Did you know that as a RIEEA member, you are eligible to apply for up to $200 in scholarship funds for professional development such as a conference, workshop, or training?! Learn more about our professional development scholarships.
Recently, we awarded a scholarship to Ellen Asermely. Here is a summary of how this scholarship helped expand her connections and environmental education knowledge:
While at the NAAEE conference I had the opportunity to choose from hundreds of sessions over the course of four days, meet amazing people doing environmental education work, and get outside and engage with the beautiful woods and waters Portland had to offer. I deepened relationships with other folks from Rhode Island in the EE world and met people working across the US and the world. I left feeling inspired by the energy, joy, and resilience those people all bring to the work they do, and by the incredible presenters and keynote speakers I heard. I attended conference sessions that explored topics I will bring back to my work at Southside Community Land Trust, including nature journaling with youth in the garden, building joyful and resilient community networks, innovative education approaches to problem solving, and navigating the fraught political climate in which we are doing this work. I am also excited to expand on the relationships I made with other RI educators now that we’re back home. A less tangible takeaway, though equally as important, is that I will bring a renewed sense of excitement, purpose, and direction to my work, and I’m grateful to the NAAEE conference for that.