EH students attend Utah Society for Environmental Education Annual Conference

Environmental Humanities (EH) masters students Taylor Litwin and McKenna Granato attended this year’s Utah Society for Environmental Education (USEE) Annual Conference, held at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center. The two-day conference, titled Every Kid Outdoors, welcomed keynote speakers from the Bureau of Land Management, The Deseret News, Canyon Country Outdoor Education, Tracy Aviary, and a variety of other nonprofits and school districts. Panel sessions were organized in three separate conference spaces throughout  the venue, allowing participants to attend those that interested them most.

 “This was a great opportunity to meet and mingle with professionals in the field. STEM curriculum is at a turning point in Utah, and right now it seems that environmental educators have an opportunity to make a positive and lasting impact, ” says Litwin, a first-year EH student, “I plan to focus my research on the benefits of environmental education beyond the confines of the classroom, which was addressed in depth at this event.” Litwin has a background in both education and ecological fieldwork, which she plans to blend in her research pursuits. Granato, also a first-year student of the program, shares similar research interests. “This conference provided me the opportunity to learn from educators across the state of Utah. Many of the questions that were broached encouraged me to reflect on my own relationship to the environment,” says Granato, “Overall it was an inspiring experience”.

This year's USEE Conference was organized by EH alumna, Alex Porpora, the Executive Director of the Utah Society for Environmental Education.