Dear All, Please see below from Matteo regarding the upcoming meeting of working party 7.02.09. Important deadline is March 15. Regards, Tod Dear colleagues and friends, Although I know these are troubling times for us all and for the Ukrainian people in particular, while expressing our full solidarity for those affected by the war, I need to remind us all that "tempus fugit". This is the last reminder that preregistration for the 10th IUFRO meeting "Phytophthora in forests and natural ecosystems (San Francisco-Berkeley June 19-June15, 2021)" and the room booking period for the pre-conference hotel will close on March 15th. California is fully opening up, so things are looking good regarding the feasibility of the meeting. Due to a variety of Covid-restrictions and planning issues,we need everybody to preregister by March 15th. In the last weeks, we have responded to several questions by many of you: we apologize about any misunderstandings and about brisk emails on our part: it was mostly out of trying to reiterate all of the information that may have been useful to you. We summarize here some of the questions with answers, for the benefit of the group: - Can I stay at a hotel or at an AirB&B during the conference? No, due to Covid regulations, all participants will need to be in Berkeley at the Clark Kerr campus for daily checks. A few exceptions will be made for local residents -Do I need to book a room at the Hotel Handlery if i have preregistered for the conference? Yes! Preregistration is only for the Berkeley portion of the conference, but does not include the night of June 18th (see below). While, technically speaking you don't have to, the buses for the conference will depart in front of the Handlery Hotel at 830 am on June 19th. You will need to arrive in San Francisco on the 18th of June or earlier, so it is highly recommended you do stay at the Handlery hotel for your preconference accommodation needs. the Hotel will offer you the same rate for one or multiple nights, with check out on June 19th - Is there a deadline to book the hotel room? Yes, the hotel rooms assigned to conference participants for their pre-conference needs will "disappear" on March 15th, so book online or by phone before the deadline. -How do I get to the Handlery Hotel? from both Oakland and San Francisco International airports you can take the underground fast train BART and walk from the Powell street Station. Uber, Lyft and taxis will also be relatively reasonable from San Francisco International Airport. - Is the Hotel Handlery near the Clark Kerr campus? No, the hotel is an underground train ride from the West side of the Berkeley campus, but Clark Kerr is uphill from the underground (BART) train station and on the South East Side of campus. Travel time is about 70 minutes or more. However, we will pick you up with the buses at the beginning of the conference on Sunday morning (8-830 am) in front of the Hotel Handlery in San Francisco. - Is the online proof of payment I received, my receipt for payment? No, the proof of payment generated by the online system is only for internal use. You will receive a formal receipt for your preregistration first (by March 25th) and then you will receive a second formal receipt for the remainder of the registration cost, after you pay and before May 25th. - Is there a conference rate for accompanying family? Given the very low conference cost, a participant and family member(s) should register knowing they will each pay the same "double accomodation" conference rate. Please write-in your family member name as a roommate. In other words, if you have an accompanying partner or family member, the registration cost will be the same for yourself and whoever accompanies you. Accompanying family members will have access to all snacks, coffee breaks, meals, field trips and social dinner and dance as participants do. - Is there a deadline to register an accompanying family member? Yes, the deadline is March `15th - Is there financial aid? For some who require financial help, we can waive all or part of the registration fee. If we are able and agree to provide financial support, we will let you know ASAP. We do ask however that you present a talk or a poster and that you pay preregistration. Those in need, please do ask. - I still do not know exactly what I will present, so I cannot preregister. Well, it is time to hurry up. The information we request in the preregistration is to help us draft a program, but you will be allowed to change your abstract (and slightly modify your title) during registration between April 1st and May 19th. If you are not presenting, just do not fill in that part of the preregistration form. - When will the conference end? Technically speaking the conference will end with the social on Friday night, but of course friday night's accommodation and breakfast on Saturday 25th are included in your registration. You can have early breakfast and leave, or sleep in and leave at check out time. - How will I leave the conference? You can order Uber, Lyft or a taxi to take you to the Bart station (less than 10 USD) with connections to all buses, trains and airports. You can also take a Lyft or Uber ride directly to Oakland International Airport The Conference website has a day-by-day program, so you can get a feel for the overall schedule. We will provide you with more detailed information later on, including clothing and Covid regulations we will have to follow. We also will open the doors of our garden and house for those who want to join us for dinner on June 18th: more details to follow Remember, we need at least 50 participants for the in-person meeting to take place, so please do preregister before the March 15th deadline. For faculty members, postdocs and even some students, it may be easier for you to use your personal credit card to preregister and then ask your institution for a reimbursement, once you receive the formal receipt/invoice. It is only 100 USD, so I am sure most of you can afford that. As we wrote before, if the in-person meeting were not to happen this year, that preregistration will likely turn into a full registration for a shorter online version of the conference, so the expense will be justified, no matter what happens. I should add that there may be very limited registration opportunities after March 15th, so you should think of that date as a critical deadline. All the information on the venues, schedule, rates, preregistration and necessary forms for the Conference are available on the Conference website: IUFROBerkeley2022<https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=ht… or https://nature.berkeley.edu/matteolab/?page_id=6539<https://can01.safeli… - We hope this email is useful and we are looking forward to hosting you in California in June. Matteo and Doug -- Matteo Garbelotto Ph.D. Director U.C. Berkeley Forest Pathology and Mycology Laboratory Statewide U.C. Forest Pathology Extension Specialist Professor, Department of ESPM, University of California at Berkeley www.matteolab.org<https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=ht…