Bay Backpack

Participants in the “Building Oyster Reef Balls as Habitat in the Chesapeake Bay” session at MAEOE's 2011 Conference actually built an Oyster Reef Ball! Photo courtesy of Sandy August.

This past weekend, I attended the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) Conference to promote Bay Backpack.  The conference was not only a great chance to encourage teachers to use the Bay Backpack website, but a great learning opportunity for me.

Conferences that bring environmental educators together are a great opportunity to learn something new.  With Friday sessions describing how to build and teach about Oyster Reef Balls, Schoolyard Habitats, Rain Gardens, and more, it was impossible not to come away excited about all of the ways to incorporate environmental education into a classroom setting.  Saturday sessions truly had something for everyone.  They addressed everything from Natural Play Spaces and Things that Go “Ribbit” in the Night (Amphibian Call Identification) to Your School and the Chesapeake Bay Executive Order and the Maryland No Child Left Inside and Children in Nature movements.

MAEOE will be posting many of the power points that were presented on their website, so if you would like to learn more about one of the topics that was discussed at the conference, but were unable to attend, be sure to keep checking their website for more information.

Networking is also a key aspect of this type of conference.  I know I met a lot of very nice people who are implementing some very innovative programs in their classrooms.  Making connections, sharing ideas, and learning new things are all an important part of the conference experience.

Next year’s MAEOE Conference will be held February 9 -12, 2012 at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau in Ocean City, Maryland.  I hope to see you there, and in between you may want to check out some of these conferences for some great environmental education networking:

• North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) 2011 Annual Conference:  Register by June 1st for NAAEE’s 40th Annual conference, which will be held from October 12-15, 2011 in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. 
• Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association (MAMEA) Conference: This year MAMEA and the Virginia Office of Environmental Education team up to present the joint MAMEA / Virginia Environmental Education Professional Development Institute.  The 2011 Annual Conference will be held October 7-9 at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
• Pennsylvania Association for Environmental Educators (PAEE) Conference:  The PAEE Conference will be held from March 17-19, 2011 at Antiochian Village, Near Ligonier, Pennsylvania (outside of Pittsburgh).
• West Virginia Environmental Education Association (WVEEA) Conference: The 2011 WVEEA Conference will be March 25-26 at the Canaan Valley Institute near Davis, West Virginia.