The Conference took place on Thursday, May 31st
8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Student Union, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI 02908
• It was a joint presentation by the Environment Council of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island College Office of Sustainability.
• Admission, including lunch, was $40.00/person.
Thanks to our Generous Sponsors
The Rhode Island Food Center at URI ◊ Center for EcoTechnology
Main Street Resources ◊ RI Food Policy Council
This year’s conference featured 8 workshops and 2 plenary sessions covering topics from our developing RI Composting Industry and from around the country.
Morning Plenary 9:00 am
The Perspective of the State of Rhode Island: Compost Edition
- Sue AnderBois, Director of Food Strategy, State of Rhode Island
- Terry Gray, Associate Director, RI Department of Environmental Management
Workshop Session I 10:00 am
1. How To Accelerate Change
Are you frustrated with the progress on issues like climate change, composting and the economy? We’ll use success stories to discuss the tools and actions steps needed to hasten progress on these and other key issues.
A panel discussion moderated by Tim Faulkner, Reporter, ecoRI News
Panelists:
- Monica Huertas, Campaign Coordinator, No PVD in LNG
- Kenneth Filarski, U.S. Green Building Council
- Michael Araujo, Executive Director, R.I. Jobs With Justice
- Greg Gerritt, Environment Council of RI and ProsperityForRI.com
2. Worm Composting – Working with Nature to Grow Nutritious Food
Get inspired learning about the many benefits of worm compost in growing healthy food. In this in-depth session you will learn the simple steps to start your own worm bin.
- Monique Bosch and the RI Worm Farmer’s Cooperative
3. Food Waste at Schools, What YOU Can Do: Evaluation, Connection, Resources
- Diane Calvin, Foodscape
- Melanie Saunders, Aquidneck Community Table
4. Wasted Food Solutions for Rhode Island
- Lorenzo Macaluso, Director of Client Services, Center for EcoTechnology
Workshop Session II 11:00 am
1. 40 Years of Composting and Farming at Earth Care Farm
- Jayne Merner Senecal, Earth Care Farm
Since 1977, Michael Merner has been perfecting his compost production methods at Earth Care Farm. Mike's daughter, Jayne, will delve into the large-scale compost production methods at the farm, sharing composting techniques and science-based guidance for composting at any scale.
2. Composting Humanure to Protect Water & Build Soil
- Conor Lally, Ecological Sanitation Planner & Co-Founder of Nutrient Networks.
3. Decentralized Composting
- Greg McCarron & Will Conrad, SCS Engineers
- Devin Reitsma, NYC Compost Project
4. Track your food waste and cut it in half!
- Clay Arnold, Director of Partnerships, Phood, LLC
Lunch and 2018 Compost Trade Show Noon
Afternoon Plenary 1:30 pm
How Compost Feeds Into RI Food Policy and Security
A panel discussion hosted by The RI Food Policy Council
Panelists:
- Sue Anderbois, RI Director of Food Systems
- Antonia Bryson of the RI Food Policy Council
- Leo Pollock of the Compost Plant
Current Trade Show Exhibitors include:
Center for Eco Technology
Earth Appliance Organics and the Smith Hill Compost Depot
Earth Care Farm
ecoRI News
Foodscape
RI Resource Recovery Corporation
RI Worm Farmers Cooperative
SCS Engineers
The Compost Plant