October 15, 2003 — The annual Utah Environmental Symposium will be held Thursday Nov. 6 through Saturday Nov. 8 at the Wyndham Hotel in Salt Lake City.

“The theme of this year’s symposium, Building Community Partnerships, reflects the belief that through cooperation and sharing of resources, industry, environmental professionals, communities and the people of Utah can work together to create a better environment,” conference organizers say.

Highlights include an 8:30 a.m. Thursday Nov. 6 keynote speech “Building Community Relationships for the Environment” by Bill Mader, administrator of the Red Cliffs Desert Tortoise Reserve, and a 9 a.m. Saturday Nov. 8 lecture “Why Partnerships? A Look at How Partnerships Can Change Community” by author Chip Ward, assistant director of the Salt Lake City Public Library.

The symposium is hosted by four groups: the Utah Wetlands and Riparian Center, which is part of the Utah Engineering Experiment Station at the University of Utah; the Utah Pollution Prevention Association; the Utah Society for Environmental Education; and the Great Basin Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA).

The conference is open to the public and professionals in environmental engineering, education, business, industry, government and the nonprofit sector. Saturday Nov. 8 events are free to the public. For the entire three-day symposium, the cost is $110. Special rates are available for students and senior citizens who wish to attend Nov. 6 or 7.

Register over the Internet at www.utah.edu/uees, by phone at (801) 581-6348 or by mail at Utah Wetlands and Riparian Center, University of Utah, 1495 E. 100 South, Room 138, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. A complete schedule is available at www.utah.edu/uees.

The Wyndham Hotel is at 215 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101.

On Thursday Nov. 6, Mader’s keynote will be followed by 9:45 a.m. sessions on the AWMA Teacher Manual, Get to Know Your Utah Wetlands, Wasatch Community Gardens, the Value of Water, Regulatory Update and Energy Management.

Pollution Prevention and Environmental Education awards will be presented during a noon luncheon on Nov. 6.

Sessions at 1:30 p.m. include History of Environmental Education in Utah, FireWorks, Project Learning Tree, Water Conservation Methods, presentations by Pollution Prevention award winners and Environmental and Environmental Management Systems Auditing. A session at 3 p.m. deals with Service Learning and Environmental Education.

On Friday Nov. 7, 8:30 a.m. sessions include Planning and Implementing Environmental Education, Leave No Weeds, Environmental Ethics, Water Supply and Policy Issues, Air Quality Technical and Legal Issues and an Energy Management Workshop. Sessions at 10:30 a.m. deal with Environmental Management Systems for Your School, and Science and Civics: Sustaining Wildlife.

After a “networking” lunch, sessions at 12:30 p.m. deal with the Leopold Education Project, Teaching Utah Environmental Issues, and Commercial Water Use and Reduction. A field trip departing at 12:30 p.m. will view environmental technology at Tesoro’s oil refinery

On Saturday Nov. 8, Ward’s lecture will be followed by a 10 a.m. session titled Environmental Ethics and You, and 11 a.m. sessions on Building Community through Citizen Participation, Misconceptions of Water in the West and Utah’s Communal Origins.

A noon luncheon features top high school environmental science projects. Sessions at 1 p.m. involve the Jordan River Parkway, Working Together to Conserve Water, and Successful Community Partnerships. A final 3 p.m. session is titled Do It! Get Involved.