Arkansas Interfaith Power & Light (IPL) will host a retreat focused on faith and environmental justice, Friday-Saturday, March 23-24 at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center (1720 Ferncliff Road) in Little Rock.

Dr. Dodd Galbreath, founding director of Institute for Sustainable Practices at Lipscomb University, will give a keynote speech. With more than 28 years of experience in sustainability practices, Dr. Galbreath leads one of the nation’s first academic sustainability programs at Lipscomb University. While serving two former governors of different parties, Dr. Galbreath led efforts to implement a nationally-recognized wetlands conservation plan; to create one of the nation’s first environmental justice plans; and guided passage of five legislative proposals to manage competing water allocations and transfers and designation of the first state scenic river in 25 years.

The retreat will also offer additional workshops by the following instructors:

• Sam Lane, director of Stop Arkansas Fracking
• Sarah DeVries, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality on watershed protection
• Frank Kelly, Solar Source Consulting on solar potential in Arkansas
• Harmony Hudson, Arkansas Energy Office on energy efficiency
• Terry Tremwel, University of Arkansas on science of climate change
• Rev. David Gill, Ferncliff Camp on green mission outreach
• Rev. Malik Saafir, Village Commons on social justice

Registration is 4-6pm on Friday, March 23. The conference will continue through Saturday lunch.

Pastors, lay people, professors, teachers, and students of all faith traditions are welcome. IPL offers scholarships for students. Request more information by emailing arkansasipl@gmail.com

$125 for overnight accommodations and 3 meals, based on double occupancy, $185 for single occupancy option, and $55 commuter rate for those who will not spend the night.

Mail check to Arkansas IPL, P.O. Box 268, Little Rock, AR 72203. Mark it “retreat” in lower left corner. You can also register online by clicking here.

Visit IPL website for more information.

Please call (479)754-2406 to pre-register or to get more information. When you call, please state whether you are a commercial producer or a home owner. There will be a $5.00 charge collected on the day of the event.

The Little Rock Sustainability Commission (LRSC) will meet tomorrow between 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Willie L. Hinton Resource Center (3805 West 12th Street) in Little Rock.

Formed in Spring 2008, LRSC works to promote and support sustainability in the City of Little Rock by serving as a liaison between the Citizens of Little Rock and the City of Little Rock’s City Manager, Mayor, Board Directors, and Departments on matters related to sustainability. Membership is supported by city staff and consists of seven to fifteen residents of Little Rock and up seven ex-officio members, both appointed by Mayor Mark Stodola. Current committees include: Green City Operations, Green Jobs/Economic Development, Land Use/Planning/Built Environment, Communications, Education, and Sustainability Summit.

The Commission can be contacted at (501) 371-4510 or SustainLR@gmail.com.

The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (PC&E) will meet tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality’s Commission Room, located at 5301 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72118.

The PC&E was first established in 1949 as part of the Arkansas Water Pollution Control Act (Act 472 of 1949). Since that time, it has undergone significant changes — including a reorganization in 1991.

The PC&E is the environmental policy-making body for Arkansas. With guidance from the Governor, the Legislature, the Environmental Protection Agency and others, the PC&E determines the environmental policy for the state and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) implements those policies.

Though the PC&E and ADEQ work closely, each is distinctly different.

The PC&E is comprised of 13 members, six representing state agencies and seven appointed by the Governor. The six agency representatives are directors, or their designee, of the:

• Arkansas Department of Health
• Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
• Arkansas Forestry Commission
• Arkansas Natural Resources Commission
• Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission
• Arkansas Geological Commission

The seven other members of the Commission represent each of the four congressional districts in the state. Each district must have at least one representative on the PC&E but no more than two representatives.

By law, the PC&E must meet four times each year. In practicality, they meet once a month with the exception of November and December.

For more information about thePC&E and its meetings, contact Patricia Goff, Commission Secretary at (501) 682-7890.

Meet fellow canoeing enthusiasts near you! Join the Central Arkansas Canoe Club, tonight at 7 p.m. at the Oyster Bar in Little Rock. For more information, the website at www.arkansascanoeclub.com.

Join Arkansas River Valley Audubon Society for its monthly meeting, Monday, October 24, 2011, at 7 p.m. at Faulkner County Library (1900 Tyler Street) in Conway.

Dr. K.C. Larson, a territorial ecologist with the University of Central Arkansas, will present a program titled, “Why Native Plants in Our Landscape.” Her research specialty is invasive species and restoration and her advising specialty is environmental science.

Refreshments will be served. The public is invited.

For more information, call Coe Wilson at (501) 727-5559.

Filmmaker Louie Psihoyos is director of the 2009 Oscar winning film for best documentary, “The Cove,” which uncovers how a small seaside village in Japan serves as a microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide. Tonight at 6 p.m. at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service (1200 President Clinton Avenue), Psihoyos will give a lecture titled, “The Ultimate Weapon of Mass Construction,” about his efforts to use film to inspire activism. He will also show clips from his next eco-thriller about the sixth mass extinction on Earth. The new film will feature scientist Roger Payne, who declares that in the near future all the famines and world wars experienced by humanity will be a footnote compared to the destruction humanity is creating on the planet.

Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or calling (501)683-5239.