Second International Conference on School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement and Enterprise (SHGBEE2)

• Date: 14-17 November 2023
• Venue: Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

"Nurturing Healthy, Biodiverse, and Entrepreneurial Communities"

Food and nutrition security contribute to the health, cognition, and subsequently the educational progress of school-age children. Since 2014, the number of people who suffer from hunger and malnutrition has gradually increased and the global pandemic has further exacerbated this situation. As we move on in a post-pandemic world, there is a need for an active response to address hunger and all its forms.

School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement and Enterprise (SHGBEE) takes off from the recognized benefits of school-plus-home gardens in improving nutrition, education, and economic well-being of school children and their families. SHGBEE takes it a step further by integrating the indispensable aspects of biodiversity restoration and enterprise development in attaining food and nutrition security. In this way, SHGBEE becomes both the vision and a pathway to attain positive social change while contributing to local food and nutrition security through sustainable agriculture while promoting biodiversity stewardship and creating pathways for livelihood and income generation. This was the focus of the first SHGBEE conference (SHGBEE1) held in Coron, Palawan last year.

This year, guided by the initiatives discussed during SHGBEE1, the Second International Conference on School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement and Enterprise (SHGBEE2) goes to the campus of Central Philippines State University in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental to further discuss how SHGBEE activities initiate pathways to nurturing healthy and entrepreneurial communities while protecting local biodiversity.

SHGBEE builds on the wealth of experience of the School-plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP), a banner program of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). S+HGP's overall goal was to improve the nutritional condition and dietary habits of school-aged children by increasing and enabling year-round production of locally adapted vegetables through school and home gardening. This also included improving knowledge and skills of students and teachers in participating schools. Eventually, the school gardens led to the development of home gardens. This contributed to reducing expenses, creating savings, and providing an alternative source of income for families in the community.

About the Conference

Taking off from the challenges and opportunities during SHGBEE1, the Central Philippines State University in coordination with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and Kansas State University is convening SHGBEE2.

This international conference is a platform for sharing of research initiatives, experiences, and best practices related to school, home, and community gardens and its contributions to biodiversity enhancement and enterprise development in the Southeast Asian region and beyond.

SHGBEE2 will be from November 14 to 17, 2023, at Kabankalan, Negros Occidental, Philippines.

Objectives

SHGBEE2 aims to discuss different lessons, impact stories, strategies, issues, and challenges related to nurturing healthy, biodiverse, and entrepreneurial communities. This will contribute to a better understanding of SHGBEE as an opportune entry point for schoolchildren, the youth, and local communities to be mindful of their food and nutrition while being engaged in biodiversity restoration and protection while harvesting economic benefits from livelihood generation.

A vital component of SHGBEE2 is the emphasis on the need to have a collective transformative mindset in attaining local food and nutrition security while maximizing the potential of its synergy with biodiversity enhancement, as well as in initiating sustainable agri-enterprises for the community.

Specifically, SHGBEE2 intends to:

• Present different applications and strategies in promoting food and nutrition security through school, home, and community gardens;
• Share experiences on advancing people and planet health through sustainable agriculture-based enterprises;
• Present initiatives related to harmonizing S+HGP with Biodiversity Enhancement and Entrepreneurship
• Share strategies in harnessing collective action for scaling out SHGBEE.

Conference thematic areas

The conference will focus on the following thematic areas.

• Promoting food and nutrition security – This area focuses on how school, home, and community gardens contribute to local food and nutrition security. This also includes how schools implement the S+HGP by integrating it in lessons and other activities for students (e.g. in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Economics, etc.). Furthermore, initiatives on community-based gardens and how they support local food and nutrition security will also be discussed under this area. This can also cover the following: conservation agriculture, agroforestry, edible landscaping, container gardening, urban food production, bio-intensive gardening, aquaphonics, hydrophonics, and engineered tools and machines, even technology-based mobile applications and other similar practices.
• Advancing People and Planet Health through Sustainable Agri-Enterprises – This covers different agriculture-based technologies, enterprises, and livelihood-boosting initiatives that contribute to the health of both consumers and the environment. This may include the following topics: circular economy, business and financing models, seed banking enterprises for native species, income-generating models, agri-tourism enterprises, promoting young agri-entrepreneurs, and other similar initiatives.
• Biodiversity Enhancement and Agriculture – This focuses on how Biodiversity Enhancement and Agriculture are in synergy - This may include activities protecting, conserving, and propagating local flora and fauna while producing food, utilizing local and native species, promoting indigenous crops and farming practices with income generation. Particularly, the challenge of incorporating these synergies in urban and rural household landscaping.
• Harnessing Collective Action for SHGBEE – This covers research programs and activities focusing on collaborations between and among stakeholders from the academe, industry, government, and non-governmental organizations to advance SHGBEE.

Intended Participants

SHGBEE2 would like to gather teachers and researchers from local schools, state universities and colleges (SUCs) and other higher education institutions (HEIs); policymakers from local government units and other government agencies; and partners from the business/private sector and from non-government organizations both from the Philippines and from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

Mobile Workshops, SHGBEE Schools, and Farm Visits

SHGBEE2 would also feature mobile workshops, showcasing studies and practices that aim to increase understanding and appreciation of the indispensability of biodiversity as well as the need to enhance and conserve it while sustainably producing food and supporting local tourism as alternative sources of income for household and the community.

Submission of Abstracts

1. Submission format
   1. Abstracts must be submitted in English
   2. Use Times New Roman, font size 12, single spaced
   3. It should contain the proposed title of the presentation
   4. Conference thematic area it belongs to
   5. The complete names of authors and their affiliations
   6. Full name of participating author/presenter
   7. Contact details of submitting author/presenter (mobile number and email address)
   8. Abstract (maximum of 250 words)
   9. Keywords (up to six keywords)
   10. Abstracts should be uploaded in PDF, DOC, or DOCX formats
2. The deadline for abstract submissions has been extended until 30 September 2023. Interested presenters may submit their abstracts through either of the following:
   1. Uploading the file through the registration form, or
   2. Emailing the file to
3. Accepted submissions will be communicated through the submitted e-mail address by September 15, 2023 (Friday).

Registration

1. Interested participants may register until 29 September 2023 (Friday) through this registration link.
2. To be included in the program, kindly settle at least half of the non-refundable registration fee before 29 September. Payment channels will also be communicated soon.
3. Please send the proof of payment (scanned document or screenshot) to as soon as the payment has been made. Please include the following details:
   1. Full name of participating author/presenter
   2. Contact details of submitting author/presenter (mobile number and email address)
4. An acknowledgement receipt will be sent to the participant.
5. The registration fee's structure is below:

   Participant Institution Country/Region	OPTION A Conference Only1	OPTION B Conference and Mobile Workshops1
   Southeast Asian countries	PHP 4,500	PHP 5,500
   From other regions	USD 250	USD 300

   ¹ Options A and B only include snacks and lunch. Airfare, airport transfers to hotel, accommodation, and other meals are to be arranged by the participant.

Hotel Accommodation

1. The conference will be held at CPSU and at Zaycoland Resort and Hotel, Kabankalan City.
2. Interested participants may start booking their accommodation once they have registered for the conference. Please advise the hotel that you will be participating in SHGBEE2 to be able to avail special discounted rates (for a limited number of slots). However, the hotel or the organizers will not be able to guarantee availability of these special rates and rooms once the limited slots have been taken already.
3. To book a room, please directly contact the following:
   

   Central Philippines State University
   Contact person: Sheila A. Ignacio
   Email:
   Mobile number: (+63) 956 421-9998

   Zaycoland Resort and Hotel
   Don Emillio Village, Brgy. 9, 6111 Kabankalan,
   Negros Occidental, Philippines
   Email:
   Mobile numbers: (+63) 922 871-2640 or (+63) 922 871-2640
   Phone numbers: (+63) 43 7412-880 or (+63) 43 746-7053

Tentative Program

14-17 November 2023, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, Philippines