It might not grab your eye at first, but a historic preservation conference inside Jacksonville's main library is getting big buzz from some participants.

"It's special. I'm proud to be here," said Matt Hayes, a city-employed preservationist from Tacoma, Wash., who took some time Thursday to seek out a reporter.

What's distinctive about the Restore Jacksonville Conference is the way it mixes preservation and sustainability, two ideas that should fit together but in practice often don't.

Preservation has become "rarified," Hayes said, with too many contractors concentrating on aging mansions and embarrassingly well-heeled clients.

Jacksonville, as many residents know, has thousands of old houses, many of them modest enough no one thinks to call them historic.

Making those less drafty, cheaper to heat and cool and more enjoyable is a knack that could improve thousands of lives - and save power, reduce emissions, and raise property values.

Hence, preservation and sustainability, together, targeted at ordinary people.

"This is a watershed event," said Hayes, who said he expects to see the conference copied around the country.

Laura Lavernia, preservation and education coordinator at Riverside Avondale Preservation, organized the conference with a $20,000 state grant, a match from the city  and a lot of donated work.

Read more here:  http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/steve-patterson/2012-05...