By far the best gift my father ever gave me (in addition to his example of a meaningful life), was a college education. Now, as I consider the extent of life yet to be lived, further education ranks amongst gifts I’ll choose to give myself. Foremost amongst such opportunities is a pass to the PASA conference this upcoming February.
The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture will hold pre-conference educational days in addition to the regular, Farming for the Future-themed program. Although the various cheesemaking classes are enticing, the two-day sustainable forestry classes offer me access to discussions I’d like to hear right now: forest farming from the top down, the role of non-timber forest products in management and stewardship and more. Other pre-conference tracks include ‘Green learning for High School students,’ ‘Hands-on IPM and Bio-Controls’ (that’s integrated pest management), ‘Innovative cover cropping systems for organic vegetable production,’ and many more.
This year’s conference focuses on ‘Finding your Foodshed’; keynote speaker Raj Patel has written about the global food system and the paradox of why one billion people are overweight and almost a billion are still starving. The Saturday keynote, Bernard W. Sweeney resides in this neighborhood. As the Director, President and Senior Research Scientist for the Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, PA, his “current research interests include water quality monitoring in conservation, the effects of global warming on stream ecosystems, and the role of streamside forests in the structure and function of stream and river ecosystems.” (text from PASA conference brochure)
At a cost of $200, the two-day regular conference comes in at a fair cost, especially when compared to conferences with similar instructional classes. The pre-conference tracks come in at just under$100-a-day, again, for an entire day’s worth of instruction. Meals are separate, and the cost to members for the actual conference are discounted. Visit www.pasafarming.org for full information on all events. If the conference is too expensive or too much time out of your life to attend, please consider supporting this association with a year’s membership, at a cost of $45 for an individual. Benefits include discounted fees for year-round classes offered throughout Pennsylvania, and the knowledge that you are helping support sustainable farming practices and policy.
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