2020 Conference

SEPTEMBER 18 - September 19, 2020

29th Annual Conference
Virtual Event

Overview Keynote Registration Awards Sponsorship and Auction

Conference Overview

Join us for the 2020 Environmental Educators of North Carolina (EENC) conference from September 18-19! This year's conference theme is "CommunitEE: Together for a Better World."

Sessions will run 1:00-4:00 pm on Friday followed by a keynote, with more sessions on Saturday 9:00 am-Noon. EENC's annual Research Symposium will also be held Saturday morning. All sessions and speakers will be recorded and available to registrants after the conference! Please join us for some professional development, networking, and learning from other educators.

View conference session descriptions and schedule here.

Keynote Presentation

"The Power of Community" with Diquan Edmonds

When breaking down barriers to the outdoors for new audiences, understanding the importance of community can be the key to sustaining inclusive and meaningful relationships. In this address, you will learn what “outdoor communities” mean to so many people who have been underrepresented in the outdoors, and tips on creating more inclusive outdoor spaces for all.

Diquan received his Master of Science degree from North Carolina State University in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism management in 2019. While at NC State, his research focused on African-American Outdoor Recreation Experiences. Currently, he is the Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Recreation and Park Association where he oversees the associations’ commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Diquan serves on the Next Generation Advisory Council of the National Parks Conservation Association, on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Outdoor Recreation Coalition, and was named a 2020 SHIFT Fellow. In 2019, Diquan was chosen to be a member of the National Park Service Academy, where he spent the summer season working with the Youth Conservation Corps in Yellowstone National Park. He is passionate about the outdoors and making outdoor spaces more accessible for all.

Registration InformatioN

Registration for the new virtual event opens July 17, 2020 Conference registration will close on Thursday, September 17. Registration rates will increase after Friday, September 11. If you are an EENC Member be sure to log in to your account to be able to access the Members-only rate.

Regular Registration Rates: $25 for EENC Members, $35 for General Registration (Regular Registration Closed September 11)
Late Registration Rates: $45 for EENC Members, $55 for General Registration

Register online here. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the EENC Conference Chairs, Shannon Culpepper and Trent Stanforth at eencconferences@gmail.com.

Conference scholarships

Since the virtual conference registration fees are much lower than an in-person conference EENC was able to provide more scholarships this year. Scholarship applications were open through September 11.

EENC Awards

EENC presents several awards at the annual meeting. We're looking forward to announcing the winners soon! Learn more about our awards and review past winners.

Conference Sponsorship and Annual 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! You can submit your sponsorship online here.

Just like the conference, we're taking our annual auction online this year. Thanks to the generous support of our community in previous years' auctions, EENC has a sufficient reserve of scholarship funds for the next year. For this reason, the 2020 auction proceeds will be earmarked for future justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion trainings. EENC wants to make #EEforAll in North Carolina, and we are dedicated to helping educators on their individual journeys. In the past, the true cost of these types of workshops ranges from $3000-$5000 each to bring in expert facilitators. We want to make equity-focused training as accessible as possible for our EE community, so thanks for helping us raise funding to make this possible.

The auction will open Friday, September 18 at 9 am and close Sunday, September 27 at 9 pm.

Environmental Educators of North Carolina

150 Highland Sq Dr #1034 | Hendersonville, NC 28792

Website questions? Click here to contact the Communications Chair.