connect for inspiration
Are you passionate about environmental education, climate change, and community organizing? Join us to connect for inspiration!
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
This two-day conference is intended to restore a sense of connection and encourage new people to see themselves in the environmental education community in Wabanaki homelands now called Maine.
You’ll gain inspiration from interactive outdoor and indoor workshops about outdoor learning, climate justice, Wabanaki studies, and community organizing. We’ll come together through common goals for our environment, schools, and communities. We hope the conference can hold space for dialogue about both the challenges we face and the successes we have.
Registration opens March 2025! Call for workshop proposals opens in February.
WHO IS THIS CONFERENCE FOR?
The conference is open to anyone interested in environmental and climate education, outdoor learning, climate justice, Wabanaki studies, and community organizing. We encourage anyone who is looking to connect with a community around these topics to attend.
People who have attended in the past include classroom educators, community educators, students, early career professionals, school administrators, nonprofit professionals, and community organizers. Conference workshops aim to be accessible for many interest and skill levels. You do not need to be a working professional in environmental education to bring your skills and interests to this two-day learning opportunity.
ADA Accessibility: MEEA strives to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. Because LOCATION is a public school, the building is required to be ADA compliant. MEEA staff will be doing a further accessibility audit of the indoor and outdoor locations this spring. You will have an opportunity to share your accessibility needs in both the conference registration and call for workshop proposals. Please email us at info@meeassociation.org if you’d like to share your individual accessibility needs to be able to participate in the conference.
Registration opens March 2025! Call for workshop proposals opens in February.
LOCATION Maine Central Institute, 295 Main St, Pittsfield, ME 04967
FRIDAY, MAY 9 afternoon and evening
SATURDAY. MAY 10 all day
SAVE THE DATE! MAY 9-10, 2025 IN PITTSFIELD, MAINE
REGISTRATION OPENS MARCH 2025
MEEA Annual Awards
MAY 9, 2025 AT LOCATION INFO
Every year, MEEA recognizes the excellent environmental educators, programs, schools, students, and environmental education partners in Maine. Nominations open in March 2025 awards are presented during a ceremony at the MEEA Annual Conference every May. Winners receive a $250 honorarium and commemorative plaque at the ceremony.
Call for Workshop Proposals will launch early February 2025!
Applications to submit a workshop proposal will be posted on this website in early February. You will hear back by the end of March about your workshop’s acceptance to the conference. Presenters from underrepresented groups are encouraged to submit a workshop proposal and are eligible to receive a $250 stipend. Please contact Anna Sommo anna@meeassociation.org to learn more.
All workshops will be one hour long and will be selected based on the following criteria:
ACTION-ORIENTED
Action-oriented with solutions attendees can take away from the workshop
BEYOND THE LECTURE
Includes interactive activities to engage attendees beyond lecture-style workshops
IN-DEPTH CONVERSATIONS
Builds connection and in-depth conversation amongst attendees
CONNECT FOR INSPIRATION
Relates to the conference’s theme of Connecting for Inspiration
NEW AND INNOVATIVE
Provides examples and/or case studies that are relevant, new, and innovative, and align with MEEA’s mission.
OUTDOORS & INDOORS
We aim to prioritize outdoor workshops (with backup indoor options for weather needs). We will also accept indoor workshops and hope to have a good mix of indoor and outdoor workshops for the event.
Registration fees are sliding scale.
We do not want cost to be a barrier to participation, so we’re offering a range of registration fees determined by financial mobility. Please choose the option that best fits your situation.
Workshop & Annual Awards
Friday, May 9, 2025
Free or Pay What You Can
$15 - Individuals not affiliated with an organization and have less financial mobility
$35 - Individuals not affiliated with organizations and who have financial resources
$50 - Individuals with more financial resources or individuals participating via organizations or schools
$50 travel stipends are available for school-based educators attending Friday’s workshop.
Annual Conference
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Free or Pay What You Can
$75 - Individuals not affiliated with organizations who have less financial mobility
$125 - Individuals not affiliated with organizations who have financial resources
$150 - Individuals with more financial resources or individuals participating via organizations or schools
If you are able to pay more than $150, these funds will help cover event costs, sponsor youth and educators unable to pay, and ensure accessibility for all.
Want to support Maine’s environmental education community? Sponsor this event!
We are accepting sponsorships for the conference. If you are interested in supporting this event, consider sponsoring us at any level by clicking the link above. See the list of our 2024 sponsors below.
PLATINUM $2,000+
MEEA LEADERSHIP SPONSOR
• Primary logo placement on all signage and publicity, including electronic messaging, social media
• Eecognition at the full conference
• Acknowledgement with logo for a full year on the MEEA website • Complimentary exhibit table
• Two complimentary full conference registration packages
SILVER $500 - $999
MEEA LEADERSHIP SPONSOR
• Tertiary logo placement on all signage and publicity, including electronic messagin
• Recognition at the full conference
• Complimentary exhibit table
GOLD $1,000 - $1,999
MEEA BENEFACTOR
• Secondary logo placement on all signage and publicity, including electronic messaging
• Recognition at the full conference
• Acknowledgement with logo for a full year on the MEEA website
• Complimentary exhibit table
• One complimentary full conference registration package
BRONZE $250 - $499
MEEA BENEFACTOR
•Tertiary logo placement on all signage and publicity, including electronic messaging
• Recognition at the full conference
2024 Conference Workshops
Curious what types of workshops were at last year’s confetrence? Want some inspiration for your workshop proposal? Check out last year’s workshops below!
2024 Friday Workshop
Decolonizing the Botanical Lexicon: Restorative Ecology from an Indigenous Perspective
Workshop participants are encouraged to read this Potash Hill article in advance.
Mother daughter team Kathy Pollard and Ann Pollard-Ranco (Penobscot citizen) of Know Your Land Consulting work with private landowners, conservation agencies and in schools to help balance western science with indigenous ethos. They have worked with students K-12, and their teachers. Kathy and Ann will host a workshop on the botanical lexicon. We hope that through this workshop, together, we can begin building a different vocabulary for use in restorative ecology projects that is less binary and more sensitive to the potential implications that reach beyond the science classroom.
2024 Conference Sponsors
