A conference and expo on green design, business and ideas in the northern plains. 

Coming to Sioux Falls April 28-29, 2010.

Plain Green is where innovators and change-makers gather to learn and connect around green design, healthcare, education, business and ideas. Fantastic keynotes, in-depth workshops, community networking, how-to sessions and green exhibitors. All under one historic roof at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science in Downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The Plain Green Conference and Marketplace is two days of advancing sustainability on the Northern Plains. Connect, learn and take action with hundreds of other attendees and star-power keynotes, plus green exhibitors and two days of workshops and breakouts (conservation design planning, green healthcare, eco-affordable home building, green office makeovers, LEED, straw bale construction, EPA compliance, permaculture and much more).

Plain Green was founded in 2008 by Koch Hazard Architects and South Dakota State University. It is co-organized by its founders and the Sioux Falls Green Project, in partnership with many volunteers and sponsors.

No credit card? No problem! Register by check here.

The 2010 Quick Glance

Tuesday April 27: Pre-conference community service project.

Wednesday April 28: Half- and Full-day in-depth workshops, Exhibitor Marketplace, Opening Night Keynote, and Opening Party.

Thursday April 29: Smashing keynotes, four tracks of interactive breakout sessions, informative discussion panels, Exhibitor Marketplace, local foods luncheon, and closing Green Drinks Gathering.ore). 

See so much more at plaingreen.org. 

Sign up for occasional email news and updates here.

Full Lineup

Pre-Conference: Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Time	Events	Speakers
8:00a-4:00p	Community Project: Straw Bale Shed at Summit House*, sponsored by Puetz Corporation	Joyce Coppinger

Pre-Conference: Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Time	Events	Speakers
8:00a-4:00p	Community Project: Straw Bale Shed at Summit House*, sponsored by Puetz Corporation	Joyce Coppinger
8:00a-4:00p	Full-day Pre-conference Workshops* (details here)
•	US Green Building Council’s LEED Core Concepts and Strategies at Museum of Visual Materials.Separate registration required here.	Brian Dunbar
•	Designing a Home-Scale Food Forest	Karl Schmidt
•	Concepts in Sustainability	Doug Raynie
8:00a-11:30p	Morning Pre-conference Workshops* (details here)
•	Protecting Open Space Networks through Conservation Design, sponsored by SD Planners Association and APA West Central Chapter	Randall Arendt
•	Post-Copenhagen Report: What New Climate Legislation Means for SD	Jamie Horter and Matt McGovern
12:30p-4:00p	Afternoon Pre-conference Workshops* (details here)
•	Transforming Highway Commercial Strips into Mixed-Use Corridors, sponsored by SD Planners Association and APA West Central Chapter	Randall Arendt
•	Wear-Ever Green Fashion and Re-Purposeful Living sponsored by Institute of Design and Technology of SD	Anita Kealey

*Separate registration required for these pre-conference events

Opening Night: Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Time	Events	Speakers
5:00p	Welcome and Conference Opening	Stacey McMahan and Jane Hegland
5:15p	Special Presentation: J Lohr Vineyards and Wines’ Journey Towards Ever-Greater Sustainability	Brian Thompson
5:35p	Opening Keynote: Twelve Terrific Tools to Help Us Save the Planet and Set Us Free sponsored by Argus Leader Tour de Kota	Steve Clark
6:30p-9:00p	Marketplace Grand Opening Party co-sponsored byJohnson Controls, Inc, and Argus Leader Media

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Time	Events	Speakers
7:15a	VIP Breakfast, sponsored by SD State University Office of the President and SDSU Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability Committee
7:30a	Registration and Continental Breakfast sponsored byHenry Carlson Company, Trane and Submittal Exchange
7:30a-3:30p	Marketplace Exhibits Open
8:15a	Morning Welcome and Announcements	Jane Hegland and Stacey McMahan
8:25a	Welcome and Comments	David L. Chicoine
8:40a	Keynote: Can Green Buildings Cool a Hotter World?sponsored by Gage Brothers Concrete	Brian Dunbar
9:45a	Networking BREAK sponsored by Associated Consulting Engineering Inc. and O’Connor Company
10:05a-11:10a	Keynote: Future Carborexic Cities sponsored by Lloyd Companies	Mitchell Joachim
11:20a-12:05p	Morning Concurrent Breakout Sessions (details here)
•	Building With Bales, sponsored by Koch Hazard Architects	Joyce Coppinger
•	Greening Existing Buildings and Green Auditssponsored by O’Connor Company and Associated Consulting Engineering Inc.	Mike Twedt
•	Communicating Green sponsored byHowalt+McDowell Insurance	Nathan Schock
•	Xeriscaping and Harvesting Rain Water	Paul Clinton
•	Global Warming: What Can Old Ice from Antarctica Tell Us?	Jihong Cole-Dai
12:10p	Luncheon: Eco Fashion and Local Eats sponsored bySioux Falls Green Project, with local foods and special eco-fashion show by Institute of Design and Technology of SD
1:30p-2:15p	Afternoon Concurrent Breakout Sessions (details here)
•	Special Session: ASHRAE Standard 189.1: High Performance Green Buildings sponsored by Direct Digital Control, Climate Systems and ASHRAE SD.	Doug Zentz
•	The Future of Renewable Energy sponsored byPOET	Dusty Johnson, Doug Berven and Michael Ropp
•	Urban Agriculture as a Tool for Community Change	Tim Olsen
•	So, You Get to Where the EPA Hat…	DJ Mittan
•	Environmental Stewardship and the World’s Poor	Mitchell Hescox
2:20p	Local Sustainability Showcase
•	Community Service Project 2010: Building a Strawbale Tool Library	Whitney Parks
•	SDSU Sierra Club: Composting in the Cafeteria	Kayla Miller
•	Avera Cancer Institute: A Leap Forward in Green Healthcare	Dick Molseed
3:10p	Networking BREAK sponsored by Xcel Energy,  Perspective Architecture Design Studio, and SD Interior Designers
3:30p	Keynote: When Sustainability is a Matter of Survivalsponsored by Avera Cancer Institute	Cameron Sinclair
4:40p-5:30p	Closing Panel: Q+A with the Keynotes, hosted by Brian Dunbar	Brian Dunbar, Cameron Sinclair, Mitchell Joachim and Steve Clark
5:30p	Closing Party: Green Drinks at Monk’s House of Ale Repute, co-sponsored by Howalt+McDowell Insuranceand Mt. Pleasant Cemetery

Note: All events will take place at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science unless otherwise noted. Speaker schedule is subject to change any time.