This year’s Sustainability Symposium, Moving from hope to action: Building thriving communities, provides faculty, staff, students, and community stakeholders a forum to share research, teaching, creative works, and collaborations that generates dialogue on the effect of radical hope in influencing action towards creating prosperous communities. Last year, we discussed the power of radical hope as the foundation of future research, teaching, and community engagement. This year, we move forward to discourse on actions that help conserve natural and human communities, stories of tribulations and achievements, and reflection on best management and collaboration practices that guide these communities towards thriving futures in an ever changing world.
To see recordings of the other presentations visit the Oral Presentations page.
Keynote Speaker
Curt Gervich
“The Mighty Nature of Small Places”
This year, with our keynote speaker Dr. Curt Gervich of SUNY-Plattsburgh, we move forward to discourse on actions that help conserve natural and human communities, stories of tribulations and achievements, and reflection on best management and collaboration practices that guide communities towards thriving futures in an ever changing world. Dr. Gervich and students will also lead us through a Climate Action Simulation to model how communities can move towards action.
Curt is a professor of Environmental Policy and Planning in the Center for Earth and Environmental Science at SUNY Plattsburgh. He is also the Co-director of the Middlebury School of the Environment, a six-week summer program for undergraduates with a focus on environmental leadership. Curt teaches courses in Sustainability, Environmental Law and Policy, Environmental Management, and Leadership. Curt’s research explores the ways that small towns and cities tackle sustainability planning and contribute to achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Curt sits on the Environmental Protection Agency’s working group for Local Government/Small Cities, which advises EPA on the ways that policy issues impact small cities. He received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Service in 2020, and the SUNY Plattsburgh faculty award for Community-engaged Teaching in 2017. In 2014 he and students won the Environmental Protection Agency’s University Challenge Award for their role play game, Toxic Release! Curt Gervich’s publications can be found in a wide ranging set of journals including the Journal of Environmental Studies and Science, Town Planning Review, SAPIENS, and Public Works Policy and Management. He’s published in multiple sustainability teaching guidebooks, and provided dozens of conference presentations. Dr. Gervich produces and hosts environmental media and gaming events including Late Night for the Planet, a live late night talk/game show also streamed to Facebook. Dr. Gervich holds a Phd in Environmental Design and Planning from Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs, a master’s degree in Natural Resource Planning from the University of Vermont and an undergraduate degree from Emory University.
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