Call for Presentations
Submission Deadline: April 10, 2026
Imagine If...
55th Annual NAAEE Conference
October 6–9, 2026 ● Portland, Oregon
In times of change, imagination matters. Imagine If… invites us to pause, look beyond current constraints, and consider what becomes possible when education drives connection, action, and positive change.
At the 2026 NAAEE Annual Conference in Portland, we will explore how we can build on the momentum already underway across our field—and what more becomes possible when environmental education is fully leveraged to shape a more just, resilient, and sustainable world. Imagine strengthening efforts to build healthier communities, support community engagement, and reconnect people to nature. Imagine partnerships that deepen collaboration across sectors, cultures, and generations. Imagine learning that sparks not only understanding, but sustained collective action and renewed hope.
The conference will bring together environmental educators, researchers, youth leaders, community organizers, policymakers, and partners from across the field and around the world. Together, we will imagine and advance solutions grounded in research and practice, inspired by place, and strengthened through collaboration.
NAAEE seeks compelling proposals that spark imagination and action, broaden participation and belonging, elevate promising and proven practices, and push us to be creative and ready to lead change. Join us in imagining—and building—the world we want, using the power of education.
Download PDF Version of Call for Presentations >
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Session Formats
All sessions will be presented at our in-person gathering in Portland on October 7, October 8, or October 9. The length and structure vary by format. Select the most appropriate format for your proposal. Bright spots are submitted as “Individual Submissions” in All Academic; all other formats are submitted as “Session Submissions.”
Bright Spots
(10 minutes) Bright spots are brief talks that celebrate specific triumphs and showcase things that work. These 10-minute presentations highlight successful and innovative family programs, school programs, community partnerships, conservation achievements, expanded audiences, research and evaluation findings, civic engagement, and more. Three loosely related sessions are presented back-to-back within a single 40-minute time block, followed by a short discussion. A/V equipment is provided.
Hands-On Presentations
(90 minutes) Hands-on sessions provide participants with an opportunity to engage in teaching activities and interactive discussions about a particular topic. A/V equipment is provided.
Poster Presentations
Posters are two-dimensional printed presentations of any size up to 36 x 48 inches. Posters summarize programs, resources, research studies, or other work through text, images, and data. They are most often created using applications such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Canva. Posters are fixed to portable bulletin boards for attendees to review at leisure throughout the conference. We will schedule a one-hour general poster session during which all presenters stand near their posters and share them with conference participants. No A/V equipment or electricity is provided, but presenters may use their own laptops or tablets at low volume during the poster session.
Roundtable Discussions
(40 minutes) Roundtable discussions emphasize spirited discussion between the presenter(s) and session attendees about a central question. Presenters briefly introduce the baseline idea or issue they wish to explore, then open the discussion to input and exchange among participants. Examples and interactive materials are welcome, but this format does not lend itself to formal presentations, and PowerPoints are strongly discouraged. Up to six roundtable discussions are scheduled simultaneously in the same large room; no A/V equipment or electricity is provided, but presenters may use their own laptops or tablets at a volume low enough not to disrupt nearby discussions.
Symposia
(90 minutes) Symposia are panel discussions presenting different perspectives on a topic or question related to one of the focus points for each strand. Proposals must include a moderator and at least three panelists representing different organizations, ideas, or experiences. To enhance the richness of discussion, the criteria for selecting symposia include the range of presenters and viewpoints. A/V equipment is provided.
Traditional Presentations
(40 minutes) Traditional presentations focus on a single topic or program, typically including a talk or PowerPoint (or other media) presentation followed by questions and answers or a short discussion. A/V equipment is provided.
Workshops
(3½ hours) Pre-conference workshops are in-depth sessions that actively develop specific professional competencies and have widespread potential for implementation. They will be offered prior to the conference on October 6. Workshops require a separate registration fee, and all workshops are subject to cancellation due to insufficient enrollment. Note that workshop proposals are highly competitive, and only a few are selected for the conference program. A/V equipment is provided.
Review Criteria
The strongest proposals carefully address the criteria listed below and provide sufficient detail for reviewers to fully understand what the session entails.
Proposals will be assessed and selected by how well they:
- Describe in detail what will occur in the session
- Explain why the session is appropriate for the selected format and allotted time
- Describe how the session will effectively engage the audience in innovative thinking about new or proven ideas and approaches
- Raise important questions or deliver positive, solution-oriented outcomes supported by research and/or program evaluation
- Explain how the session will inform environmental educators about proven practices, push the leading edge of the profession, and/or motivate the pursuit of excellence
- Demonstrate how the session fits the strand description and one or more focus points
Advancing EE for All
We strive to dedicate at least 15 percent of our concurrent sessions within each strand to advancing environmental education for all. These sessions explore ways to strengthen our field through strategies and programs that help broaden our audiences as well as our workforce, support fairness, engage with new voices, forge new and lasting partnerships, honor traditional knowledge, and increase our reach and relevance throughout society.
To help us identify these sessions, reviewers will also assess proposals by how well they address any of these program criteria:
- Demonstrate an understanding of how people from different backgrounds relate to, engage with, and care about the environment in urban, suburban, and rural communities
- Recognize differences in skills, abilities, lived experiences, and perspectives as strengths that enrich programs and outcomes
- Explain how curriculum design, participant recruitment, program leadership, or organizational structures help create fair and meaningful opportunities to participate in environmental education
- Strengthen a field that is welcoming, accessible, and relevant to the variety of communities served
How to Submit a Proposal
Proposals must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. PDT on Friday, April 10, 2026. You may find it helpful to download a blank form from the NAAEE website and use it to draft your proposal before entering the information online.
Each individual or team is limited to three proposals to maximize the number and variety of presenters and perspectives on the conference program.
Important: Please use the same email address for submitting your proposal and registering for the conference.
- Proposals must be submitted online through All Academic, our proposal management system.
- Click here to enter All Academic or find the link on the conference or research symposium home page or from the menu on NAAEE’s conference website.
- If you’ve been part of a proposal in the past, you likely already have an All Academic account. Log in with your email as your username and your most recent password.
- If you need to reset your password, click on the appropriate link in All Academic. You will receive an email message from Do_Not_Reply@AllAcademic.com with further instructions.
- If you do not have an All Academic account, create one by clicking on the new user link. Use your email address as your username. You will immediately receive an email message from Do_Not_Reply@AllAcademic.com with further instructions.
- Check your filters if you do not receive the message. You will continue to receive messages from this email address; make sure it is in your safe senders list.
- On your home page in All Academic, click "Submit a Proposal." Select “Conference” and complete the online submission form.
- Click the “Accept and Continue” button on each page until you reach the final confirmation page.
- When your proposal is successfully submitted, you will receive a confirmation email from Do_Not_Reply@AllAcademic.com. This email address is often caught by sensitive filters. If you haven't received it, check your junk folder and ensure the @allacademic.com domain is in your safe senders list so you receive future mailings.
- You can edit any information in your proposal until the April 10 submission deadline by logging in to your All Academic account and selecting the proposal from the list on your All Academic home page.
Keywords
Program listings will be searchable by keywords. You can tag your proposal with a maximum of three keywords selected from the word bank on the online proposal form.
Audiovisual Equipment
Rooms for all presentations except roundtable discussions and poster sessions are equipped with a PC laptop (with Office Suite loaded), LCD projector, and screen. We do not provide audiovisual equipment for roundtable discussions and posters, but presenters in these sessions may use their own battery-powered laptops or tablets at a volume low enough to not to disrupt nearby discussions. NAAEE strongly recommends bringing PowerPoint and other audiovisual materials on portable drives and using the equipment provided. Internet access is available in all meeting rooms.
Important Notes About Registration
All presenters and co-presenters are required to register and pay published fees for the conference.
NAAEE depends on registration fees to cover conference expenses and cannot provide waivers or discounts to presenters. There are typically more than 500 presenters on the conference program.
NAAEE has not yet finalized fees, and these rates are estimates. We expect full conference registration to be about $585 for current NAAEE, $735 for nonmembers, and $400 for students and retirees. We are currently fundraising so we can also provide lower-cost options for those with limited funding. There is a separate registration fee for the NAAEE Annual Research Symposium.
All presenters must confirm their participation by registering for the conference by the August 21, 2026 early bird deadline.
If your proposal is accepted, you will have an additional opportunity to finalize session information after receiving your acceptance notice.
Questions
As a first step, please check the Frequently Asked Questions on the NAAEE website for assistance with submitting your proposals. If you need additional help, please contact us at conference@naaee.org.