2021 Conference

SEPTEMBER 10 - SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Lutheridge Camp and Conference Center
Arden, NC

fall season lake view with parking garage and patio shelter to the right edge of the lake and photo.

Apply for a Scholarship        Keynote        Sponsor the Conference

Conference Overview

Join us for the 30th Annual Environmental Educators of North Carolina Conference at Lutheridge Arden, NC from Friday, September 10 to Saturday, September 11, 2021.  This will also be the Southeastern Environmental Education Alliance (SEEA) regional conference. Learn more about SEEA at southeastee.com.

Our 2021 SEEA/EENC conference theme is rEEmerge, honoring new beginnings as we celebrate EENC's 30th anniversary.  Join us as we re-imagine a post-COVID world for Environmental Education; a world with diverse partnerships, resilient communities, and a broader concept of what it means to be an Environmental Educator.

EENC is hoping to hold an in-person conference, but making all necessary arrangements to host a virtual conference if needed. Therefore, presenters must be able to present their proposed topic in-person or virtually. EENC will decide by July 1 if the conference will be held virtually, to give everyone plenty of time to prepare.

Enjoy a conference full of professional development, networking, learning, and field experiences that will help you expand your knowledge of EE and resources in NC and beyond! Plan ahead now for pre-conference workshops, field trips, and more on Thursday, September 9.

If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Chris Goforth and Shannon Culpepper, Conference Co-chairs at conference@eenc.org.

Conference Keynote


Dr. Trish O'Kane

Trish O’Kane is a writer and award-winning teacher who has published two books, and who has taught for 14 years in three major universities and a women’s prison. She is the creator of “Birding to Change the World,” a place-based environmental education program at the University of Vermont which pairs undergraduates with schoolchildren in a birding-mentoring program. In 2022, HarperCollins will publish her upcoming teaching-birding memoir about this program and how birds became her teachers. A dedicated and obsessive birder, in the past 10 years she has not only watched and studied birds with a scientific eye, spending over 1000 hours in the field, she has helped feathered parents raise baby bluebirds, tree swallows and black-capped chickadees in tiny houses and volunteered as a baby bird incubator “nurse” at a wildlife rehab facility.

Before studying the natural sciences, she was a human and civil rights investigative journalist for 15 years in Central America and Alabama. She has published widely in US and Latin American media including The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, NACLA, The Christian Science Monitor, Envío, and Noticias Aliadas.


Submit a Proposal

We are not currently accepting proposals.  Check back here spring 2022 for our next call for proposals!

Conference Scholarships

EENC has about $4000 of scholarship funding available. $1000 is specifically for college students. EENC continues to provide an Inclusion Scholarship as well. 

Learn more details and apply. Scholarship applications are due June 18. 

EENC
Awards

EENC presents several awards at the annual meeting.  Learn more about our awards and review past winners.

The 2021 Award Nominations will open soon. Check back here for more information soon. 

Registration Information

Conference registration will open in mid June. More information will be posted here when it is available. 


SponsorshipS, Exhibitors and Auction

Will you help make the conference more affordable for attendees and support EENC's mission-driven work? Want to share your program, business, or products with our conference attendees? Click here to learn all the benefits of becoming a conference sponsor!  New for 2021: we are also offering select opportunities for exhibitors! You can  submit your sponsorship online here.

In conjunction with conference, EENC hosts an in-person silent auction, online auction, and raffle.  Learn more our auction and how to donate at item.

Environmental Educators of North Carolina

P.O. Box 4904
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-4904

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