2010: Design Our Shared Future

Join In the Fun and Fundraising with the Six-State Raffle & Silent Auction!

2010-10-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

A $200 Gift Certificate towards an Audubon trip; Hand-made Pottery by Melissa Zych of Deerfield NH; A Family Membership to the South Shore Natural Science Center in MA; Hand-tied Fly-fishing Flies...

These are some of the incredible prizes that you can win at the Six-State Raffle and Silent Auction. The VT SWEEP fundraising committee thanks everyone who has pledged to donate items to make these events a success.

Six-State Raffle Details: You do not have to be present to win!
In honor of the 44th NEEEA Conference, HELP US REACH OUR PRE-CONFERENCE GOAL OF SELLING AT LEAST 44 of the $20 raffle option to friends and colleagues who cannot attend the conference. $20 gets you SIX raffle chances. A single ticket costs $5.
E-mail fundraising chairperson, Nicole Conte at lupinelists@wildblue.net and she can arrange pre-conference ticket sales. Or collect a $20 check, made out to NEEEA, from your colleague, bring it to the conference and we will help you to fill out their 6 raffle ticket entries.
Winners will get to pick from the prizes in the order in which their names are drawn!!

Here are the latest prize package details:

1. VT: Shelburne Farms' Bedrock to Birds: Adult natural history weekend, May 13-15, 2011, including tuition, room and board, value $445!

2. ME: Choice of one of four workshops offered by Ferry Beach Ecology School - value $250+

3. MA: $200 gift certificate towards an Audubon adult trip or program AND four tickets to the New England Aquarium

4. NEEEA Board: $250 gift certificate towards NEEEA conference 2011 in Massachusetts

5. RI: 2011 passes, Four per event, including Audubon’s Raptor Weekend; Save The Bay’s Seal Watch; Roger Williams Park Zoo’s Jack-o-lantern Spectacular

6. NH: Explore New Hampshire bag of goodies:
A one-year membership to the Mt. Washington Observatory
Four guest passes to the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center
The new, hot-off-the-press guide to Mt. Monadnock by Craig Brandon
Curious George books - old favorites from the Margaret and H. A. Rey Center in Waterville Valley, NH
And other treats from the Granite State
All in a handy canvas totebag from the Harris Center for Conservation

7. CT: a canoe/camping trip - TBA
SILENT AUCTION DETAILS:
There is still time to contribute. Just bring your donation, such as an educational resource book, craft or gift certificate for your service or event, to the conference, or send it with a friend if you cannot attend. There will be an easy check-in process for adding your item to an auction table.

Don't forget to bring cash or checks so that you can join in the fun, support NEEEA conference scholarships and leave with some wonderful gifts for yourself and others. Silent auction bidding will close during entertainment on Friday night and the raffle drawing will take place during Saturday's lunch.

Online Registration Closes Tonight at Midnight!

2010-10-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

Did you wait until the last minute to register for the NEEEA Conference? Well there is still time! You can register online by midnight tonight at http://www.neeea.org/conference/registration.html

We look forward to seeing you at Lake Morey!

Calling All Students!

2010-09-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

We invite all interested high school students to come and participate on Friday, October 22.

Aside from an afternoon kayaking session designed especially for them, student attendees can choose to attend morning workshops and field trips that fall into three different strands – to create, to cultivate and to collaborate. Bill McKibben from 350.org will also present an inspiring keynote address. Additionally, there will be a variety of opportunities throughout the day for students to interact and network with many different professionals in the field.

Also, a gallery of student work will be on display throughout the conference to highlight the exemplary work that K-12 students are creating in the context of community. Teachers from all over will display what they consider outstanding work that illustrates a students’ mastery of subject matter, personal understanding and connection to place, a new understanding of a place’s complexity or a meaningful personal reflection upon service. Essays, artwork, nature journals, photos, videos, poetry…stories, personal reflections can be shared. If you have work to share contact Amy Demarest, Our Curriculum Matters, abd@burlingtontelecom.net.

Register Now for Earybird Discount!

2010-09-13T11:33:00.001-07:00

Please note that a completed registration (including payment) must be received by Sunday, September 19 in order to receive an early bird discount. Don't forget to take advantage of this special offer by registering today!

GET READY TO BE ENTERTAINED!

2010-09-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

In addition to the fabulous lineup of keynote speakers and engaging workings, the NEEEA/POP 2010 Conference will include exciting entertainment elements you won’t want to miss. Join community members on a morning bird walk or start your day off with a group led yoga session! Enjoy music and spoken word performed by both professionals and hobbyists! The Old Sam Peabody Band will lead us in a quintessential New England Contra Dance (followed by a jam session!), The “Speak Chorus” will dazzle us with their ancient tradition, and everyone is invited to perform at our Open Mic night! If that’s not enough, let’s go to the movies! You’ll get to see an exclusive screening of Camilla Rockwell’s “Mother Nature’s Child” Muddy Knees in the Age of Technology,” a documentary about the changing relationship between children and the natural world. So bring your binoculars, your yoga mat, your musical instruments, or just your enthusiasm! It’s going to be a blast!!!

Nominations Wanted for annual NEEEA Awards

2010-08-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

The New England Environmental Education Alliance is seeking nominations for its annual awards. Awards are given in three categories: non-formal environmental education, formal environmental education and environmental education program. NEEEA will also be awarding the annual Richard Haley Memorial Scholarship. See application forms (links below) for details. All applications are due no later than September 15, 2010. Awards will be presented at the annual NEEEA conference to be held October 21-23 at the Lake Morey Resort and Fairlee, VT.

Help honor the leaders in our field, nominate someone you know or admire for the great work that s/he does.

Richard Hayley Memorial Scholarship Application
NEEEA Awards Application Form

Conference Registration Now Open!

2010-08-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

Registration for the NEEEA/POP Conference is now Open!

Conference Website Now Launched CLICK HERE!

Our website has now been launched and you can browse day by day workshop, entertainment and field trip options, lodging options, discounts, printable brochure or see the whole conference at a glance. Please visit now, and register by September 19 to receive an early bird discount! We look forward to seeing you at the conference!

Keynote Speaker Spotlight: Dana Hudson

2010-08-03T13:49:00.001-07:00

In her position as Northeast Regional Lead for the National Farm to School Network, Dana connects people with both their human and natural communities. She facilitates farmer to school relations throughout the northeastern states. She has spoken at many conferences about agriculture and the connection we have with our food including those of National Farm to Cafeteria, Society of Nutrition Education and Northeast Farm to School, among others. She also has been an invited contributor to national and regional food and agricultural policy forums and events with the USDA and the New England Governors Commission on Agriculture and has presented in 14 states, Canada and England.

The Burlington School Food Project in Vermont is just one example of many successful initiatives of which Hudson has been part. She led the project management during the initial three years of the multi-partner program. Additionally, Hudson has run graduate level professional development courses on Farm to School, as well as farm-based seminars and workshops for farmers and other groups. She also is a founding and current board member of the national Farm Based Education Association.

Keynote Speaker Spotlight: Peter Forbes

2010-07-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Writer, photographer, farmer and conservationist Peter Forbes will be the Keynote Speaker at the 44th annual New England Environmental Education Alliance (NEEEA) Conference in Fairlee, VT, on Thursday, October 21, 2010. Who better to speak at this year’s conference, entitled Designing our Shared Future with the hope to bring together a wide circle of participants, than Peter Forbes who is known for his ability to build bridges between sectors, coalitions and organizations and for nurturing a new land movement that integrates land health, social justice, and human spirit.

As a student and storyteller of the relationship between land and people, Forbes led conservation projects with the Trust for Public Land for eighteen years. With the success of more than one hundred projects, including the protection of Walden Woods and Scott and Helen Nearing’s Good Life Center in Maine, he earned a national reputation as being a champion of a new brand of community-based conservation where the health of the people and the health of the land are viewed as equal.

Following his work on community-based land conservation projects at the Trust for Public Land, Forbes co-founded Center for Whole Communities at Knoll Farm in the Mad River Valley of Vermont. This learning and leadership center strengthens the movements for social and environmental change by looking deeply at the issues that divide us from one another and from the land.

Keynote Speaker Spotlight: Bill McKibben

2010-07-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

Acclaimed Vermont author and environmentalist Bill McKibben is to keynote the 44th annual NEEEA (New England Environmental Educators Alliance) Conference at Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, VT on Friday, October 22nd, 2010. This year’s theme, “Designing our Shared Future,” captures the hope that this conference will bring together a wide circle of people who connect people with their place--the human and natural communities. Described by MSN as one of the dozen most influential men of 2009, McKibben is sure to inspire conference-goers of all walks of life.

McKibben’s first book, The End of Nature, was published in 1989 and is considered to be the earliest book about global climate change written for a general audience. Since that time, he has written over a half dozen books, including the 2010 release Eaarth, which delves into the challenges of living on a planet which humans have irreversibly changed.

In addition to the influential books McKibben has authored, he is a prolific community organizer, having founded the organization 350.org, which coordinated 5,200 simultaneous demonstrations in 181 countries to advocate for the reduction of green house gases and to curtail climate change.

Keynote Speaker Spotlights

2010-06-28T17:15:00.001-07:00

With just a few months to go until the conference, weekly (or more often) blog updates will commence, beginning with an in-depth look at our keynotes. This week you get all three at a glance, and over the month of July we'll highlight a different speaker each week. We hope you'll follow our updates and look forward to seeing you at the NEEEA/POP/SWEEP Conference in October!

Keynote Speakers at a Glance
With generous support from the Center for Whole Communities, we are fortunate to have Peter Forbes as keynote open our conference with his unique perspective on creating healthy and vibrant communities. On Friday, keynote Bill McKibben joins us to share the collaboration necessary for a sustainable future, and Saturday Dana Hudson will close our conference with a keynote address on her nationwide work to cultivate a closer relationship with farms and the food they grow for us.

Three Reasons to Follow this Blog

2010-04-16T04:05:00.000-07:00

1. INSTANT UPDATES. Be the first to get the latest on conference details including workshops, field trips, key notes, open space forums, entertainment, and more.

2. CONSERVE RESOURCES. No need to bother with paper mailings when we can harness the power of the web... conserve resources by getting your conference info online.

3. SHARE WITH FRIENDS. Telling friends about this conference has never been easier. With the click of a button, you can let everyone in your e-network know about what's going on with the NEEEA/POP Conference, and we hope that you will!

Conference Blog Now Active

2010-04-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already heard, this October Vermont SWEEP will be hosting the 44th annual New England Environmental Educators Alliance (NEEEA) & Promise of Place (POP) conference. The theme of the conference focuses on bringing together unlikely partners to: Create, Cultivate and Collaborate in Designing our Shared Future.

• CULTIVATING a Sense of Place
Exploring and defining our “places” through a variety of media, such as-

• CREATING New Solutions for a Healthy Future
Envisioning and activating programs to sustain future generations, like-

• COLLABORATING to Build Vibrant Communities
Catalyzing likely and unlikely partnerships to improve communities, such as-

This year's theme involves "bringing everyone to the table" and we would love for YOU to join us. Save the date, and follow our blog to receive exciting updates as we plan this grand event. (more details)

NEEEA is coming to Vermont!

2010-01-28T17:14:00.002-08:00

And we're psyched!