Municipal officials, park staff, planners, and anyone else interested in finding a balance between recreational needs and natural resource protection should attend the Creating Sustainable Community Parks Conference at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa on October 29.

This one-day conference takes information from the DCNR publication of the same name and expands upon it.

Conference attendees will learn about the benefits of protecting natural resources and how they can save time and money by implementing sustainable practices into their parks.

After a keynote address on Sustainable Landscapes by Larry Weaner, a landscape architect, there will be a panel discussion that includes five Pennsylvania case studies from parks and schoolyards that have taken a more natural approach to their management needs.

Three concurrent tracks of afternoon sessions cover topics such as natural stormwater management, sustainable trail design and maintenance, and funding sources. Final comments by Chris Kocher of the Wildlands Conservancy will round-out the event.

While anyone may attend the conference, the target audience includes the following counties: Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, and Schuylkill. Additional conferences will take place in different parts of the state in the coming years.

The registration fee is $31, which covers the cost of a continental breakfast, breaks, lunch, carbon offset credits, and handouts.

The agenda and registration form are available online. The registration deadline is October 10.

8/29/2008