The 42nd Annual Conference of the Society of Ethnobiology in Vancouver, B.C., May 8–11, 2019

Trip Planning The Voices of Ethnobiology The 2019 SoE annual conference will be held in Vancouver, B.C., May 8–11, 2019, in the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking Musqueam people, on the University of British Columbia campus. Salmon People Our conference theme “Voices” recognizes the many ways ethnobiological knowledge is communicated and promoted through stories, songs, language, and activism. At this year’s meeting, we hope to create spaces where people can comfortably add their voice to the many possible ethnobiological conversations. We welcome submissions on all ethnobiological topics. #SoEthnobio19 #SoE2019Voices KEY DATES September 2018 Call for Papers and Organized Sessions will go out. First call for awards and travel scholarships. October 2018 Deadline for the Organized Sessions. November 2018 Open abstract submission portal! Here’s a glimpse at some conference highlights Conference activities start during the day Wed, 8 May with a host of workshops, field excursions, and round tables, and continue through Saturday, 11 May with our field trips. In addition to the usual high-calibre delivered paper and poster sessions, we will have: A welcome reception Sessions with longer time slots dedicated to story-telling A space where Elders can gather and share knowledge Workshops on topics such as Salish weaving, Indigenous mapping projects, and archaeobotanical identifications A banquet at Musqueam First Nation, including tours of the Nation’s cultural center and surrounding reserve Four field trips highlighting the ways in which the deep history of the people of the Northwest is written on the landscape A film screening and a discussion with the producer Lunch time ethnobotany walks Special student events Local Indigenous foods peppered throughout (feel free to bring foods to share! - contact the organizers). Statement on waste-reduction In these crazy-world times, we are all increasingly aware of the negative impacts each of us has on the planet. As conference organizers, we are painfully aware that encouraging people to fly contributes significantly to greenhouse gasses and thus to the many social and environmental ills we are battling to counteract. Nevertheless, we also recognize that meeting with our community face-to-face means being (re)energized and educated, and enables us to go forward to create social change in our small corners of the world. In planning the 2019 SoE conference, we have undertaken a variety of small actions that will hopefully raise awareness and reduce the impacts of our gathering. We are re-using the conference badge-holders from the 2017 conference (we went around and collected them after the banquet last year!). We encourage you to bring your own badge-holder. Some of us have a drawer-full. We encourage you to bring your own travel mug. We will have a travel-mug swap. So, if you have extras, bring them along to contribute. We will have on-site recycling, composting, and will minimize waste whenever possible. We are seeking locally sourced, bulk, organic foods for snacks at the conference. We are offering a paperless (on-line) conference program option. No plastic conference swag from us! Only local foods. Statement on inclusivity and diversity In our conference planning, we are also conscious of creating ways to encourage a range of respectful voices at our conference. For us, this means making the conference space welcoming to diverse communities and not allowing discrimination of any kind. To this end we have done the following; we welcome other suggestions: Made sure there is a gender-inclusive (single-stall) bathroom in the conference venue. Confirmed that there is wheelchair access to the conference venues. Organized day-care options. Set aside space for Indigenous Elders. Created non-traditional sessions for knowledge sharing (story-telling) We require all conference presenters to abide by the code of ethics adopted by our organization (https://ethnobiology.org/about-society-ethnobiology/ethics) We encourage attendence by caregivers; no registration fee is required. If you have any questions or ideas to share, contact: General inquires: conference@ethnobiology.org, dlepofsk@sfu.ca Workshops: madi.donald@gmail.com Childcare: conference@ethnobiology.org Posters: julie_nielsen@sfu.ca Contributing traditional food to share: leighjennyjoseph@gmail.com Travel visas: conference@ethnobiology.org We look forward to gathering with you in Vancouver, and celebrating the many voices of Ethnobiology. - Daisy Rosenblum, Sarah Walshaw, Dana Lepofsky