NEMO University
NEMO University, or NEMO U, is the national conference of the NEMO Network Held every 18 months (or so), the focus of the conference is on providing opportunities for NEMO program leaders, partners, funders and NEMO friends to network with one another, share successful approaches and learn about new technologies and techniques.
- NEMO U7
- NEMO U6
- NEMO U5
- NEMO U4
- NEMO U3
- NEMO U2
- NEMO U1
NEMO University 7
The National NEMO Network held its seventh conference, NEMO University 7 (U 007), in Portland, ME September 29-October 1, 2010. The National NEMO Network is a confederation of 30 educational programs across the country that educate local officials about the connection between land use and water quality. Each of these programs is modeled after the original NEMO program at the University of Connecticut Center for Land Use education and Research (CLEAR), which serves as the coordinating "hub" of the Network and organizer of the NEMO University conferences.
A Network of Networks
Despite travel bans and tough economic times, the conference was very well attended with over 100 registrants from 24 states. Demonstrating the multi-disciplinary interest and participation in the NEMO Network, attendees represented many diverse organizations and national networks (see Evaluation Results tab). The two primary leaders of NEMO programs, Sea Grant and Extension, both piggy-backed additional meetings on the conference.
Varied Conference Sessions
The agenda was almost as diverse as the participants, featuring a balance of plenary sessions, concurrent sessions from programs around the country, field trips, workshops, and networking events. Highlights of the conference included:
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A plenary focused on climate change that explored how climate change adaptation and planning can fit into the NEMO approach of working with local land use officials, with examples of early adopters;
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Four field trips – a smart growth and Low Impact Development (LID) walking tour of Portland; a trip to the University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center; a tour of the Long Creek urban LID retrofit project; and a conservation walk at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR);
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A symposium/keynote on hybrid approaches to local planning & design by Randall Arendt, a nationally acclaimed expert in innovative community design and conservation planning;
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A 3-hour networking boat tour of Casco Bay;
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A plenary focused on urban stormwater retrofits that featured the Long Creek Project (above) and the first impervious cover TMDL project in the country, currently the subject of a project led by the CT NEMO Program;
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20 presentations from around the country on innovative outreach strategies, technical tools, and land use/water quality programs; and
- A lobster-bake networking event.
The National NEMO Network held its sixth conference (NEMO U6) on California’s Monterey Peninsula in October 2008. U6 was the first NEMO University held west of Charleston, SC. Ironically given the Route 66 theme to the conference, 66 NEMO educators and partners attended the conference representing 22 states. The conference agenda once again featured a mix of presentations, training sessions, and networking events. For the first time, presentation abstracts were solicited from the Network and provided an opportunity for NEMO programs to show off their latest tools and resources. A broad range of exciting topics were covered from the Stormulator Tool (which helps to integrate LID into site design) to impervious cover based TMDLs to habitat-based planning to clicker/audience response system technology. Trainings included a session on using a variety of techniques and programs (most of which are free) to put maps and data on the web. A hands-on learning lab followed the session where folks had an opportunity to use some of the tools and create their very own Mashups (combining two or more programs/tools to make a third). There was also a condensed version of the Network’s Forest Resource Education for Municipal Officials (FREMO) training and a plenary session on NEMOnomics or integrating economics into NEMO education. Of course, it wouldn’t be a NEMO U without great opportunities for networking among peers. We took full advantage of our location on Monterey Bay with an early morning kayaking trip, a whale watching trip (including a sighting of an Orca pod), and a beach side bonfire & barbeque. The crown jewel of the Networking events was a dessert reception at the world-renowned Monterey bay Aquarium (Photos from most events can be seen in the Media Gallery's Photo Gallery). In all, the conference fulfilled its goal of strengthening the bonds that hold our network together. |
| NEMO U5 was held in Middletown, CT in October 2006. The theme, Cinco de NEMO, was apropos of nothing other than that this was the fifth iteration of a NEMO U, and it provided ample opportunities for creative punnery. The conference was well attended by Network members, potential Network members and partners, including twenty-one existing NEMO programs and four states in some stage of developing a NEMO program. In all, over 115 people participated in some aspect of the conference. As usual, the Conference featured plentiful opportunities for updates, networking and resource sharing, but also included some new elements. The Network Hub, in consultation with the conference planning committee, added two full days of training to the NEMO U5 agenda mix along two tracks—one geospatial and the other topical. Go to U5 Photo Gallery |
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NEMO U4 (NEMO U4ia) was held in Washington, DC in April 2005 and provided an opportunity to highlight the progress the Network was demonstrating across the country to our federal agency partners. U4 was attended by 100 Network participants, from 29 states, including agency folks from NASA, NOAA, USDA and NADO. |
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NEMO U3 focused on increasing the efficiency of the network by identifying the expertise resident in the Network and developing ways to best utilize and share those resources. Go to U3 Photo Gallery |
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NEMO U2 was held in January 2002 in Charleston, SC and focused on the importance of partnerships both on the national and local levels. In May 2003, the Network returned to CT for a meeting at UConn’s Avery Point Campus. |
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The Network was officially formed as a result of discussions at the first NEMO U, which was held in NEMO’s Humble Home in Haddam, CT in October 2000. The conference led to the creation of a Network Charter, which outlined a common mission and ground rules for NEMO programs. |