Facilitating Sustainable Agriculture:
A Participatory National Conference on
Post- Secondary Education

January 24-25, 2006
Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California

Third Announcement and Update:

The UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences & Student Farm, and the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), are jointly convening a national sustainable agriculture education conference on January 24–25, 2006.

Facilitating Sustainable Agriculture: A Participatory National Conference on Post-Secondary Education will take place at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California.

Conference Goal: The goal of the conference is to facilitate the continued development of educational programs in sustainable agriculture at U.S. colleges and universities.

Who Should Attend: Faculty, administrators, staff and students involved or interested in courses, curricula and educational programs in sustainable agriculture are encouraged to attend.

Conference Format and Content
A combination of interactive workshop formats and traditional presentation formats will be used. Click here for the conference format, content, and schedule. Poster presentations, an instructional materials exchange session and ample time for networking are scheduled.

Conference content will reflect the needs and interests of conference participants, as indicated through a needs assessment survey of conference registrants (see below). Initial survey results indicate strong interest in topics such as the integration of natural and social sciences in courses and curricula; the roles of experiential and practical learning, integrated classroom and field learning, internships and student farms; developing inter-institutional collaborations; developing and maintaining institutional support; discussing existing programs’ curricula, instructional resources, teaching methods, strategies and facilities; internal and external stakeholder participation in curricula; and, funding opportunities for sustainable agriculture education.

Information and Registration
To register for the conference, there are two steps:

1. Registration Form
Download the Registration Form. Print a hard copy of the form, fill it out, and mail or fax it with your payment to the Ecological Farming Association (see address and fax number on form). Information on lodging and meals is included on the form. Students, please use the Student Registration Form.
Note: Registration fee waivers may be available for students; for more information contact Albie Miles at afmiles (at) ucsc.edu prior to registration.

2. Needs Assessment and Interest Form
Download the Needs Assessment and Interest Form. Students, please use the Student Needs Assessment and Interest Form. Do not print the needs assessment form; complete it electronically and e-mail your completed form as an attachment to: afmiles (at) ucsc.edu. Though input will be accepted up to the beginning of the conference, we ask that you please submit your responses as soon as possible to afmiles (at) ucsc.edu.

Early Registration Deadline: November 15, 2005. (After this deadline, late fees apply. Note: late fees do not apply to student registrants.)

Poster Session and Instructional Materials Exchange:
The conference will include a poster session and an instructional materials exchange session. Submissions of poster titles are due by January 6, 2006. Submissions of space reservations for the material sharing/exchange are due January 6, 2006. Later submissions will be accommodated on a space available basis. Please submit your poster titles and/or space reservations to afmiles (at) ucsc.edu.

Student Participation:
Undergraduate and graduate student participation is strongly encouraged. Please notify students who may be interested. Student registration fee waivers are available. Please register as soon as possible using the Student Registration Form (see above). Late fees do not apply to student registrants. Please contact Albie Miles at afmiles (at) ucsc.edu for more information.

Conference Speakers and Workshop Facilitators:
Speakers and Facilitators include: Lee Altier, College of Agriculture, Cal State University, Chico; Richard Bawden, Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, Michigan State University; John Biernbaum, Dept. of Plant and Soil Sciences, Michigan State University; Nancy Creamer, Director, Center for Environmental Farming Systems, North Carolina State University; Hunter Francis, Director, Sustainable Agriculture Resource Consortium, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; Isao Fujimoto, Community Development and Asian American Studies, UC Davis; Julie Grossman, Applied Plant Sciences, Soil Biology and Agroecology, Cornell University; Nancy Grudens-Schuck, Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University; Julie Guthman, Community Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz; Geir Lieblein, NOVA Agroecology, UMB, Norway; Albie Miles, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, UCSC; Damian Parr, Graduate Student in Agriculture Education, UC Davis; Marriane Sarantonio, Plant, Soil, & Environmental Sciences, University of Maine; Michelle Schroeder, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University; Stefan Seiter, Linn-Benton Community College, Horticulture Department, Oregon; N. Sriskandarajah, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark; Mark Van Horn, Director, Student Experimental Farm, UC Davis; Betty Wells, Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University.

Sponsored by:
UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences & Student Farm:
caes.ucdavis.edu/; studentfarm.ucdavis.edu/
UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS): zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/
The Farm Foundation: www.farmfoundation.org/

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Note: The conference will take place in association with the Ecological Farming Conference (January 25–28) at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California. For more information on the Ecological Farming Conference, please see: www.eco-farm.org/ For information on transportation and directions to Asilomar, please see: www.visitasilomar.com/