After over a year of planning, the inaugural Plain Green event was held on September 25 and 26 at the Washington Pavilion. Organized by Koch Hazard Architects and South Dakota State University, the mission of the conference was to bring together professionals, government, students and the general public to learn about, discuss and act on the various issues affecting our environment. Approximately 240 were in attendance, gaining insights from and listening to 15 presenters from five different states tell interesting stories from their own experiences. Stacey McMahan, principal of Koch Hazard Architects and Co-Chair of the organizing committee, along with Jane Hegland from SDSU, believes "It's an important subject and one that has great potential for both personal and community health as well as economic benefit."

 

Matthew Moore, the opening keynote speaker, is an agricultural artist from the Arizona desert whose thought-provoking work often focuses on the collision between urban development and rural landscapes and the practices that create them (see www.urbanplough.com). His work and focus dovetails with the landscape practice of Shane Coen, founder of Coen + Partners, with offices in New York and Minneapolis (see coenpartners.com). Shane provided the closing keynote session highlighting his development work recognized for using bold minimalism and deep sensitivity to land and landscapes. Presentations on the 25th focused on sustainable design and construction and included sessions on straw bale construction, Cherapa Place - a green-building case study, green-home building and a preview of the International Code Council's National Green Building Standard planned for public release in 2009. Sessions on the 26th focused on energy technology and policy with presentations from Commissioner Gary Hanson of the SD Public Utilities Commission, and Commissioner Jeff Bloomberg of the SD Bureau of Administration.

 

Other presentations were sprinkled in to let attendees know about a new Sioux Falls initiative called the Sioux Falls Green Project (www.siouxfallsgreenproject.com). Jeff Hanson from Lawrence & Schiller explained that it's the simple things we do every day that add up to make a real difference. The city of Sioux Falls has developed a program within the Green Project called Leading Green (www.siouxfalls.org/green) where rebates for Energy Star appliances can be found as well as recycling tips and information about the bike trails and parks.

The conference ended with an announcement of Plain Green '09 and a dare to challenge the status quo concerning sustainability in our places of business and at home. Presentations can be found on the conference website, www.plaingreen.org.

 

Watch for coming details on Plain Green '09 to be held at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science April 17.