Welcome to Expo 2020, AERO’s first virtual annual conference.

November 30th – December 10th


We’ve titled the gathering “Catching Up and Looking Ahead”  because that’s what we want to offer as 2020, aka “The Year of Disruption”, comes to a close.  Our design for this year’s Expo has the following intention:  provide easy opportunities for you to (1) check in on topics that are important to you, and (2) have a chance to catch up and connect with one another.

To achieve our intention easily in a virtual setting, Expo 2020 runs 10 days: Nov 30-Dec 10.  As you’ll see in the agenda below, this allows us to spread sessions out so they don’t fill every day and they don’t overlap.

In addition, Montana Organic Association (MOA), one of AERO’s collaborative non-profit partners, has its Organic University (Nov 30-Dec 02), and Virtual Conference & Business Meeting (Dec 03-05) during the same timeframe as Expo. We’ve teamed up to make sure our sessions don’t overlap in time or topic. Click these links for MOA conference session details and to register.  Be sure to catch the keynote address with Fred Provenza, Professor Emeritus, Utah State University, “Let Feed and Food Be Our Medicine”, Dec 04, 1-2:30pm.

 

EXPO 2020 STRUCTURE (session details in the schedule below)

TOPIC SESSIONS
a series of 60-90 minute sessions in 4 topic areas core to AERO’s mission

AERO – the organization
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY RESOURCES
COMMUNITY RESILIENCY
FOOD SYSTEMS

CONNECTION POINTS
45 minute themed “chat” sessions, designed to promote opportunities for visiting, connection and information sharing.

Morning Coffee Conversations – 8:15-9a
Virtual Happy Hour – 5:30-615p

MOVIE NIGHTS
Featuring some of those films you’ve been hearing about and haven’t had a chance to watch yet.

THE LOGISTICS

The event is FREE

There’s no registration for Expo 2020. Instead, just register for the sessions you want to attend, and you’ll get a zoom link to the event via email.

We’ll be using the Zoom platform. If you are new to Zoom and want support on navigating its features, we’re offering a practice session Mon Nov 30 & Tues Dec 01, 9-9:30am. Register to join these sessions here:

Nov 30: 9-9:30a | REGISTER HERE

Dec 1: 9-9:30a | REGISTER HERE

You can also check out this easy guide to Zoom | ZOOM GUIDE


WANT TO PITCH IN?

We’re looking for scribes for the Topic Sessions. Fill out this short form to volunteer and take notes

We feel extremely grateful to be able to offer this event for free, allowing it to be accessible to a wider audience.
If you are able, we welcome financial contributions of any size to help defray event costs. From $5 to sponsoring a film for $200. You can also make the donation in the name of your business and we’ll add your logo to our digital Expo event promotions.

DONATE HERE

 


 

Expo Agenda

TOPIC SESSIONS
A series of 60-90 minute sessions on 4 topic areas core to AERO’s mission.
AERO

AERO IN 2020 AND BEYOND
 Honoring the legacy and where we go from here.
Sat Dec 5: 11a-12:30p | REGISTER HERE

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY RESOURCES & RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS
 AERO’s place in the landscape today
Sat Dec 5: 3-4:30p | REGISTER HERE

AERO Annual Meeting
Sun Dec 6: 1-2:30p | REGISTER HERE

: :
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY RESOURCES

Catch up on presentations from MREA’s virtual Summer Series
1. Solar photovoltaic systems w/Dan Brandborg of SBS Solar &
Off-grid storage systems w/ Travis Jordan of MT Solar
Mon Nov 30: 1-2:30p | REGISTER HERE

2. Micro-hydro systems w/ Rip Hamilton of Solar Plexus &
Renewable Energy & Agriculture w/Stacie Peterson of NCAT
Tues Dec 01: 1-2:30p | REGISTER HERE

Expanding Our Thinking
DIY alternative energy resources for rural communities today
Join AERO board member Andrew Crowe for a fresh look at small-scale DIY alternative energy solutions with existing and new technologies.
Wed Dec 02: 1-2:30p | REGISTER HERE

Advancing Montana’s Renewable Energy Systems in the 2021 Legislature and Beyond
Join Rep Christopher Pope (HD65) and Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell (HD84) in a discussion on strategic opportunities to advance clean, renewable energy solutions in the upcoming session and beyond.
Wed Dec 09: 9-10:30a | REGISTER HERE

: :
COMMUNITY RESILIENCY

Zero Waste Farmers Markets – A Community Tool Kit
Join Gretchen Boyer of Farmhands Nourish and Alissa LaChance of Dirt Rich for a dialogue on the ingredients of a successful zero-waste Farmers Market.
Tues Dec 08: 1-2:30p | REGISTER HERE

Developing Community Resiliency – Considerations for a Resiliency Corps
First there was Energy Corps, then Food Corps… is it time for a Resiliency Corps? Join NCAT’s Executive Director Steve Thompson in a discussion of how a Resiliency Corps could support MT community resiliency development, and the specific gaps they could fill.
Thurs Dec 10: 1-2:30p | REGISTER HERE

: :
FOOD SYSTEMS

MT Food Economy Initiative Community Launch
You’re invited to the Montana Food Economy Initiative (MFEI) Community Launch. This will be a time for local food leaders from across the state (that’s you!) to select an MFEI project to initiate within their individual communities, and join the network of communities working towards better Montana food systems. Learn more here.
Thurs Dec 03: 5-6:30p | REGISTER HERE (advanced registration required)


Grow MT Food Policy Coalition Update & Future Vision

Part 1: Bring Your Voice to the 2021 Legislative Session
Join coalition members in a dialogue on Grow MT’s policy priorities for the 2021 legislative sessions and strategies for success in a new administration.
Mon Dec 7: 9-10:30a | REGISTER HERE

Part 2: Help us Imagine Grow Montana’s Future
Join coalition members in an interactive imagining session to identify 1) what you want out of a statewide policy coalition; 2) how Grow MT can be more relevant to you, and 3) how organizations want to participate or contribute to Grow MT.
Mon Dec 7: 1-2:30p | REGISTER HERE


Resilient Food Systems – Serial Summit

Join us for the launch of a serial Food Systems Summit, with monthly 75 min topic sessions designed to build our common knowledge base and advance our collaborative food system impact across the state. The Summit is an evolution of the productive biweekly Food Access calls that began last spring, and emulates MOA’s effective “Resilient Montana Meat Processing” serial summit model.
Wed Dec 09: 1-2:30p | REGISTER HERE

 


 

CONNECTION POINTS
45 minute themed “chat” sessions, designed to promote opportunities for visiting, connection and information sharing.
Morning Coffee Conversations | 8:30 – 9:15a

The Racial Equity in the Food System Challenge – Reflections & Community Tool Kit
Join Lauren Lipscomb, AERO’s outreach coordinator, and Kate Burnaby Wright, nonprofit consultant and chair, Open & Local Coalition, in a dialogue on the 21-week Racial Equity in the Food System Challenge, and steps to initiating a challenge in your community.
Mon Dec 07 | REGISTER HERE

Homesteading in the 21st Century
 A model for DIY self-sufficiency without land ownership.
Join AERO board members Erin Carroll and Andrew Crowe for a conversation on the tools and resources they are using to grow their own food and be energetically self-reliant without land ownership.
Tues Dec 08 | REGISTER HERE

Resiliency Thinking: Taking Our Cues From Nature
Join Robin Kelson, AERO’s interim Executive Director, for an informal dialogue on implementing resiliency principles found in nature into our long-term strategic planning.
Wed Dec 09 | REGISTER HERE

Community Food Harvests
Models for feeding communities body and soul in the time of covid
Thurs Dec 10 | REGISTER HERE

Virtual Happy Hour | 5:30 – 6:15p
2020 In Review and Looking Forward: how the disruption is impacting our food system sectors
Pour your favorite evening beverage, get comfy, and visit with friends and colleagues. The folks listed for the session are sharing their reflections to get the conversation started. We invite you to join in, sharing your thoughts on what worked, what didn’t, and opportunities moving forward.  Sessions are 45 min, and you are welcome to stay on and chat longer.


Niche Livestock Producer: Jennifer Boyer, Farm 51

Mon Nov 30 | REGISTER HERE

Beef Producer: Cole Mannix, Mannix Ranch
Tues Dec 01 | REGISTER HERE

Market Farmer
Wed Dec 02 | REGISTER HERE

Niche Commodity Buyer/Seller: Dave Oien & Jim Barngrover, Timeless Seeds, Jen Knoetgen, Mountain Meat Shares
Fri Dec 04 | REGISTER HERE

Food Processor: Sue Brown, Amaltheia Dairy; Lise Rousseau, Fat Robin Orchard; Bear Paw Meats
Sat Dec 05 | REGISTER HERE

Food Distributor: Brooke Bohannon, Wicked Good Produce & Dave Prather, Western MT Growers Coop
Sun Dec 06 | REGISTER HERE

Local Food Restaurant: Rob Clagett, Flathead Lake Lodge
Mon Dec 07 | REGISTER HERE

Independent Grocer: Red Paint Cooperative
Tues Dec 08 | REGISTER HERE

Food Bank: Elle Ross, Helping Hands in Hardin, Kim Dale, Helena Food Share
Wed Dec 09 | REGISTER HERE

Growing Through the Winter in MT
The subterranean greenhouse – a work in progress.
Join John Brown in his interview with Bob Quinn as they discuss Bob’s subterranean greenhouse project and keys for success moving forward
Thurs Dec 10 | REGISTER HERE


MOVIE NIGHTS
Sit back and enjoy the show! Here’s a chance to catch up on some of those films you’ve been hearing about and haven’t had a chance to watch. We encourage you to take this opportunity to view these films alongside friends or family (virtually) and carry on the conversations surrounding these topics together offline.


GATHER
The fight to revitalize our native foodways
Weaving personal stories with archival footage, this film is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide.
Nov 22 – Dec 13 | Viewing password: Gather2020
VIEW HERE


THE ECONOMICS OF HAPPINESS
Produced by
Local Futures, this 2011 award-winning documentary (#1 pick by Films for Action)  looks at the forces driving the root causes of contemporary social, environmental and economic crises. Drawing on a chorus of voices from changemakers on six continents, the film explores effective, locally based solutions, including methods for economic localization.
Mon Nov 30, 7-8:30p | REGISTER HERE


2040
Asking the question “What could the future look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them rapidly into the mainstream?”, documentarian Damon Gameau entertainingly surveys possible solutions to the climate change crisis, offering an unusually optimistic way forward.
Wed Dec 02, 9:00p -Dec 03, 12:00a | REGISTER HERE



KISS THE GROUND
This optimistic “climate documentary” narrated by Woody Harrelson argues for the healing power of soil to offer solutions for the climate crisis, the environmental crisis and the human health crisis.
Sun Dec 06- Tues Dec 08 | REGISTER HERE (must register by Dec 04)


 

Our Collaborative Partners


WANT TO PITCH IN?

We feel extremely grateful to be able to offer this event for free, allowing it to be accessible to a wider audience.
If you are able, we welcome financial contributions of any size to help defray event costs. From $5 to sponsoring a film for $200. You can also make the donation in the name of your business and we’ll add your logo to our digital Expo event promotions.

DONATE HERE

Alternative Energy Resources Organization

Mailing address: PO Box 1558, Helena MT 59624-1558

Physical address: 32 S Ewing St #314, Helena MT 59601