Workshops from the Field 2000: Community-Based Research for Environmental Justice.

Rutgers Law School
Newark, New Jersey
May 19th-21st, 2000
directions

Online Registration (by May 1st. $25 late fee thereafter.)
and Scholarship Application (Deadline: April 18th)

   FRIDAY, MAY 19TH

   1-5 PM      Toxic Tours in New Jersey and New York
   5-7 PM      Registration
   7-9 PM      Welcome Remarks/Reception
   Cecil-Corbin Mark, West Harlem Environmental Action, Community Director, CUCREJ
   Michel Gelobter, Rutgers University – Newark Campus, Graduate Department of Public Administration,  Academic Director, CUCREJ.

 SATURDAY, MAY 20TH
7:30-8:30 AM       Registration
(Continental breakfast will be served)

8:30 –9:45 AM      Keynote Plenary
Jim Ransome, Haudenausaunee Task Force, Beverly Wright, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice/Xavier University; Charles Lee, USEPA Office of Environmental Justice.

10:00 –12:45 PM WORKSHOP SESSION I (Click here for details on Tracks)

(Three workshop tracks marked ^ repeat in the afternoon session.  In most cases, introductory training sessions within specific tracks have been scheduled for the morning, while more specialized sessions will be held in the afternoon. Please refer to the insert for full workshop track descriptions.  Workshop leaders and plenary speakers marked with a * are invited, but not yet confirmed.)

Track A.1: Community-Based Survey Design.  The majority of community-based environmental justice research projects involve surveys of residents, polluters, government, and other stakeholders in the community.  This workshop will train attendees in how to design new surveys for their work.  Note: This is the “advanced” workshop in Track A. The introductory workshop is being offered in the afternoon.
Workshop Leaders: Sin Fronteras  (Carlos Marentas / Border Agricultural Workers Project; Mark Robson/Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute), El Puente (Analia Penchaszadeh; Robert Ledogar/CIET)

Track B.1: Personal Exposure Monitoring Of the toxic substances in our environment, how much are we breathing, drinking, and eating?  How much is actually making it into our bodies, our homes, and our food? This workshop will train in the methods and politics of monitoring individual exposures to pollutants faced by community residents.  Workshop Leaders: West Harlem Environmental Action (Patrick Kinney / Columbia University, Cecil Corbin-Mark / WeAct), Oregon Child Development Coalition (Marco Beltran/OCDC & Linda McCauley / Oregon Health Sciences Institute)

Track C.1: Community-based Environmental Monitoring^{^}Because official monitoring networks often bypass EJ communities, they often have to develop their own monitoring to answer key environmental and ecological health questions. This workshop will provide training in how to monitor ambient levels of toxics at the community level.
Workshop Leaders: Residents of Norco, LA (Marjie Richard with Ann Rolfes / Communities for a Better Environment), Jesus People Against Pollution (Charlotte Keys) .

Track D.1: Community-based GIS^{^} Geographic Information Systems play an increasing role in the dissemination of environmental information.  This workshop will demonstrate and train attendees in this track in how to design and to implement GIS efforts for a number of goals, including problem identification, organizing, pollution prevention, and citizen-enforcement. 
Workshop Leaders: Communities for a Better Environment (Carlos Porras) & the Environmental Equity Information Institute (Babafemi Adesanya / EEI and Beverly Wright / Deep South Center for Environmental Justice & Xavier University)

Track E.1: Community-based Biological Monitoring. Another major type of monitoring involves characterizing the dose and/or damage to the community from pollution.  This workshop will train attendees in biological monitoring like fish and plant gathering, characterizing contamination to farm workers by sampling their clothing, and gathering more sensitive biological material, like blood or hair. 
Workshop Leaders:  California Dept. of Health Services (Diana Lee & Gina Margillo): additional TBA

Track F.1: Community-based Evaluation  How can we evaluate our research?  How do we measure what communities’ care about, and how can that help build and replenish leadership for future efforts? 
Workshop Leaders:), Tribal Efforts Against Lead (Sally Whitecrow/TEAL & Michelle Kegler / Rollins School of Public Health); Lowell Southeast Asian Environmental Justice Partnership (Linda Silka/U. Mass. Lowell; Action for Community Empowerment)

Track H.1: Introduction to Fundraising How have communities raised money for research?  This workshop will train attendees in the experiences of EJ communities that have raised funding for EJ research. 
Workshop Leaders: Seventh Generation Fund (Chris Peters); Southern Echo* (Leroy Johnson)

Track I.1: Political and Social Research for Change How can communities research the granting of permits, and the processes that led to polluting facilities in their backyard? The workshop will focus on researching statutes, new regulations, public and private financing of polluting facilities, corporate ties, and lawyers themselves.
Workshop Leaders:  Rutgers University, Camden (Sheila Foster / Rutgers, Rose Townsend, and Donna Helms)  Land Loss Prevention Project* (Savi Horne)

12:45-2 PM LUNCH & 1^st POSTER SESSION

 2:15 -5 PM WORKSHOP SESSION II (Click here for details on Tracks)

Track A.2: Introduction to Community-based Surveying This workshop will train communities just beginning their research in how to choose and to administer a survey to get answers about specific environmental problems. 
Workshop Leaders: Awkwesasne First Environment Restoration Initiative-St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (Mary Arquette); Farmworker Justice (Joan Flocks / University of Florida Health Policy and Epidemiology & Tirso Moreno*/ Farmworker Justice)

Track B.2: Personal Exposure Monitoring
See Workshop B.1 above, except afternoon CONDUCTED IN SPANISH

Track C.2: Community-based Environmental Monitoring
See Workshop C.1 above

Track D.2: Community-based GIS
See Workshop D.1 above

Track G.2: Government Community Research How can communities and Governments work together for research? This workshop will highlight and train to a variety of techniques from government/community partnerships around the country.
Workshop Leaders Lead and Safety Richmond Project ?? (Glenda McNeil); Alabama Economic Development and Community Affairs (Clyde Chatman); The International City/County Management Association (Dorothy Morrison) & Pat Eliot) Jack Brown / Environmental Projects*, Kerry Kirk / Urban Coordinator New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection*, and Judy Shaw / Urban Coordinator New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection*

Track H.2: Advanced Fundraising Workshop
Chris Peters/7^th Generation Fund

Track J.2: Alternatives for Sustainability Many EJ communities are busy not just fighting polluters, but actually proposing alternative visions of how their communities could be more sustainable.  This track will train attendees in the experiences of EJ communities that are making a difference in how their communities run, that are proposing and implementing alternatives that are better for the planet.
Workshop Leaders: Just Transition (Jose Bravo / South Western Network for Economic and Environmental Justice-Border Justice & Pam Tau Lee/UC Berkeley) and Action for Community Empowerment (Jodi Sugarman-Brozan)

5 - 6:45 PM     POSTER SESSION

7 – 9:00 PM Buffet Dinner and Entertainment in Community (Tickets will be sold at conference)

SUNDAY, MAY 21TH

8-9:00 AM Continental Breakfast

9-10:15 AM Plenary: “Research to Action: Getting our Work Used!”
Gary Grant* and Steve Wing*, South Halifax Environmental Reawakening; Penn Loh*, Action for Community Empowerment; Carlos Padilla*, South Bronx Clean Air Coalition

10:30-12:15 PM Breakouts on Developing a Research to Action Agenda

 12:15-1:00 PM Report Back and Wrap up

 1-2PM BREAK

 Tentative: 2-5 PM NATIONAL INSTITUTES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH (NIEHS) FUNDRAISING TRAINING WORKSHOP.  This workshop will focus on how communities can increase their access to NIEHS funding.  Note: This workshop is in the planning stages and not fully confirmed.  A notice will be sent to all registrants as soon as the workshop is confirmed. Please also check back here for news!

 Online Registration