I was lucky enough to be invited to the annual Grey to Green conference hosted in Toronto. Regular admission price was upwards of $100 but there were also student bursaries available. I wrote a 1-page cover letter as per the application and was happily selected to attend.
The focus of the conference was implementing rooftop gardens in urban communities. Much of the topics were quite technical and dry, discussing agriculture problems, bureaucratic policies and new government programs. It might have been valuable to industry professionals, which was an excellent opportunity to meeting a bunch of different people. But I found much of the day disappointing.
The food served during was also lackluster – they only provided cold foods (wraps, pastries etc.) for breakfast and lunch.
The conference wasn’t aligned with my interests, so I left early afternoon before the closing keynote.
In the evening, there was a dinner reception for select attendees and bursary winners. This event was significantly better than the conference during the day. It was held on a rooftop garden, with free beer and wine tastings, and an assortment of delicious foods. No formal event took place, it was simply a networking type deal.
