The Oregon Sustainability Experience markets the state's expertise

Enlarge Image

The 2009 class learns first-hand about sustainable agriculture.

An educational program designed to shore up Oregon’s sustainability cred by showcasing its innovative programs in urban and rural environments has survived its first funding crisis and has emerged with a new name: The Oregon Sustainability Experience.

“We already had a reputation that goes beyond our boundaries,” said Susan Bragdon, a lawyer who serves in a part-time capacity as the program’s director. “Now we want to become known as the place to go and learn.”

After starting with a five-day course on Portland’s urban environment in 2008, the program added a course on agriculture last summer. This year, the Oregon Sustainability Experience is doing both courses for a second time.

The program, an offshoot of the Oregon Business Plan process, was supported by the Oregon University System until it became the victim of budget cuts last year. The state’s economic development arm, Business Oregon, stepped in with the $150,000 needed to keep the program running. Operated by a staff of five people working part time, The Oregon Sustainability Experience has also received some support from private donors and foundations.

Eventually, Bragdon said, the plan is to have the course sustain itself through tuition fees.

It costs $3,900 to take the five-day course, not including the cost of lodging. Students, small famers and educators can get in for $1,450. Faculty members are paid and academic and continuing education credit is available. Enrollment is limited to 35 people in each of the two courses: Sustainable Urban Built Environments and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems.

“My dream would be to have a wait list,” Bragdon said.

For the first time this year, the program is being marketed aggressively outside the state. Jennie Vinson, a consultant with the program, said she is targeting sustainability professionals at businesses such as Wal-Mart, Coke and Costco and tapping social media to get the word out.

This month,the Oregon Sustainability Experience is working with other sustainability-oriented organizations to give away 10 scholarships to the program in July in order to “invite a diverse group of professionals who will both benefit from and contribute to the experience,” according to a blog post on its website.

The 2010 program will take place July 19-23. The line up for the courses will be similar to last year which included sessions on everything from the use of phyto-technology to treat urban wastewater to mixed-use meat production.