Registration open for 11th Annual Sustainable Communities Workshop

Early-bird fee of $35 available through Nov. 1

Image courtesy Sarasota County
Image courtesy Sarasota County

Early-bird registration is open for Sarasota County’s 11th Annual Sustainable Communities Workshop, which will be held on Thursday, Dec. 1, at the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida Event and Conference Center, the county has announced.

The Girl Scouts’ facility is located at 4740 Cattlemen Road in Sarasota.

Expert speakers will focus on the workshop’s Paths to a Sustainable Future theme, “sharing the latest local strategies and best practices from other communities,” a news release says.

The topics for the will be Valuing Nature, Strategies for Smarter Growth, Building Community Resilience and Edible Innovations, the release adds.

The morning keynote speaker will be Tampa Bay Times reporter and native Floridian Craig Pittman, the release continues. He is a four-time recipient of the Waldo Proffitt Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism in Florida, and he twice has won the top investigative reporting award from the Society of Environmental Journalists, the release notes.

Ridhi D’Cruz, associate director of the nonprofit City Repair Project in Portland, Ore., will deliver the afternoon keynote address, the release continues. “Ridhi actively supports various community-building and neighborhood initiatives encompassing myriad issues, including diversity, cultural sustainability, homeless advocacy, social permaculture, and ‘Placemaking,’” the release points out.

The Sustainable Communities Workshop brings together individuals and representatives of businesses, institutions, governmental agencies and organizations to learn about and share community solutions on the environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainability, the release explains.

Early-bird registration of $35 is available through Nov. 1; the fee will increase to $45 from Nov. 2 to Dec. 1, the release adds. Students may register for $20.

Registration will cover a continental breakfast and lunch, the release notes. Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities also are available.

To register and/or obtain more information, visit www.scgov.net/SustainableCommunities or call the Sarasota County Contact Center at 861-5000.