Annual Conference

The MAEOE Annual Conference, Maryland’s largest environmental education event, attracts over 500 educators each February for a dynamic mix of workshops, discussions, networking, exhibits, and resource sharing.

February 5-7, 2027 at the Princess Royale Oceanfront Resort in Ocean City, MD

MAEOE Annual Conference

Join educators, environmental professionals, and community leaders for a weekend of learning, collaboration, and inspiration. The MAEOE Conference begins Friday evening and continues with a full day of workshops, presentations, and networking on Saturday. Sessions focus on environmental education, sustainability, and equity, and are designed for both formal and non-formal educators, with alignment to NGSS and environmental literacy standards. The weekend concludes with hands-on field experiences on Sunday, offering opportunities to explore outdoor learning in action. Celebrate, connect, and grow with Maryland’s environmental education community.

Attendees:

District-level professionals (including, administrators, principals, curriculum specialists, and environmental literacy liaisons, facilities directors, energy, sustainability, transportation, food management leaders)
Environmental, Educational and Sustainability, Service Providers
Maryland Middle and High School Students

Support MAEOE's Annual Conference

Contribute Financially

Donations and sponsorships help us continue to provide this landmark event, year after year. Contact Laura Collard at director@maeoe.org. or go to our Donations page.

Donate to the Silent Auction

Your donated gifts or gift cards provide $$ for scholarships for first-time attendees. Last year, thanks to contributions like yours, we were able to award scholarships to 61 attendees! For questions or more information, contact us at conference@maeoe.org.

Conference Hotel

Robert Finton Outdoor Educator of the Year Award

The MAEOE Robert Finton Outdoor Educator of the Year Award is presented annually at the MAEOE Conference and recognizes an individual who demonstrates leadership and innovation in environmental and outdoor education. The award honors Bob Finton, an innovator who personified enthusiasm, innovation and excellence in the field of environmental education.

Criteria

Recognition should be given to an individual who is a non-formal practitioner of outdoor education and works “in the trenches” as Bob did.

The nominee can be a representative, either paid or unpaid, of a Maryland outdoor education center, non-profit organization, service organization, resource agency, education-related business, or other organization whose mission is environmental education. (Classroom teachers are not eligible for this award.)

The nominee should demonstrate innovation and excellence in environmental education programming. Examples could include:

Development of a program that reaches new audiences or underserved populations

Work in a program that promotes or increases conservation practices

Programming that develops and supports a positive stewardship ethic

The nominee may not be a sitting member of the MAEOE Board of Trustees

A highly successful ground-breaking environmental education effort

Innovation in developing new interpretive or instructional methods

Annual MAEOE Challenge

Each year, teams are given a challenge to showcase the amazing environmental and outdoor education work their school and organization does! They work in teams of three or more, and their work is displayed at the conference.