KidSafe Seafood attended the 41st annual conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) held in Oakland from October 9-13. Ranked the fourth greenest city in the U.S., Oakland served as the perfect backdrop for this year’s event as a global center for diversity and environmentalism. NAAEE has been the driving force behind this annual professional conference since 1971, averaging more than 900 participants, to promote innovation, networking and dissemination of best practices, among other benefits. This year, the conference brought together a community of close to 1,000 representatives from government, non-profits, academia and beyond to share lessons plans, resources, ideas and strategies to advance the field of environmental education. The multi-day event featured a range of panels, presentations and workshops focused on integrating different geographical, environmental and socio-economic perspectives into environmental education. In recognition of the connections between environmental concerns and wider questions of social needs, welfare, and economic opportunity, this year’s key themes of diversity and inclusion were woven throughout the program, addressing the need to embrace, celebrate and understand diversity within the field of environmental education.
Rounding out a strand of presentations focused on marine, bay and freshwater education, KidSafe Seafood’s Simone Lewis-Koskinen gave a presentation on behalf of SeaWeb titled Engaging Audiences through the Ocean to Plate Connection. The talk addressed the different educational opportunities to engage students and families around environmental issues through the KidSafe Seafood lens, using the program’s dual-pronged ocean and human health messages. The presentation outlined the program’s innovative strategy, integrating both culinary and ocean science learning opportunities through focused communication, social marketing and interactive activities. The presentation covered lessons learned over the program’s six-year trajectory, sharing best practices, messaging strategies and project outcomes. Following the presentation, the audience engaged in a lively dialogue around place based recommendations, the role of chefs as parents and the use of positive messaging.
KidSafe Seafood is looking forward to continuing conversations with all of the great conservation and education partners, stay tuned for more to come!
For more than four decades, NAAEE has been a leader in promoting excellence in environmental education throughout North America. NAAEE is the only national membership organization dedicated to strengthening environmental education and increasing the visibility and effectiveness of the field. With more than 16,000 members and supporters, including affiliations with 53 state and provincial environmental education organizations and members in 30 countries, NAAEE’s influence stretches across North America and around the world.
