This year's conference of SCUP (the Society for College and University Planning) is in Portland, OR next week. I'll be attending, as one of 1100+ educators, administrators, and contractors/suppliers. As a result, I'll be posting pretty frequently the first half of next week.

Portland is at the top of many lists as the most sustainable city in the USA, and has a justly famous public transit system. SCUP typically does an exemplary job of presenting a (very) full conference program and then providing great facilitation and information to attendees. This year, for example, they've arranged a bunch of group dinner reservations at well-regarded Portland restaurants and created an online sign-up process for conference-goers.

Looking at the list, it struck me that a number of the restaurants selected emphasize regional and/or seasonal ingredients. So I went through that portion of the list and checked out how easy it should be to get to each using only public transit and what my grandfather used to call "Shank's mare". Based on a 20-minute maximum trip and no bus transfers (too easy to get lost in a strange city), I'm suggesting that conference-goers with an interest in sustainability sustain themselves at one or more of the following.

For Monday evening:

6:30 pm at Southpark Seafood Grill & Bar. 901 SW Salmon St., 503-326-1300. Directions: From the Convention Center, walk North on ML King Blvd about 2 blocks to NE Holladay St. Take a left, and go into the Convention Center MAX (light rail) station. Catch the train headed to City Center & Beaverton TC. Ride for about 13 minutes to the Galeria/SW 10th Ave station. Walk East on Jefferson St and turn left on 9th Ave. Walk 3 blocks to SW Salmon St. Proceed to #901. MAX fare is free, 20 minutes.

or

6:30 pm at Park Kitchen. 422 NW 8th Ave (not 8th St), 503-223-7275. Directions: From the Convention Center, walk North on ML King Blvd about 2 blocks to NE Holladay St. Take a left, then a right on NE 3rd Ave. Go 1 block +/- to NE Multnomah St, cross the street and catch the #77 going West on Multnomah. Ride to NW Glisan St & 6th Ave (about 5 minutes -- the bus will cross the river on a highway. The stop seems to be at the 2nd intersection after the bus gets back on city streets.). Walk West (same direction the bus was driving) on Glisan St. 2 blocks, take a left on NW 8th Ave. Proceed about a half-block to #422. Bus fare is free, 12 minutes.

For Tuesday evening:

6:30 pm at Veritable Quandary. 1220 SW 1st Ave., 503-227-7342. Directions: From the Convention Center, walk South on ML King Blvd about 2 blocks to Hoyt St. At bus stop #5912, catch the #6 going South on ML King. Ride to SW 3rd Ave & Madison St (about 11 minutes -- the bus will cross the river, go a few blocks and take a left on 3rd Ave. Get off at the first intersection after the left -- there should be a park on your right.). Walk East on Madison St 2 blocks to SW 1st Ave, take a right and proceed to #1220. $2.00 bus fare (one way), 15 minutes.

or

6:30 pm at Deschutes Brewery. 210 NW 11th Ave., 503-296-4906. Directions: From the Convention Center, walk South on ML King Blvd about 7 blocks to E Burnside St. At bus stop #705, catch the #20 going West (across the river) and ride to NW 10th Ave. Walk North on NW 10th about 2 blocks to #210. $2.00 bus fare (one way), 16 minutes.

Sign up on the SCUP website to join any of the groups. And remember to bring your Monterey Bay Aquarium sustainable seafood list!