MEEA Conference Closing Session Thoughts...

Hello MEEA Members and Friends-
As we promised at the MEEA conference here is the list of ideas we generated at the closing session when we were visioning in small groups a future for Maine's children and action steps to take to get to this future (of environmental literacy) that we are imagining and, as environmental educators in Maine, trying to help this future become a true reality...

Please continue to post and comment about your thoughts and add information that we might not have captured from the closing session.  MEEA will continue to look back on these thoughts and ideas as we shape our organization in the future.

Thank you for your input and your ideas...lets keep the conversation going so we stay connected to one another and through collaborative EE efforts increase the effectiveness and the validity of the good work we are doing in Maine!

Here were the ideas generated:

• In the future we believe that kids need to be encouraged to become systems thinkers-that we need to demonstrate to kids how to facilitate conversation and think about problems from multiple perspectives.  We need to create authentic, inquiry-based learning experiences for our students.

• We need to continue to facilitate unstructured connections to nature...these connections are as important as deep curriculum (addressing nature-deficit)
• We need to address a feeling of dis-empowerment in our youth and provide them opportunities through service learning to take action and feel empowered to make change in our world. --changing the pervasive sense of entitlement to a sense of empowerment!
• MEEA needs to continue to work to connect educators with each other and to share the work we are doing with the general public so they are aware, educated themselves, and see the amazing things already happening in Maine--we need to share our stories!
• We need to respect the diversity we have in our state (respecting personal experience, background and social history and others' "starting points" in regards to nature)
• We need to include young people as partners, collaborators and ambassadors for change-they must feel important and valued in order to be empowered.
• MEEA needs to continue to create a list of "unusual suspects" for collaboration and then to reach out to them.
• Recognize the power of our stories and interpersonal connection: in regards to collaboration and creating partnerships to encourage people to get outside this is paramount
• Be mindful of the difficulties of making connections in a rural state (with very spread out population centers) ... be inclusive of Northern Maine and also recognize the cultural differences between the populations and their differences in points of view on nature.
• We need to use the local colleges and their energy and expertise more in our collaborative EE efforts
• We need to use social networking more effectively to share our stories and make new connections
• We need to encourage multi-generational involvement in education with Maine's children
• We need to encourage community-based research and problem solving
• We need to find a way to help teachers and non-formal educators share resources so that the lack of money and materials is not what is preventing high quality EE from reaching our children
• We need open forums where we focus on solutions not on causes and student summits to role model good practice and empower youth.
• Continue to grow quality place-based education.
• We want to encourage our youth to become change makers in their communities.
• We need to remember as environmental educators that we are role models and we need to lead by example (food choices, energy choices etc)
• In collaborations we need to be respectful and aware of different time frames for invovled parties (i.e. not collaborating with teachers in summer months etc)
• We need to make sure we don't take the FUN out of learning-learning should be social, entertaining and real!
• We need to remember the importance of evaluating the work we are doing for effectiveness and also to work on teaching students to be self reflective and to self evaluate

I hope I captured the essence of the conversation...let's keep discussing this online!