Bioneers Conference discusses sustainability
Making Cache Valley ecologically sustainable is the theme of the 2008 Utah Bioneers Conference at USU, said Michael Dietz, assistant professor and extension specialist in sustainable living who is on this year’s conference planning committee.
The three-day, conference from Oct. 17 – 19 is the fifth of its kind. This is Dietz’s second conference.
“We wanted to put a bigger focus on local issues,” he said. “People currently have a lot of concerns about energy and food and the environment.”
He said local ecological sustainability is possible through small actions if everyone did them. On any given day a person has a variety of choices, he said, such as going to school, what to eat, what to do as a recreational activity, etc. Being smart with those choices and making environmentally-friendly decisions will go a long way.
Students are not exempt from being concerned from the issues of a sustainable community, he said, but rather are encouraged to be a part of the change. To encourage more student involvement, this year the conference offers a special student price of $15 for all three days, including three gourmet meals made from locally-grown food. Students should make every effort they can to come, he said, not only to learn more about their environment and practical solutions to environmental problems affecting everyone, but to also take part in the local activities and musicians that come to the conference.
Some professors, too, he said, offer credit for going to the conference and there is a class for credit to simply attend the conference, he said. Students should also encourage their professors, as well as members of the community to attend, he said.
“There’s something of interest to everyone,” Dietz said. “It’s not just a green, tree-hugger’s conference.”
Because this year’s conference is directed locally, Dietz said the goal of the conference is to help the average citizen see connections between what’s going on nationally and what’s going on in their own backyard. The nationally-drawn speakers are varied, he said.
This year’s keynote speaker is Craig Denton, professor of communications at the University of Utah, according to a press release for the Bioneers Conference. The local portion includes more than 40 presenters with subjects varying from biofuels and alternative energy, personal finance, green interior design, alternative transportation, sustainable building techniques and emergency preparedness.
“It’s not a boring conference, that’s for sure,” Dietz said.
The Utah Bioneers was founded in 1990 as an organization to promote “practical environmental solutions and innovative social strategies for restoring Earth’s imperiled ecosystems and healing our human communities,” the information states. According to the information, the conference is just one of many ways the Utah Bioneers seek to promote these things.
Dietz is in his second year of planning the conference but Jim Goodwin and Jack Greene, conference co-chairs, have planned it all five, he said. Despite being relatively new to the conference, Dietz said he has really enjoyed it and encourages all to come and participate.
“It’s been a neat thing,” he said.
Conference cost is $15 for students, $50-$95 for regular admission and $35-$70 for seniors. Registration is available at the door but pre-registration is preferred. For more information, go to extension.usu.edu/bioneers.
–lisa.m.christensen@aggiemail.usu.edu