Track Lead: Lynn Benander, Co-op Power
Sustainable Biodiesel: Closing the Loop with Used Cooking Oil Feedstocks
Session A: 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Room 110)
Locally-sourced used cooking oil is the only biodiesel feedstock that benefits all stakeholders in the local economy: community members, restaurants, biodiesel producers and consumers. This session challenges attendees to develop their own messaging and marketing strategies to engage their favorite restaurants in the process known as the Community Biofuels Cycle.
Presenters: Thomas Miner, Northeast Biodiesel Company, LLC; Steven Ronhave, Northeast Biodiesel Company, LLC
Community-Owned Community Solar Models & Strategies
Session A: 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Room 206)
Join a gathering of the New England Local Energy Network’s Community Solar Task Force. Learn about the work they are doing to create enabling policy in New England states and about the projects they have underway, built, and set aside. Share what you’re working on, and engage in conversation about what we’ve accomplished and what’s next for community-owned community solar.
Facilitators: Isaac Baker, Co-op Power; Lynn Benander, Co-op Power
Resource People: Brooks Winner, Island Institute; John Kondos, Monadnock Sustainability Network; Peter McPhee, Massachusettes Clean Energy Center
Food Sustainability at Smith College: Revisioning College Dining
Session A: 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Room 204)
In this workshop we will describe the successful efforts to date as well as a new push for greater sustainability of our foods that is being unveiled this semester at Smith. Smith Dining has set aggressive goals: to double it's local and sustainable purchases by 2020, reduce or divert its waste and increase operational efficiencies to lessen our collective impact.
Presenter: Andrew Cox, DIrector of Food Services
Another World Is Possible And Growing: An Introduction to the Solidarity Economy
Session A: 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Clearly, we need ‘another world’ - one that is more just and sustainable - but it can seem hard to imagine how to get there. The good news is that there’s already a strong foundation to build on. The solidarity economy is building on real world practices to make ‘another world’ a reality.
Presenter: Emily Kawano, Wellspring Cooperative and US Solidarity Economy Network
College and Community Engagement in Justice and Sustainability
Session A: 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Room 202)
Discuss case studies from Smith College’s Jandon Center for Community Engagement and the UMASS Office of Civic Engagement and Service Learning. Come learn about successful College and Community collaborations at Smith College and UMass. Discuss what makes them successful and how communities can partner with local colleges and universities to work more effectively for justice and sustainability in their communities.
Presenters: Denys Candy, Jandon Center for Community Engagement at Smith College; Joseph Krupczynski, Office of Civic Engagement and Service Learning at The University of Massachusetts at Amherst
The Symbiosis of Solar and Wind Power
Session B: 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Room 110)
A case study presentation of the Berkshire East wind turbine and 500kW solar farm. Bill will describe the important outreach to the local community to ensure that this project could progress with local approval and the impressive payback from the symbiosis of the two power sources.
Facilitator: Louise Reardon, Co-op Power
Presenter: Bill Farrell, Berkshire East
Are you Ready to Build a Directly-Owned Community Shared Solar Project?
Session B: 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Room 206)
Walk through a step-by-step process to build community shared solar array in your neighborhood in partnership with Co-op Power. This model works in Massachusetts and New York within the current policy framework.
Presenter: Isaac Baker, Co-op Power, Community Shared Solar
The Future of Food Waste & Energy in Massachusetts
Session B: 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Room 204)
Over 40 percent of all food produced in America ends up in a landfill. In the past five years, states like Massachusetts and Vermont have been requiring waste producers to work with local partners to find better alternatives. Join a conversation among industry leaders from across the state around scalable strategies like composting and anaerobic digestion that will help reduce waste, produce renewable energy, and bring nutrients back into our food system.
Facilitator: Ben Underwood, Co-op Power
Presenters: Emily Kawano, Wellspring Coopoerative; Fred Rose, Wellspring Cooperative
Financing A Grassroots Economy
Session B: 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Room 211)
Learn about financing community-based, community-building, community-sustaining projects from within your community. Hear about accessing funds through community loan funds, private placements, direct public offerings, co-op member loans, and crowdfunding. Bring your own ideas to an open discussion of experiences, practicalities, challenges, pros and cons of each approach. Help build this critical piece of grassroots economics.
Presenters: Rebecca Busanski, PV Grows; Scott Reed, Invest Here Now; Seth Lapore, Performing Artist, Educator & Connector
Artists: Allies in Activism
Session B: 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Room 202)
Co-op Power’s graphic messenger, Phyllis Labanowski, believes that art and creativity are needed now more than ever. Join her for a visual presentation and discussion. Hear about inspiring ways that art and culture has supported the work of social justice and civic engagement. Learn more about the ways art has served Co-op Power.
Presenter: Phyllis Labanowski, Artist
Renewable Heating Options: The Latest on Heat Pumps, Wood Pellet, and Solar Heat
Session C: 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Room 110)
Thinking about a renewable thermal heating system for your home or business? Want to compares a number of different systems, learn about mini-splits, air & ground-source heat pumps, pellet-fired boilers & solar-assisted space heating systems to retrofit existing buildings and in new construction. Compare the performance of these systems to the best condensing boiler & furnace systems fired on natural gas, propane or oil. Distribution systems covered include radiant floors, panel radiators, convectors, and more.
Presenters: Bart Bales, Bales Energy Associates; Peter McPhee, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Climate Action Resilience Planning with an Explicit Social Justice Mission
Session C: 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Room 206)
Arise for Social Justice, Partners for a Healthier Community and the City of Springfield are getting ready to host an engagement process for the City's Climate Action Resilience Plan that includes an explicit social justice mission. Come hear their plans, give feedback and share your experience.
Facilitator: Catherine Ratte, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Presenters: Michaelann Bewsee, ARISE for Social Justice; Jesse Lederman, ARISE for Social Justice; Lisa Torres, ARISE for Social Justice; Sarita Hudson, Partners for a Healthier Community; David Glassberg, University of Massachusetts
Going Deeper: How to Create More Inclusive, Holistic Communities and Projects
Session C: 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Room 204)
In this interactive workshop, panelists will share examples of organizations that are creating holistic programs bridging social services and the environment, as well as tools from organizations that engage diverse community partners and constituents. Join us and learn how you can deepen your work and expand your funding portfolio.
Presenters: Ally Philip, New England Grassroots Environment Fund; Nakia Navarro, New England Grassroots Environment Fund
Sustainable Business Start-Up Pitches
Session C: 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Room 211)
What makes an effective business pitch? Sign up to give your pitch at registration (or email Isaac@cooppower.coop). Work in small groups to craft a pitch and then sit on a mock investor panel to score the pitches you hear.
Convenors: Kirsten Bonanza, Business Development Consultant; Isaac Baker, Co-op Power
Recreating Underserved Urban Neighborhoods
Session C: 2:45 - 4:00 p.m. (Room 202)
We'll explore various approaches and partnerships for improving the quality of life and sustainability of now marginalized communities. What can we do together? What has been successful? What often fails? What are our best practices moving forward?
Presenter: David Queeley, EcoVillage Coordinator, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation