Outdoor Learning Conference 2026

In this session, we will explore how outdoor learning can support evidence-based literacy practices grounded in the science of reading. We’ll examine literacy research through an outdoor lens in key areas, including phonemic awareness, phonics, language comprehension, vocabulary, and writing. Through hands-on, place-based activities, you’ll experience how to utilize outdoor environments to enrich literacy development across these essential components. Discover how outdoor learning not only strengthens foundational literacy skills but also positions reading and writing as tools for exploring the world, increases equity, and fosters deeper connections to their local place, the natural world, and the Land. Leave this session with practical strategies for the classroom and a deeper understanding of how outdoor learning supports effective literacy instruction.

Do you love food? Well chances are so do your students! Join our EcoCooks Educators to explore how food can be used as an entry point to engage students in climate action as we explore the powerful intersection of food, climate, and place.


Through hands-on activities designed for grades 4-12, participants will discover how students can build food appreciation, foster meaningful connection to land and water, engage in mindfulness, and explore the topic of food waste. Hopefully you will leave inspired to engage your learners in climate action in tangible, delicious, and relatable ways.

“The Place Teaches” is an experiential workshop that blends the power of place-based learning with the principles of Compassionate Systems Leadership. With no materials required, participants will move through a grounding outdoor practice, a guided systems-noticing walk, and a simple reflection using natural objects found on site. Through gentle observation and meaningful dialogue, this session reveals how nature makes complex systems visible—and how compassion, awareness, and interdependence emerge naturally when we slow down and pay attention. Perfect for educators, leaders, and anyone curious about outdoor learning, this workshop offers a refreshing, memorable way to understand systems thinking through the wisdom of place. Come ready to explore, reflect, and let the land lead. We will also share a directly translatable elementary-audience version to bring home to use with your students.

Sans vous en rendre compte, vous vous déplacez actuellement à une vitesse vertigineuse dans l'espace. Dans quelle direction vous déplacez-vous? Comment tout ça fonctionne? Dans cet atelier, nous tournerons nos yeux vers le ciel, mais aussi sous nos pieds pour comprendre les mouvements de la Terre et réaliser que nous sommes vraiment sur un petit vaisseau spatial dans l’immensité de l’Univers. Nous aborderons ainsi le caractère unique et fragile de notre planète, et le fait que nous sommes tous ensemble dans ce vaisseau spatial. Nous profiterons aussi du fait que nous sommes à l’extérieur pour parler de notre Lune et faire un modèle à l’échelle de notre Système solaire. Que vous vouliez faire une activité de 5 minutes sur le sujet avec vos élèves, ou un cours complet, nous aurons des idées pour vous!