Submitted by Evergreen State College
While fall marks the beginning of school, October 18 will bring Evergreen State College graduates back to Olympia for Return To Evergreen, an annual multi-year reunion that typically draws 250 participants from across the country.
More than a party or nostalgic reminiscence, Return to Evergreen offers a day of forward-thinking seminars as well as networking opportunities and a chance to bob for apples at the campus Fall Harvest Festival.
Morning and afternoon seminars focus on timely topics include Income Disparity and the Law, Innovation and Infrastructure, Conserving Wild Species and Places (Using Science to Inform Policy in the 21st Century), 3-D Printing and The Democratization of Publishing. Hands-on seminars involve a recording studio experience and a cider making workshop and tasting.
Of particular timeliness is the after-lunch session on 3D printing, its promises and its limits, including hands-on workshop. Thanks to 1995 alum, Bre Pettis, co-founder of the 3D printer company MakerBot, Evergreen owns 3D printers, and is forefront in the discussion of their uses – and their limits. All parts of the day-long event are open to alumni and friends, students and the general public. Tickets are $20 in advance and can be purchased online.
“When it comes to offering our alumni meaningful opportunities to connect with Evergreen, there’s no substitute for an on campus event that celebrates and honors the hands-on approach to education students have taken for over forty years,” said Alumni Programs Officer, Nate Bernitz, who organized the day.
Several notable instructors will conduct seminars at the event – Climate Solutions Co-Founder Rhys Roth, on sustainability; Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director at theCenter for Biological Diversity, on species conservation; Seattle author, columnist and historic preservationist Knute Berger, on urban density and Nancy and Steve “Bear” Bishop of Pt. Townsend’s famed Alpenfire Cider, on cider making. For a full listing of sessions click here.
“It’s been an incredible experience, working with so many Evergreen graduates, students, faculty members, and staff to pull together an event that echoes the Evergreen experience for our alumni coming back from all over the country,” said Bernitz, himself an alum.
Informal mingling and attendance at the college’s Harvest Festival are among the options for attendees’ unstructured time. Evergreen’s 34th annual Harvest Festival, put on by the college’s community garden and shellfish club, feature oyster shucking contests, kid-friendly activities, raw food demos, home brewing (beer and mead) and canning workshops, cider all afternoon, and live entertainment. Harvest Festival is free and open to the public.
