http://www.umasspermacultureconference.com/

The University of Massachusetts Amherst proudly announces the Permaculture Your Campus Conference held at the UMass Amherst campus June 20-22, 2012 with special keynote speaker Frances Moore Lappé, author of 18 books, including the 3-million copy Diet for a Small Planet. 

The Permaculture Your Campus Conference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0EybKrViV8

At the international Permaculture Your Campus Conference, directors of the award-winning UMass Permaculture Initiative will give an introduction to permaculture in a campus setting and share the value that it has created for the University of Massachusetts system and local community. Participants will learn how to develop a successful permaculture initiative for their campus and will leave with their own individualized action plan for their own campus permaculture initiative.

For more details about the conference, check out our Info About the Conference page and our Conference Schedule page.


Info About the Conference

When: June 20-22, 2012

Where: University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, MA

Who should register: The Permaculture Your Campus Conference is designed to incorporate a range of professional and academic backgrounds. Those who should attend include:
Academic professionals (or aspiring),
Foodservice managers and marketing staff,
Landscaping and grounds staff,
Facilities staff,
Sustainability Managers and Coordinators,
Ecological Designers,
Students,
Anyone interested in learning more about permaculture in a campus setting.

Anyone can register, whether you've never worked on permaculture before, or whether you're already practicing permaculture on your campus.

What is the PYC Conference?
Permaculture Your Campus (PYC) is a working-conference that provides the education and necessary tools to implement a successful permaculture garden initiative on your college, university, or school campus. PYC Conference topics include:
 A brief overview of what is permaculture
 How permaculture gardens add value to your institution or organization
 The economics (costs and savings) of permaculture gardens
 Developing your action plan that will have your first project outlined, in detail, from start to finish.
 Looking at UMass Permaculture, a case study
When/where?
The dates of the conference are June 20 – 22, 2012.
It will be held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, located in Amherst, Massachusetts.
 
Who should register?
The PYC conference is designed for 1) academic professionals and school officials, 2) foodservice staff, 3) students, and 4) ecological designers.
 
Why attend?
Learn how campus permaculture gardens make perfect sense economically as well as environmentally and socially. Permaculture is often the missing piece that connects these three elements and UMass Amherst offers a successful case study that you can easily replicate once we thoroughly examine it together.
 
Benefits of coming with a Group:
We recommend having three (3) or more individuals from the same institution attend this working-conference for multiple reasons. Permaculture tells us that working in groups increases a project or program's success rate compared to a single person working on it alone. The cost per individual is also reduced by registering as a group, all at the same time.
 
All participants will leave the conference with their own unique action plan that has their first project outlined, in detail, from start to finish.

Conference Fees
By May 16th:
Professional Registration - $325
Student Registration - $150
Professional Group Registration - $275/person (3 or more from same university or organization)

After May 16th:
Professional Registration - $425
Student Registration - $250
Professional Group Registration - $300/person (3 or more from same university or organization)

Please register by June 5th to avoid a $35 late fee.

Accommodations/Lodging
UMass Hotel at the Campus Center  is the venue for the conference.  Rooms have been set aside for our conference at a rate of $116/room/night plus tax.  In order to get this special conference rate please register by May 23rd and reference group code PERMC.  You may reserve your hotel room on-line using the link at the left on this page.

North Dormitory Rooms at UMass are also available for our conference at the rate of $50/room/night. A typical residence hall room is arranged to provide each occupant with a dresser, desk, chair, unmade single bed, linen pack, pillow and blanket.  The linen pack contains two sheets, a pillowcase and two towels.  The North Residence halls are air-conditioned.  The suites are configured with four single rooms.  Each suite has two individual bathrooms, a common lounge area, and a kitchen. The kitchen does not have cooking utensils, dishware, or silverware.

Cancellation Policy:  Cancellations received by June 14, 2012 will receive a refund less a $35 cancellation fee.  No refunds for cancellations received after June 14, 2012.


For more information about the conference contact Ryan Harb at conference@umasspermaculture.com
For questions regarding registration please call 413-577-8102.



How to register: Visit our registration page.

What to expect at the Permaculture Your Campus Conference

At the Permaculture Your Campus Conference, groups and individuals will come prepared with a specific site in mind that they envision as a good candidate for their first (or next) campus permaculture landscape. Over the course of the conference, Coordinators and Directors of the UMass Permaculture Initiative will give a basic introduction to permaculture in a campus setting along with a case study about our UMass Permaculture project.

For the rest of this working conference, we'll help your team work through your personalized next steps for creating permaculture landscapes on your campus.

At the close of the conference, additional (optional) tours to nearby permaculture landscapes will be offered to provide multiple examples of successful permaculture sites.

Conference Schedule

The conference schedule below is subject to slight changes before June, 2012. Please revisit this page for updates and/or if you would like to receive e-mail updates, please send an e-mail to Conference@UMassPermaculture.com with the subject line “interest.”

Conference registration opens on Wednesday, June 20 at 12pm and participants should check-in on the 9th floor of the UMass Amherst Campus Center if arriving before 4pm. If arriving between 4:00 – 5:00pm, please go directly to the 11th floor of the Campus Center.

We are adding an optional tour for attendees to visit local permaculture landscapes after the conference.