- Report of the Eighty-Fourth Annual MeetingBellingham, Washington October 6–8, 2022
APCG members gathered in Bellingham, Washington, for the Eighty-Fourth Annual Meeting on the campus of Western Washington University (WWU). Most of the 110 attendees came in person, but this was a fully hybrid conference with some attendees and presenters engaging online from elsewhere in the region.
Bellingham is located on the shores of the Salish Sea, on the ancestral homelands of the Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Tribe, just a few miles from the U.S.-Canada border. This is an intriguing location for geographers due to the rugged and varied local topography and the city's nearness to an international border. Field trips on Thursday took participants into the Cascade Mountains, through the urban landscape of downtown Bellingham, and out into Whatcom County to explore flood hazard management and recovery along the Nooksack River.
This meeting's theme was "Geographies of Justice," in recognition of the crucial role geography must play in understanding and counteracting social and environmental injustices. Two keynote speakers were featured during the meeting. On Saturday afternoon we had the honor of hearing from Dr. Emily Yeh, past president of the AAG. Dr. Yeh gave a talk on "Climate Injustices in Tibetan: Impacts and Adaptation." On Friday evening, Dr. Kathryn Sobocinski, author of the State of the Salish Sea report, introduced the audience to the geography and environmental challenges and opportunities of the Salish Sea region in a talk on "The State of the Salish Sea." The Salish Sea is a transboundary estuarine ecosystem comprised of the inland marine waterways near the Washington-British Columbia border that are separated from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula. The international nature of this region poses numerous challenges and opportunities for bioregional planning, conservation, and environmental management. [End Page 150]
Paper and poster sessions were held on the WWU campus on Friday and Saturday and included forty-five paper presentations and twenty-five poster presentations. Although there were some short-lived technical difficulties, the hybrid conference model worked very well overall. The option to participate remotely opened up attendance to twenty-two APCG members who were unable to attend in person, or who wanted to avoid the financial and environmental costs of traveling for the conference.
In-person attendees were eager to reconnect and celebrate being together. Well-attended social events were held each day. Many compliments were given regarding the regional cuisine and local beer and cider featured at the evening receptions. These events included a welcome reception, an opening reception, a Graduate Student Lunch, the Women's Network Lunch, the World Geography Bowl, receptions for each of the two keynote speakers, and the Awards Banquet. Social events were held at different locations across the WWU campus, giving attendees a chance to admire the architecture and lovely views of several buildings.
The conference concluded with a joyful Awards Banquet, at which awards for numerous talented students were presented and Steven Graves, outgoing APCG president, gave a heavily illustrated talk titled "Love Letters To/From Larry: A Retrospective Look at Larry Ford's Legacy through Landscape Photography."
In 2023, APCG's Eighty-Fifth Annual Meeting will be held in Ventura, California. [End Page 151]