The third annual Michigan Green Communities conference is scheduled for November 2, 2012, at the Michigan Municipal League's Capital Office in Lansing. Staff and elected/appointed officials from local government, colleges and universities, or other organizations partnering with local government are invited to submit a proposal to present at the conference. Initial presentations to the entire audience of 75 will last 10 minutes. Presenters will then have the opportunity to lead break-out discussion sessions with 10-30 attendees to continue a more in-depth conversation about the presentation topic. Submit your proposal here by July 27.

Contact Laura Matson with the City of Ann Arbor with any questions. Visit the Green Communities webpage for presentations and videos from the previous two conferences.

Local leaders and advocates interested in community energy efficiency and renewable energy projects have two opportunities this spring to gather with their peers in the Washington, DC area to network and share lessons learned.

The Department of Energy is hosting the State and Local Government Clean Energy Conference in Crystal City, Virginia May 18-20. This event, which is free of charge, is targeted at government staff and policymakers working directly with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) and/or State Energy Program. Spring 2011 will mark the halfway point in the implementation of Recovery Act funding for those programs, so the goal of the conference is to "focus on the lessons learned to date and critical initiatives for the ensuing year and beyond". For more information, visit http://www.sentech.org/EECBG-SEP_Conference/index.html .

The following month, Climate Communities is hosting the Local Clean Energy Leadership Summit in Washington. This event, which takes place June 15-17, is more explicitly focused on local government action. Like in the May conference, EECBG will be a focal point, but this conference expands that focus to a broader range of federal programs and agencies. It also presents attendees with an opportunity to educate their elected representatives in Congress about the importance of those programs and the excellent local intiatives they have made possible. For more information, visit http://www.localenergysummit.org/ .

Luke Forrest is Project Coordinator for the Center for 21st Century Communities. Contact him at lforrest@mml.org or 734-669-6323.

The Michigan Association of Planning is hosting its Spring Institute May 13 in Lansing, with a theme of "Moving Toward Resilience: How Community Planners Can Lead the Way to a More Sustainable Future". An impressive lineup of national experts will share approaches local leaders can take to prepare their communities for the impacts of our changing natural environment. Speakers include author and journalist Mark Hertsgaard, Jim Van der Kloot of the US EPA and Michael Davidson from ICLEI. For more information and to register visit http://planningmi.org/si.asp

Luke Forrest is Project Coordinator for the Center for 21st Century Communities. Contact him at lforrest@mml.org or 734-669-6323.