look at what it takes to become a truly sustainable society,” McKee said. “We need every person bringing their skills and creativity to the table, and our speakers and workshops reflect that desire to engage all of Oklahoma.”

The Oklahoma Sustainability Network Conference will be held March 28 and 29 in downtown Norman, Oklahoma. For more information about the conference, go to http://www.normansustainability.org/ or call (405)640-9119. For information about OSN and to register, go to http://www.oksustainability.org/. The conference is presented by the Oklahoma Sustainability Network and hosted by the Norman Sustainability Network.

Sponsors for the conference include: OG&E; the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; the Sierra Club Oklahoma Chapter; the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture; Suzette Hatfield; IPE: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environment, University of Oklahoma; the Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment; Bergey Windpower; Sunrise Alternative Energy; Modern Wealth Management; TriVestco; Tulsa Biofuels.

###

Editor’s Note: For more information, photos or interviews or to attend the conference as working media at no charge, call Gene Perry at (405)640-9119 or e-mail info@normansustainability.org.

Previous OSN Conferences