Southwest Agroforestry Action Network

LOCATION: University of Arizona, ENR2 Building, Room S107, 1064 E Lowell St, Tucson, AZ

GOALS AND DESCRIPTION: The Fifth Annual Conference of the Southwest Agroforestry Action Network (SWAAN) is an event to engage and inspire people and organizations to adopt, practice and encourage agroforestry in the arid Southwest. The purpose of the conference is to share information about agroforestry, connect potential collaborators and partners, and generate ideas, research and initiatives that advance adoption of agroforestry in the Southwest U.S. As a network, SWAAN’s approach is to convene and bring together the people who are practicing agroforestry and those most likely to adopt and implement agroforestry practices. Agroforestry in the Southwest can be designed to be both sustainable and regenerative:  Regenerative agroforestry is a combination of practices to increase soil moisture and build soil health, increase plant diversity, sequester carbon and strengthen resilience to climate change. The SWAAN community extends this concept of regenerative to people as well. The conference includes: a pre-conference campus arboretum tour; a one-day hybrid in-person and online conference with invited speakers; and a fieldtrip to local agroforestry related sites, and a mini-workshop on agroforestry and food forest design. The conference includes a particular focus on agroforestry and regenerative agriculture from an indigenous perspective.

PARTNERS: The conference is presented by the Southwest Agroforestry Action Network(link is external), in partnership with the Arizona Community Tree Council and University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Sponsors and partners include: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, Northern Arizona University, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Forest Service National Agroforestry Center.

AUDIENCE: Agricultural producers, Tribes, ranchers, community gardeners and orchardists, permaculturalists, water harvesters, and others who produce food for themselves; Representatives of government agencies, cooperative extension, universities, and nonprofit organizations who support sustainable solutions for agriculture, forestry, and communities through their programs; and people interested in community food forests and forest-agricultural activities including alley cropping, forest farming, riparian forest buffers, silvopasture, windbreaks, and shelterbelts. 

FEATURED SPEAKERS AND ACTIVITIES:

• Brad Lancaster, Author of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond and Co-Founder of Desert Harvesters and Neighborhood Foresters Program, will present on Best Practices for Providing Sustainable Water Supplies to Urban Trees, and will lead on a tour at Dunbar-Spring Neighborhood to observe and discuss a tree-planting program in public rights-of-way supported by water harvesting and a permaculture homestead with water harvesting, solar power and edible trees.
• Learn how to design and install your own low-water use food forest with presentations and a workshop with Lisa Shipek from the Watershed Management Group and Kelly Bull, Permaculture Design LLC, Owner.
• Learn about Native American agroforestry, permaculture and regenerative agriculture practices in the Southwest, including speaker Jacobo Marcus, Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute, and others.
• See the attached agenda for all our exciting activities and inspiring speakers.

REGISTRATION: $200. Please registration here: https://www.aztrees.org/event-5453333(link is external). Scholarships are available: if you are practitioner, tribal member or need support to make your participation possible, please contact the conference organizer Chris Jones at ckjones@arizona.edu

HOTEL: A limited number of rooms are available at the Tucson Marriott University Park: $159 USD per night (Cancellation Policy: 48-hours before check-in). Last Day to Book: Wednesday, March 20, 2024.