MAY 7 - 8, 2026
Wabanaki homelands in West Gardiner, ME
Pilgrim Lodge at Lake Cobbosseecontee
Maine Environmental Education Association 2026 Conference
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Registration is open for the MEEA 2026 Conference on May 7 - 8, 2026
The MEEA 2026 Conference is a two-day event to celebrate educators, students, and anyone in our communities who contributes to creating a more just and sustainable Maine environment. The conference offers workshops, networking, and a retreat atmosphere. Topics explored include environmental education, outdoor learning, Wabanaki studies and skills for action. We welcome anyone who is curious about these topics to attend, including classroom educators, community educators, students, early career professionals, school administrators, nonprofit professionals, and community organizers. At MEEA, we recognize this work can be hard and demanding, so we offer workshops that both celebrate our successes and support one another in our challenges. Register now!
Now accepting workshop proposals until March 15th! Learn more here.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, May 7th
1 - 4pm: Wabanaki Studies 201 - Essential Topics for Teaching & Learning
This 3-hour collaborative work session is intended for educators who are actively working on implementing Wabanaki studies into their teaching practices and have completed the online microcourse, “Wabanaki Studies - Essential Topics for Teaching & Learning”. Please bring any lessons, activities, or resources that you have been building to workshop in the company of Wabanaki advisors and other educators. This is a welcoming and open space where you will have the opportunity to receive invaluable feedback from Wabanaki knowledge sharers, collaborate with fellow educators, and leave feeling well supported in your furthered Wabanaki Studies learning journey! If you have not yet taken the microcourse, but would like to before May in order to attend this workshop, please contact brianne.lolar@maine.gov.
4 - 6pm: Annual Awards Ceremony and Networking Event
Every year, MEEA recognizes the excellent environmental educators, programs, schools, students, and environmental education. Nominate someone by March 21st at this link.on partners in Maine.
Friday, May 8th
MEEA Annual Conference workshops & networking (all day)
The workshop schedule is not live yet, so you will not see any workshops available to sign up for on registration page. After you register, you will receive a follow-up email in April to sign up for Friday May 8th's workshop sessions.
Workshops offered on Friday May 8th at the MEEA conference are intended to create opportunities for joy, nature exploration, grow new skills, connect with peers, and care for our community. Categories for workshops include Climate Education, Outdoor Learning, Wabanaki Studies, and Skills for Action.
Registration fees are sliding scale.
The cost per person for MEEA to host this conference is approximately $150. We do not want cost to be a barrier to participation, so we’re offering a range of registration fees determined by financial resources. Please choose the option that best fits your financial situation.
Registration will be capped at 150 participants and includes lunch (vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free options), refreshments, and access to all workshops and speakers.
If you are able to pay more than $150, these funds will go towards putting on the event and to ensure accessibility for all - to do so, sponsor the conference here.
Registration Fees:
Thursday, May 7th: $ 0 - $50
Friday, May 8th: $0 - $150
How do I choose my conference registration payment amount?
• Choose a lower price if you are an individual not affiliated with an organization and have less financial resources
• Choose a mid range price if you are an individual with financial resources who is not affiliated with an organization
• Choose a higher range price if you are an individual with more financial resources and/or are participating via an organization or school
Table at the MEEA Conference
Are you interested in setting up an exhibit table for your business or organization? Please have all individuals who attend the conference to table for your organization complete this registration form and select a registration fee option separately. Only one individual from your organization needs to pay the following exhibit tabling fee.
Exhibitor Tabling Fees on Friday, May 8th
$50 for nonprofit organizations
$75 for for-profit business
About the Venue
This year’s event is hosted at a rejuvenating and accessible retreat center along Lake Cobbosseecontee, the Pilgrim Lodge in West Gardiner. The conference will take place in the Main Lodge and the Quitobaquito Dining Hall, as well as outdoor space throughout the campus surrounding these buildings. Learn more about Pilgrim Lodge here and view accessibility info here.
This year we are offering lodging at the conference venue on Thursday evening! Spend the night along Lake Cobbosseecontee.
Pilgrim Lodge cabins are a short walk to the conference location buildings and are accessed by a boardwalk. You will need to provide your own bedding, including pillows, blankets, and sheets. The cabins fit up to four adults, have wood stove heat, a bathroom, and a shower. There are two accessible ramp-entry cabins that fit up to three adults that have accessible showers and bathroom.
Lodging costs
$85: 1-night lodging + 3 provided meals (Thursday lunch, Thursday dinner, Friday breakfast)
$55: 1-night lodging, no meals included
Want to support Maine’s environmental education community?
Sponsor the 2026 MEEA Conference!
The deadline to submit workshop proposals is Sunday, March 15th at 11:59pm ET and we will be reviewing submissions on a rolling basis up until this date. Everyone who submits a proposal will be contacted by Friday, March 20th.
Workshops offered at the MEEA conference are intended to create opportunities for joy, nature exploration, grow new skills, connect with peers, and care for our community. We encourage people who may not identify with the traditional definition of “educator” to submit a proposal. Anyone with a passion for our environment has skills, knowledge, and experience to offer.
There will be 1-hour and 2-hour workshop blocks, as well as time for community building and enjoying the outdoors at the venue. We are aiming to go beyond providing lecture-style presentations about past projects and moving towards providing engaging, immersive experiences for attendees.
Your audience could include classroom educators, community educators, students, early career professionals, school administrators, nonprofit professionals, and community organizers. Some participants have been in this field for years, while others are newly interested. Please be mindful of your use of industry jargon and acronyms in your workshop.
Workshop Categories
Climate Education
Past workshops we’ve hosted:
Strengthening Our Relationships with the Land: Where Wabanaki Studies Meets Climate Education
The Small Farm Struggle: Educating the Youth about Sustainable Agriculture
Environmental education: Realistic and Fun Integrated Curriculum Lessons for PreK to 6th Grade
In what ways are you teaching climate change in your classroom or community? How does climate education inspire the next generation to take climate action? These workshops explore best practices or the overall approach on teaching and learning about climate change in all learning environments, grade levels, and subject areas. We welcome proposals from anyone passionate about climate change, from school teachers to community leaders to students and more. You do not need to be a working educator to enter your proposal in this strand.
Outdoor Learning
Past workshops we’ve hosted:
Creating English curriculum around Outdoor Learning
Unleash the Lichen
Nature Fun 101
"Exploring Water Quality: Connecting Outdoor Learning, Climate Education, and Community Action"
Connecting with nature and others through journaling - for everyone!
These workshops immerse attendees in activities about nature exploration and place-based outdoor learning. We welcome proposals that are joyful and remind us why we love the outdoors! What lessons, skills or methods are you using in your classroom or community group? What outdoor infrastructure does your school or community have that others can be inspired by? Workshops should be able to take place outdoors (with an alternate indoor weather option). You do not need to be a working educator to enter your proposal in this strand.
Wabanaki Studies
Past workshops we’ve hosted:
Introduction to Wabanaki Studies
Strengthening Our Relationships with the Land: Where Wabanaki Studies Meets Climate Education
Decolonizing the Botanical Lexicon
These workshops engage attendees with Wabanaki studies lessons and place-based activities that attendees can bring back to their schools and communities. Workshops aim to celebrate and honor the first peoples of our land through structural integration into environmental education, with the goal of expanding access to Wabanaki studies in schools and communities in what is now called Maine. It is not required that you are a Wabanaki citizen in order to lead a workshop in this strand, but your learning journey should have intersected with Wabanaki advisors at a fundamental level.
Skills for Action
Past workshops we’ve hosted:
Writing to Celebrate Being Alive on This Earth
Shifting Avoidance Culture: What is possible when we lean in?
Thinking Like Mycelium: Building Solidarity From The Ground Up
Water Injustice and the Climate Crisis
Rooting in Consent: Trust-based Storytelling for Advocacy and Systems Change
Wheelchairs in the Wild: Exploring the Intersections of Environmental and Disability Justice
Performing Arts to Impassion Climate Learning
These workshops share skills for community organizing, policy and advocacy, organizational structure, network building, and beyond. Workshops create opportunities for dialogue around questions like, What does caring for our communities and one another look like in this current moment? How can we increase accessibility to the outdoors and environmental education? What are creative solutions to challenges we face in the environmental sector? How can we create thriving workplaces?
We are now accepting proposals for workshops to facilitate at this year’s conference! Submit your proposal by March 15th.
Nominate someone for the MEEA Annual Awards
Nominations are open! Celebrating outstanding achievement in environmental education throughout Maine. Honor the students, teachers, schools, and programs that make EE possible.
Every year, MEEA recognizes the excellent environmental educators, programs, schools, students, and environmental education partners in Maine. Nominations open every spring and awards are presented during a ceremony at the MEEA Annual Conference every May. Winners receive an honorarium and commemorative plaque at the ceremony. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at the MEEA Annual Conference in West Gardiner, Maine.