Call for Abstracts

SERNW Regional Conference 2009

Mark your calendars! We invite you to submit abstracts for oral presentations and posters to be presented at the 2009 SERNW Regional Conference.  The Conference will be held in Lynnwood, Washington at the Lynnwood Convention Center, May 19-22, 2009.

We welcome abstracts from all disciplines and expertise representing academics, practitioners, and government.

Our vision is a program of oral presentations and posters that create an opportunity for the exchange of information and knowledge to promote the preservation, conservation, enhancement, and restoration of urban and rural ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest.  

The 2009 Conference theme is “Creating Thriving Rural and Urban Communities through Ecological Restoration”.  Abstracts are being solicited to cover a wide range of suggested scientific, cultural and ecological related topics.

Suggested topics in no particular order:

• Value of Urban Forests
• Inventories and Management of Urban Forests
• GIS and Habitat Mapping
• Urban Forest Preservation
• Traditional Ecological Knowledge
• Community Stewardship and Collaboration
• Estuarine Protection and Restoration
• Water Quality and Quantity
• Invasive Species
• River and Stream Restoration
• Monitoring Aquatic Systems
• Vegetation Monitoring
• Nearshore and Marine Protection and Restoration
• Agriculture and Ecological Restoration
• Inventories, Monitoring and Reintroduction of Rare Species
• Wildlife and Restoration
• Forest Restoration
• Shrub-steppe Restoration
• Prairie and Grassland Restoration
• Performance Standards 

Abstracts for oral and poster presentations are due by February 15, 2009.  Open and invited abstracts are being solicited for oral presentations and posters.  Presenters will be notified of acceptance by March 15, 2009.   Session assignments will be confirmed for oral presentations at that time.  Abstracts of accepted oral and poster presentations will be printed in the Conference program.  See below for instructions and guidelines for submitting oral presentation and poster abstracts.  Example abstracts also are provided.

Presenters of accepted oral and poster presentations will be eligible for reduced rates to attend the Conference.  There may be scholarship assistance available to qualified students wanting to present.  Speaker and general registration will open January 15, 2009.

Guidelines for Oral Presentations

General Instructions

• An abstract should contain: title, author(s), and introduction – scope and purpose, i.e., question asked, brief description of methods, results and conclusion.
• An abstract is a single paragraph summary of your entire talk or poster in 250 words or less.  It is not an outline of what you are going to present.  An abstract is a summary of the major or key points of your methods, results, and conclusions or discussion.  It should be concise and to the point.  The abstract must include the title and author(s). 
• In one sentence, describe the general topic you are presenting and why it is important. 
• In one to two sentences, write your scope and purpose of your study or project. 
• Describe in one to two sentences how you did your study (methods). 
• In one to two sentences explain your results, be specific and state only your main points. 
• Finally, in one sentence summarize what you found out about the general topic or question you studied (conclusion). 
• Do not include literature citations or references to figures or tables. Remember, meeting participants generally decide whether or not to come to your talk by reading your abstract, and your abstract becomes part of the meeting program and is a permanent record of your presentation.  See examples of abstracts.
• Abstracts must use Standard English, and follow English syntax, grammar, and punctuation rules. Poorly written abstracts will be REJECTED.
• Typically, each technical session has 4 presentations.  Presentations are scheduled in 20 minute segments.  Within each segment there will be: 1) the speaker introduction (1 minute or less); 2) the talk 15 minutes; and 3) the question and answer period (3-4 minutes).  Presentation time limits will be enforced.  A timekeeper will notify you when you have 5 or few minutes remaining.  When you receive a warning from the timekeeper, you should quickly summarize your talk and leave time for questions.  Session Chairs are instructed to ask you to leave the podium at end of your time allotment.
• Alternative session formats such as panel discussion and symposia may be used within the session segment.  Check with your designated track coordinator for details.
• Presentations must start and end on time, no exceptions, because they are coordinated with all other concurrent sessions. 
• Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 are the only acceptable audiovisual formats for electronic presentation in oral papers. Overhead or slide projectors will be available ONLY upon special request by May 1, 2009 to Jake Jacobson, Conference AV manager at info_sernw@ser.org.
• Each meeting room will be equipped with a dedicated LCD projector and PC laptop operating on Windows XP and running Office 2002 and Adobe Acrobat 7.0. It is your responsibility to make sure that your presentation will run under this system. Newer versions of files may not work — save your files in a format compatible with Windows XP and with Office 2002 for Windows or Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0.
• File names for presentations must begin with the initial of your first name followed by your last name and date of presentation.
• Please do NOT bring your own laptop for your presentation.
• All presenters will be expected to contact their designated session chair or the Conference AV manager at least 20 minutes in advance of the start of their session to pre-load their presentations onto the dedicated laptop. It is recommended that presentations be stored on two different media sources.  This will ensure that your presentation will be compatible with our laptops — which will have CD readers and USB ports.
• Acceptable media sources:  CDs, memory sticks, or flash drives.
• Rehearse your talk before the meeting to be sure that it does not exceed the allotted time. Have peers evaluate your talk.
• Podium-mounted computers, lighting, and microphones are not always dependable. Be prepared to give your talk without such aids, if necessary.
• Presentations should be complete and in a format suitable for posting on Conference web sites (with permission of the presenter).  Contact Jake Jacobson, Conference AV manager at info_sernw@ser.org  for details. 
  

Submit Abstract Here

Guidelines for Poster Presentations  

General Instructions

• An abstract should contain: title, author(s), and introduction – scope and purpose, i.e., question asked, brief description of methods, results and conclusion.
• An abstract is a single paragraph summary of your entire talk or poster in 250 words or less.  It is not an outline of what you are going to present.  An abstract is a summary of the major or key points of your methods, results, and conclusions or discussion.  It should be concise and to the point.  The abstract must include the title and author(s). 
• In one sentence, describe the general topic you are presenting and why it is important. 
• In one to two sentences, write your scope and purpose of your study or project. 
• Describe in one to two sentences how you did your study (methods). 
• In one to two sentences explain your results, be specific and state only your main points. 
• Finally, in one sentence summarize what you found out about the general topic or question you studied (conclusion). 
• Do not include literature citations or references to figures or tables. Remember, meeting participants generally decide whether or not to come to your talk by reading your abstract, and your abstract becomes part of the meeting program and is a permanent record of your presentation.  See examples of abstracts.
• Abstracts must use Standard English, and follow English syntax, grammar, and punctuation rules. Poorly written abstracts will be REJECTED.

Poster Size and Display

• Standard poster spaces are 6 feet wide that will be assigned along especially designed walls in the Conference facility; standing poster boards will not be available.  Poster presenters should request the location of their assigned space at the registration desk or by contacting the poster chairpersons upon arrival at the Conference Center.
• Limit your poster size to 36 inches x 48 inches.  Posters can be either portrait or landscape.  Larger sized posters may be accommodated depending on the number of posters submitted.  Contact the poster chairpersons if you wish a larger space to accommodate a larger poster.
• Presenters are required to assemble and disassemble their own poster.
• Please bring your own tacks, push pins, or t-pins to affix your posters. 

Poster Format and Design Tips

• Posters are encouraged as they allow extended informal discussions and active participation by authors and coauthors. Posters are displayed for day 1 and day 2 of the Conference.  Posters should be available for interested persons to view even when the author is not in attendance.
• Poster presenters are encouraged to provide a one page summary of the poster information to be handed out to participants who are attending the poster session. The poster participant is expected to provide 50 copies of his or her summary.  Arrangements for additional copies will be provided by the Conference poster coordinator.  
• Poster presenters are expected to be present to discuss their posters during the open house between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday evening, May 20, 2009 and at other times scheduled by the Conference poster coordinator.
• All text must be in English.
• Poster headings should include a title, author's name, affiliation, and contact.
• Titles should be > 60 point font and have surrounding space for clarity.
• Use Arial or other san-serif font for titles and headings for clarity and readability.
• Use Times Roman or other serif font for main body text (> 24 point font) so it is legible from at least six feet away.
• Use 24-26 point font size for chart axis titles, to match the text.
• Choose figures over tables whenever possible.
• A poster is not a paper: avoid too much information in text and tables; summarize using bullets and multiple smaller tables.
• Text color should contrast well against its background.
• Images and graphics should be large size and high quality.
• Put captions under all graphics and credit photos when possible.
• Consider symmetry when laying out your poster, try to balance elements like text boxes, images, etc, so they flow and are easy to follow.
• Seek peer review for your poster for content, design, and readability.
• KEEP IT SIMPLE- Limit yourself to one topic or hypothesis.

Submit Abstract Here

For further information, please contact the SERNW web site: www.ser.org/sernw or the following Conference representatives: 

Oral Presentations

Rural & Natural Areas Topics
Cheryl Lowe
360-222-0103

Urban Topics
Gary Smith
425-672-1370

Watershed Topics
Robert Warren
360-391-8491
 

Poster Presentations

Ryan Haugo
206-930-6970