“Our Land: Local Action, Global Impact,” FIT’s ninth annual Sustainable Business and Design Conference, hosted by the college’s Sustainability Council, will educate, engage, and inspire, while providing information about incorporating sustainability into design and business practices.
Featuring a keynote address by Jon Bowermaster—recently named one of a dozen “Ocean Heroes” by the National Geographic Society—as well as presentations by leaders on the cutting edge of sustainable practices and updates on FIT’s sustainable initiatives, this conference is a must for anyone interested in measuring and evaluating efforts to improve the present without jeopardizing the future.
The conference will also feature student and faculty displays and demonstrations on sustainable and environmental subjects, such as “Greening the FIT Bookstore,” “Closing the Loop: A Cotton Muslin Compost System,” and using scrap leather to repurpose and create a new garment. This year, the event’s final activity will be devoted to a “poster session,” during which students and faculty will be available to answer questions about their projects.
Speakers for the event are:
- Jon Bowermaster, a six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council and award-winning writer and filmmaker
- Andrew Faust, one of the premier permaculture teachers and designers in North America with more than two decades’ experience in his field, who will address “Permaculture and Bioregionalism: Ecological Models for Economic Development”
- Jennifer Grossman, conservation consultant, now working with the National Resources Defense Council on a regional foodshed initiative
- Nancy Kohn, director, GreenThumb program at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, who will address “Building Equitable and Sustainable Communities”
- Joseph Trumpey, associate professor of art and natural resources, University of Michigan
- Joyce F. Brown, president, FIT
Event Details:
- April 7, 2015
- 8 am–5 pm
- John E. Reeves Great Hall
- Registration: The conference is open to the public and free of charge; advance registration is encouraged.