The inaugural State of New York Sustainability Conference will be held at SUNY New Paltz on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3, for students, faculty and staff at higher education institutions across the state who are interested in advancing sustainable practices and environmentally friendly scholarship.
Presentations and workshops will be offered on a wide spectrum of subjects, including ideas for advancing climate policy, campus sustainable food programs, the role of the arts in sustainability, green infrastructure, and reducing energy consumption.
The conference will be headlined by three keynote speakers:
- Sandra Steingraber, a New York State-based poet, biologist and activist, will share personal stories from her work as a scientist and environmental advocate.
- Heather Finnegan of Sightlines and Jennifer Andrews of University of New Hampshire will present findings from their report on the State of Sustainability in Higher Education.
- Clara Fang, former sustainability coordinator at Towson University and Swarthmore College and blogger at Residence on Earth will present on opportunities for climate change activism in higher education.
A complete conference schedule is available on the website of the Office of Campus Sustainability.
In addition to approximately 200 expected guests and presenters from across the state, event organizers have invited 27 vendors offering sustainability-related products and services to attend the conference.
The State of New York Sustainability Conference is an evolution of the SUNY Sustainability Conference, which was held annually from 2011 until 2015. The SUNY sustainability officers who ran and attended that event decided to expand it in 2016 to serve all higher education institutions in New York State.
