Chewonki to host annual environmental conference

The Maine Environmental Education Association Conference announced the organization’s annual conference, scheduled for Friday, March 23, at Chewonki in Wiscasset, will be themed “Building Partnerships for Sustainable Communities: Gathering the Usual and Unusual Suspects.”

This year’s conference is about building bridges. The organization aims to connect environmental education to the work of conservation organizations, health advocates, business leaders, governmental agencies, outdoor recreation groups and the agriculture industry, and in doing that, expand the typical environmental education audience. Through workshops, discussions and networking, attendees will attempt to define common goals.

A registration cost of $70 includes the conference, lunch, snacks and annual MEEA membership. Register at www.meeassociation.org.

Topics and workshops of the day will include:

  • Effective Partnerships: How to effective partnerships work?”
  • Systems Thinking: What is “systems thinking,” and how does it relate across sectors?
  • Environmental Literacy: What is “environmental literacy,” and how does it relate across sectors?
  • Outdoor Engagement: Addresses the growing trend in decreased outdoor activity in our culture. How is it affecting our health and well-being? Is it affecting our investment in and care for our natural resources? What are creative solutions to the issue? (I’m very interested in this topic. I’d like to think this blog is my “creative solution,” because ultimately, I hope my videos, stories and the information I provide on this blog will encourage people of all ages to spend more time enjoying the outdoors.)

About the Maine Environmental Education Association: Created in 1982, MEEA helps organizations, schools, groups, educational programs and individuals promote and expand environmental education in Maine and acts as a clearing house, keeping groups and individuals informed of issues and events in the field of environmental education.

About the Chewonki Foundation: Established in 1963, the Chewonki Foundation is a nonprofit educational institution located on a 400-acre peninsula in Wiscasset, Maine. Chewonki offers summer camp programs; wilderness trips for teenagers and adults; residential, school-year environmental education programs; traveling lessons in natural science to schools; and a residential semester programs of academic study for 11th grade students.

If you attend this conference and want to share some tidbits about what you learned, please post in the comments below or send me an e-mail to asarnacki@bangordailynews.com. I’m interested in “creative solutions” to getting more people outdoors, especially young people and families.

Aislinn Sarnacki

About Aislinn Sarnacki

Aislinn is a Bangor Daily News reporter for the Outdoors pages, focusing on outdoor recreation and Maine wildlife. Visit her main blog at actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com.