Find creativity in community, join me in creating your own personal Anthotype from natural materials. Together we'll collaborate on making this project applicable to your program, finding connections in the process of Anthotypes for preschool and school age children alike.
Interested in an easy, accessible way for you or your students to develop a deep connection with place and become more familiar with local species and ecosystems? Come explore phenology with us! We will be outdoors practicing and debriefing several techniques for observing and tracking seasonal changes. Bring your curiosity and a good pencil!
Share! Collaborate! Learn! Join educators from the Ecology Learning Center (Unity, Maine) as we discuss the successes, challenges and opportunities for creating dynamic, skills-focused outdoor learning experiences for youth in rural public-school settings.
The Nature Based Education Consortium Advocacy working group wants to hear from YOU about the systems-level changes and legislative priorities that need to happen to support you in your work. Our group has been working hard for the past seven years hard to shape policies that will further strengthen the environmental education ecosystem state-wide, and in this workshop we will share stories of our successes, the learnings of our challenges, and all the skills we've learned and resources we've built along the way. Most importantly, though; we want to continue to expand engagement with the legislative process and hear about community needs as we hone in on our future work. Come get your voice heard and learn some advocacy skills!
This experiential workshop explores how connection to land can cultivate belonging and curiosity for youth navigating new environments. Through storytelling, guided reflection, and a hands-on nature activity, participants will experience how outdoor learning can foster healing, connection, and stewardship. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for creating inclusive outdoor learning spaces.
Ashley Medina creates inclusive and supportive spaces for Maine’s immigrant and minority communities. Moving from Texas to Maine as a young Mexican American and Spanish speaker, Ashley and her family experienced some of the same challenges immigrant families face, especially when... Read More →
Friday May 8, 2026 2:35pm - 3:35pm EDT Dining Hall103 Pilgrim Lodge Lane, West Gardiner, ME 04345
Step outside the classroom and into the frame! Participants will need to bring their own camera or cell phone to participate in the photography exercise. In this experiential workshop, educators will discover how outdoor photography can build student connection to the natural environment at your school or community program, build teamwork amongst students, and grow self-confidence and creative expression. We'll start off with a hands-on exercise with student photography and example lessons from Emory Buco Harger's middle school photography class at La Escuelita Middle School in Oakland, California. Then we'll participate in a creative outdoor photography activity for the second half of the workshop that helps students observe their natural environment, express themselves, work as a team, and also introduce some colors in the Panawahpskek language.
You'll leave this workshop inspired to bring outdoor photography into your classroom or community program, ideas for funding strategies and weaving photography across subject areas, and maybe even a few great photos of your own!
