April 12, 2012   •  McMenamins Edgefield Ballroom   • Troutdale, OR    • 2126 SW Halsey Street • Troutdale, OR 97060

Coffee, snacks, lunch included     Cost: $175 members; $195 non-members     .6 CEUs requested

How to Talk Sustainability, Leslie Carlson, Carlson Communications: How do we move people from belief and opinion to action? For the past 20 years, statistics have shown that fewer and fewer Americans rank climate as an important issue. Come hear about the latest research in what works (and what doesn’t) when talking about climate and sustainable behavior.

School-based outreach: our youngest stakeholders, Lois Cohen, Lois D. Cohen Associates: Hear about a time-tested way of generating great media coverage for your projects and involving segments of the community that otherwise might not have been engaged. Learn how the School-based Outreach Program works as a powerful strategic tool—both for high-impact and low-impact projects.

Stormwater Education: Creating a program that works, Megan Hanson, City of Portland: Find out how students create and treat wastewater in their classroom, re-design a model neighborhood using green stormwater infrastructure, brainstorm CSO solutions, and hit the streets—and roof tops— to tour Portland’s green stormwater facilities. Also find out about Futures Working for Clean Rivers, a new environmental career education program.

It's a Bird, it's a Plane, it's a...Meeting? Tacy Steele, City of Hillsboro, Clark Kent vs. Superman. One dresses and acts in a way that is more compelling than the other. How about applying the same concept to mandatory public meetings? Hillsboro Water has been transforming meetings into more attractive functions for a couple of years now. It requires more work than a quick trip to a phone booth, staff, elected officials and even the media agree that the results have been worth the effort.

Celebrate your successes and get help for your glitches, Melissa Sandoz, Columbia Slough Watershed Council: Wondering how to get more community members involved with your outreach? Learn from others and share resources on events, websites, promotion, sponsors, and partners. Your needs will drive this discussion, which could include: free email marketing tools, using social media to create connections, events that people jump to attend, cultivating partnerships, and free website development programs.

Using TV personalities to tell your story: “Do the Right Thing” media campaign, Bruce Sussman, KOIN Local 6-TV, Hear about the “Do the Right Thing” multi-year campaign designed to influence viewers’ behaviors and attitudes regarding watershed health. Since campaign inception in September 2008, over 1,200 messages have run on the Portland metro’s Koin Local 6 in local news, entertainment programs and CBS prime time programs including 60 Minutes, CSI and Survivor.

Building a water resources outreach program from the ground up, Heather Slocum and Kim Kagelaris, City of Albany: How do you meet the water resources (stormwater, water conservation, wetlands, riparian planting, etc.) outreach challenge? Learn how to start with some basic steps to tailor locally appropriate strategies to your audiences, both internal (staff) and external (citizens). Find out how the City of Albany has directed limited resources to raise awareness of water quality and conservation opportunities.

"Serious Play": Understanding and Involvement Using Building Toys, Martha Bean, RESOLVE: Learn how how pint-size building materials (think Legos®, Tinker-toys®, K’nex® and PlayDough®) are ‘play things’ that can be extraordinarily useful in the serious business of involving stakeholders in complex public decision making. Learn how scientists, engineers and technical professionals can be highly effective communicators when using techniques that draw upon their own experience and “culture”.