Since the inception, the organizers of the This Way to Sustainability Conference have tried to walk the talk. We have reduced the waste produced at our annual conference, used local organic food for meals, and mitigate travel by purchasing carbon offsets.

The theme for this year's conference is Connecting Communities and we are taking that theme deep into the structure of the conference. In the past we have established "tracks" and invited some people to make presentations, and invited other people to come listen. This year we are establishing five communities - learning, building, business, biotic, and advocacy - and we are asking people involved or interested in those sectors of our larger, global community to come together to propose a set of presentations and other interactions that they, and thus others, would want to attend. While the communities will develop organically, we do have a few thoughts on each:

• Learning Community ~ Education is the engine of change. Teachers, students, parents, and administrators need to work together to incorporate sustainability into all levels of the educational system.
• Building Community ~ Even in Northern California, we are an urban people. All of us live, study, and work in buildings, and we all have an interest in building a more sustainable community.
• Business Community ~ Many of our most fundamental relationships are also business transactions and no sector of society has a greater reach in spreading sustainability in production, employment and consumption.
• Biotic Community ~ Humans share the earth with many beings and we express that connection in many ways; in our ethics and our art, in our inspirations and our meditations.
• Advocacy Community ~ Sustainability is about envisioning a better world, and then acquiring and employing the tools of change needed to make the vision a reality.

For more information call Butte College at 530-895-9015.

Who Should Attend?

Sustainability Coordinators; Faculty, Staff and Students; Community Colleges Administrators; Curriculum Development Committee; Academic Senate Members; Classified Senate Members; Workforce Development Staff and Managers; Department Directors; Facility Managers; Construction Contractors; Anyone Interested in Sustainability.