Outdoor Safety Training Pre-Conference Option

Conference attendees can also enroll in a separate 40-hour online Risk Management for Outdoor Programs training conducted by our partner Viristar. Enrollment in the outdoor safety course is available for AEOE's community at a 10 percent discount off the regular rate, and an additional 10 percent of the tuition goes directly to AEOE to support AEOE's work. The online training includes weekly Zoom calls and extensive independent study and small group projects, and takes place over four weeks. The class is held each month, and is separate from the AEOE conference itself. Enrollment is available for any month listed (not just cohorts immediately adjacent to the AEOE conference.) For more information or to enroll, go to https://courses.viristar.com. Use code AEOE2021 to access the 10 percent discount.

Conference Scholarships

Conference scholarships are available through Joie's Daisies Scholarship Fund, named after beloved outdoor educator Joie Armstrong. Joie was a bright light to all who knew her. In her words: "My passion lies with teaching children about their environment, and I have dedicated all of my efforts toward it." In honor of her legacy, AEOE is offering ten $100 scholarships to individuals whose organizations/employers will NOT be contributing to their registration fee. AEOE is also offering ten $50 scholarships to individuals whose organizations/employers WILL be contributing to their registration fee. Note that a minimum of 50% of scholarships will be offered to individuals who identify as members of communities that have historically been marginalized within the field of environmental education, specifically Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) and/or LGBTQIA+. 

Conference Volunteers

Many thanks to AEOE's Conference Committee Chair Angela Kemsley, as well as our board and community volunteers for making this conference a success: Mindy Schwartz, Lizz Atwood, Emelie Traub, Mike (Rhody) Shanahan, and Sneha Kumar. There are a number of tasks we will need assistance with the weekend of. Please check in with Mike, our volunteer coordinator, at registration if you are willing to lend a hand!

Workshop Strands:

Expanding Your Toolkit – Lessons, activities, and teaching techniques to engage students in environmental literacy in the field and in the classroom. 

Leadership – Opportunities and techniques to develop leadership skills amongst staff, peers, or students.

IDEAL (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Liberation)* – How to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion within all levels of the field.

Empowering Action – Extending knowledge, attitude, and behaviors to promote civic engagement.

*Equity and inclusion are expected to be incorporated into every workshop

Sampling of confirmed workshops:

• Utilizing Animals In Nature Education
  
• The Decolonized Kitchen: Centering Indigenous Knowledge through Experiential Curriculum
  
• Play as a Learning Tool: Teambuilding, Problem Solving and Science Play
  
• Outdoor Learning within the Elementary Phase of Schooling
  
• Spread Your Good Word: Working with Press/Media 101
  
• Social Emotional Learning Games Workshop
• Empowering High School Students as Leaders
• Teaching Human Ecology with Models and Simulations
• Guide & Support Youth - Campus Sustainability Leaders Lead Zero Waste Schools
• Learn * Engage * Get Involved: A Call to Action for the Next Generation of EE leaders
  
• True Stories of Magical Lizards, Ancient Arachnids (Ticks), and Stealthy Tick-Borne Pathogens
  
• Connecting Climate Change to Outdoor Education
  
• Predator Prey: It's not about winning or losing, it is about surviving!
  
• Final Action Project Presentations from Environmental Educator Certification Program Participants
• Tiny Campers: Adapting Camp for an Early Childhood Audience
  
• Optional early-morning bird walk w/ local Audubon chapter lead