Call for proposals for national gardening conference held in Columbus!

ACGA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Thursday August 6 – Saturday August 9, 2009
at Franklin Park Conservatory

A note from Franklin Park Conservatory’s
Growing to Green Program

This is our opportunity to showcase the great spirit of Ohio’s communities and gardens to a national audience. Please consider submitting a proposal or panel discussion to highlight your gardening program, research or other local issues.

PROPOSALS FOR PRESENTATIONS ACCEPTED UNTIL MARCH1, 2009

Download the Call for Proposals form on the ACGA website CLICK HERE

The American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) is a non-profit organization of professionals and volunteers who seek to build community by increasing and enhancing community gardening and greening across the United States and Canada.

The ACGA annual conference brings together hundreds of individuals from across the United States, Canada, and abroad, who are engaged in all aspects of gardening and greening. The conference includes hands on workshops, keynote speakers, a film festival, and visits to community gardens, parks, schools, and other green space in the Columbus area.

We want to hear about your work. We are seeking a diverse group of presenters to share a wide range of information about gardening and greening, including:

‘¢ Community Gardeners
‘¢ Horticulturists
‘¢ Landscape Designers and Architects
‘¢ Arborists and Foresters
‘¢ Open Space Advocates
‘¢ Organizers and Leaders
‘¢ Public Employees

‘¢ Parks and Planning Staff
‘¢ Teachers and other educators
‘¢ Community Food Security Advocates
‘¢ Youth
‘¢ Artists and Filmmakers
‘¢ Horticultural Therapists
‘¢ Nutritionists
‘¢ Master Gardeners

Panels and Workshops:
Session length is 75 minutes long. You may propose shorter or longer sessions. Highest priority will be given to engaging, hands-on, interactive, experiential, panel and team presentations, and participant-inclusive discussions. We discourage the use of “PowerPoint” except to show pictures. A conference registration discount of $100.00 (divided among presenters) per session will be applied to the registration of the presenters. Please specify how you want the $100.00 discount split. You may also opt to donate your discount to the ACGA as a tax-deductible donation to ACGA.

Evaluation of Proposals:
The ACGA program committee evaluates proposals on five criteria: overall quality, relevance to community gardening, clarity of focus, degree of potential audience engagement, and practical applicability. Incomplete applications or applications not adhering to word count limitations may be rejected.

Presentation Themes:
‘¢ Diversity, Art and Culture: art in the garden, ethno-botany, cultural expression in gardens, multicultural projects, multi-ethnic gardening, intergenerational gardening, spirituality in the garden, international
‘¢ Youth and Adult Education: school gardens and partnerships, teacher training, curricula, youth-led presentations, environmental education and action, job training, rehabilitative
‘¢ Food, Health and Nutrition: community food security, nutrition education, cooking from the garden, food, preservation, local food systems, “slow food”, school lunches, horticultural therapy
‘¢ Government and Advocacy: community garden policies and legislation, advocacy process, local action to preserve gardens, U.S. Farm Bill, garden preservation and land trusts
‘¢ Economic Development: garden micro-enterprises, workforce development, economic impacts of gardens and open space, community gardens and farmers’ markets
‘¢ Horticulture and Ecology: healthy soils, composting, habitat conservation, season extending, nontraditional spaces, organic growing methods, water conservation, edible landscapes
‘¢ Organizational and Community Development: staff development, community garden management, coalition building, organizing, fundraising, in-kind resources, media, networking, volunteer programs, event and recreational programming
‘¢ Impacts of community gardens: crime reduction, beautification, air quality, urban community building
‘¢ Local Issues: Ohio local gardening and greening programs and projects
‘¢ Other: New ideas and/or suggestions

ACGA thanks our local partners:

Franklin Park Conservatory

Local Matters

The Ohio State University Master Gardeners

Community Food Initiatives