Think back to your middle or high school self; you were likely focused on your identity, sense of belonging, and forming new opinions every day. The years of adolescence are rich with both challenges and opportunity.

As environmental educators we want to engage youth in outdoor learning experiences where they can be curious, express their opinions, and experiment with new ideas, free from the barriers inherent in the traditional classroom. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has developed multiple programs dedicated to getting middle and high school students from environmental justice communities outdoors in their own neighborhoods and local parks. By incorporating place-based learning, youth voice and choice, and fostering a safe and welcoming atmosphere, we’re able to co-create meaningful learning experiences with the youth we serve.

Our approach inherently requires adaptability and flexibility, while still supporting the program in meeting its high-level goals. Join Naturalist Educators at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy for a discussion on how we create engaging and impactful experiences for middle and high school students, and how you can make your own work more adaptive and inclusive.

Environmental education does not have to stay in one place. Join us to explore how mobile education can break down barriers and bring STEELS aligned, nature-based learning directly into urban communities. Haley and Erin, Environmental Education Specialists with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, share their experience traveling across Philadelphia to deliver adaptable, place-based programming in schools, libraries, parks, and more. Their work prioritizes culturally aware and accessible approaches to make conservation education meaningful and relevant in every neighborhood. This session will offer insights into creating mobile lesson kits, managing logistics, forming community-led partnerships, and evaluating program success. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for starting or strengthening their own mobile education efforts.

Step into the wild with the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s education team as we showcase how we’re transforming our lessons and award-winning Wildlife on WiFi program to align with Pennsylvania’s STEELS standards. In this fast-paced, resource-packed session, you’ll see how local wildlife can spark curiosity, drive student-led investigations, and make science come alive. We’ll explore ways to connect students to real-world data and current wildlife research happening in your own backyard, all while meeting academic expectations. Whether you teach in a classroom, nature center, or anywhere in between, you’ll leave with adaptable tools, fresh ideas, and a renewed excitement for weaving Pennsylvania’s biodiversity into your programs.

When the leaves fall, the flowers wither, and the temperatures drop, fungi can still be found! Learn where to look for cold-weather fungi while understanding their ecology and examining their habitats. Some species can even be helpful in identifying defoliated trees. Join Allegheny Land Trust educator and Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club identifier to learn how to liven up winter walks and programs by exploring fungi that persit or even fruit in the cold. By paying attention to this often-misunderstood Kingdom, we can deepen our connection with nature and better understand ecological connections while sharpening our observation skills.

Mountain Watershed Association is a rural non-profit that protects the Youghiogheny River. We’re located in Melcroft, Pa, a tiny town in a county with very low-population density, 163 people per square mile in Fayette Co. (and decreasing yearly) vs 1,678 in Allegheny Co and 11,936 in Philadelphia Co. We also experience higher than national poverty averages at 18.9% (national average is 11%.) Our citizens are worried about food on the table, getting their kids to school, poisoned drinking water and air from industry; they’re not worried about the type of mushroom or lichen on their tree, they’re not prioritizing traveling to an environmental education program, they’ve got enough on their hands.

We’ve got a lot riding against expanding environmental education programming, but we’ve been wildly successful in the wider Youghiogheny River Basin. It’s taken 3 years, but, with only 1 educator and a whole lot of teamwork, we’ve expanded our engagement from 12 programs per year to about 200 per year, from about 120 students and participants per year, to nearly 10,000 people per year.

How? We travel. A lot. To area schools and afterschool programs, to summer camps, to state and county parks, to churches, homeschool groups, community groups, and libraries. For free.

Since 1997 Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center has offered a Spring and Fall series of Wednesday morning bird walks called “Migration Morning.” For 12 Wednesdays a year we bring together an eclectic group of people interested in going for a short walk and observing birds in our landscape. Migration Morning provides a forum to connect people to nature and to each other. Each walk encourages lifelong learning through citizen science and simple actions to help conserve birds and bird habitat. In addition to program participants, the walks also provide professional development opportunities for the environmental center staff and students to learn about birds and conducting public workshops.

This workshop will address how we tackle the loss of bird biodiversity through a recurring program for the public. We’ll cover the logistics and programmatic intent that can be applied to birds or other natural history topics. In addition, we’ll share resources, materials and techniques to help you learn about the birds in your backyard, schoolyard or park.