EE Conference

About the Conference

AEEA’s Environmental and Outdoor Education Conference is a gathering that brings together classroom teachers, non-formal educators, higher education students, Master Naturalists, and conservation professionals from around Arkansas. This professional learning event consists of hands-on workshops, field experiences, concurrent presentations, and networking opportunities.

In addition to hands-on learning, exhibitors feature available resources and programs, and the silent auction showcases Arkansas-made goods, education resources, and sustainability-focused products. The silent auction funds the AEEA mini-grant program. The conference brings together diverse attendees in some of the most beautiful locations that Arkansas has to offer.

If you have never attended an AEEA conference, you can view highlights from the 2024 and 2023 conferences below.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ~ FELLOWSHIP ~ FUN

2024 Conference Details

The 2024 conference included two venues, two pre-conference workshops, a guided kayak tour, exhibitors, and interesting presentations. Sessions covered a variety of topics including civics and environmental education, Arkansas native plants and animals, leadership development, teaching in the outdoors, and community engagement.

This year’s keynote speaker, highlighting civic engagement in Arkansas, was Shana Chaplin from the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute. 

Optional pre-conference activities
– Guided tour of Fourche Creek
– Project WET workshop
– Adaptive Leadership workshop

So many great professional learning options! View the Conference Information Packet for details of all the sessions and the 2024 Conference Highlights for pictures.

Sponsors

The success of this event depends on our sponsors. We greatly appreciate our 2024 conference sponsors. If you are interested in supporting this event, view the 2024 Sponsor Packet below, which describes the different levels of sponsorship and the benefits involved with each level, and become a sponsor today.

2023 Exhibitors 

• Arkansas Audubon Society: What’s Good for Birds Is Good For People
• Arkansas Department of Agriculture
• Arkansas Environmental Education Association & Project WET
• Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation: Project Learning Tree
• Arkansas Master Naturalists
• Beaver Water District
• Boston Mountain Solid Waste District
• The Diana Project: Saving Arkansas’s State Butterfly
• Entegrity
• H2Ozarks: Cleaner Water Together! – Striving to protect the Upper White River Basin lakes and watershed through monitoring, research, public policy, outreach, and education
• ORE Recovered Materials: Educating Communities About Plastic Recycling
• Pollinator Partnership: Gardening for Pollinators – Programs, Partnerships, and Resources
• Summit Utilities