In Bloom in Maine 2026
Delivery Mode
In-Person
Date
May 30, 2026
Details
- Time: 8:15am - 4:00pm ET
- Discounts: AU Students & Alumni: $75 (Use the discount code IBANTIOCH26); Groups: $100 per person (Use code IBGROUP26)
- Location: Camden Rockport Elementary School, Rockport, ME
Description
Nature-based early childhood educators – join us for the In Bloom in Maine conference at the Camden Rockport Elementary School in Rockport! The workshops will take place in various outdoor play and learning areas on the school’s campus. We will enjoy providing you with simple morning refreshments and a healthy lunch as part of your registration fee. During lunch and after the conference there will be tours of the school and all of its outdoor spaces. Also during lunch, participants will have the opportunity to join a MaineECO network meeting where there will be updates on policy & advocacy, other professional development opportunities and ways to get involved in the network.
A FEW NOTES ABOUT THIS REGISTRATION PROCESS:
- Each person must register individually using a unique email address.
- If you have never used this system, you will need to ‘Create an Account.’
- If you have registered before for a conference or class using this system, enter your name and email and use “Sign In” at the bottom of the page.
- It will recognize your email and ask you to enter your password.
- If you have forgotten your password, there is a link to reset it.
- If you start registering but don’t finish, you’ll pick up where you left off next time you log in.
- Workshop sign-ups will be at check-in on the morning of the conference.
Come prepared with your chosen selections and come early enough to have options.
Antioch alumni and students: $75 per person
Use the discount code IBANTIOCH26 when you check out.
Group Registration: We offer a discounted group rate of $100 per person for schools or organizations sending a team of three or more.
If you are part of a school group, you must still register as an individual.
Use the discount code IBGROUP26 when you check out.
If you cannot pay by credit card, email Jen Zakrzewski at [email protected] to arrange for payment by check.
For questions or troubleshooting, email [email protected].
Morning Keynote
Finding Our Place: Nature-based Education Across Maine
Anne Adams, Network Coordinator, Maine Early Childhood Outdoors, Augusta, ME
Anne Stires, Senior Lecturer, Antioch University; Coordinator of Teaching and Learning, Fiddlehead School for Arts and Sciences; Consultant, Anne Stires Educational Consulting
Finding Our Place centers nature as the third teacher through stories of schools and childcare programs committed to nature-based education. Grounded in the region’s ecological and seasonal realities, the talk explores learning in relationship with woods, waters, schoolyards, city parks, weather, and community. Drawing on examples from public schools, family childcares, early childhood centers, and forest programs, it highlights diverse, place-based approaches that honor Indigenous knowledge and children’s lived experiences, while also showing how nature connection sustains educator wellbeing, purpose, and long-term commitment to teaching.
Anne Adams is the Network Coordinator for Maine Early Childhood Outdoors (MaineECO), Anne brings a deep commitment to connecting young children with the natural world. With a background in early childhood education, play-based learning and a deep personal connection to the outdoors, Anne supports MaineECO’s statewide network through strategic coordination, partnership development, and on-the-ground program support. Anne can be found exploring the woods, fields, and coastlines of Maine—often in the company of children and muddy boots.
Anne Stires, M.Ed. believes in systemic change through community, school, and early childhood initiatives. She founded Juniper Hill School for Place-based Education in Alna, Maine, and now works with Maine schools and childcares on behalf of equitable outdoor learning and nature connection. Anne speaks at education conferences, supports nature-based licensing initiatives, and contributes to publications including, Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens (2015) and the Nature-Based Preschool Professional Practices Guidebook (2019). She teaches graduate courses at Antioch University and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern Maine researching educator wellbeing and retention in community schools.
Morning Workshops
Workshop sign-ups will be at check-in on the morning of the conference.
Come prepared with your chosen selections and come early enough to have options.
Workshop Descriptions can be found in the Conference Brochure.
The Art of Storytelling
Minquansis Sapiel, Counselor, Captain, Speaker, Writer & Storyteller
Deepening Our Understanding of Identity through Nature Self-Portraits
Betsy Myers & Heather Kinee, Bowdoin College Children’s Center, Brunswick, ME
Four Season Families: Engaging Infants, Toddlers, and Their Caregivers in Nature for a Lifetime of Connection
Heather Flewelling, Early Childhood Educator & Family Resource Center Coordinator, Waypoint at the Richie McFarland Center, Stratham, NH
Inside/Outside: Designing Seamless Learning in a Nature-Based Program
Heather Bowen, Nature-Based PreK Teacher, Camden-Rockport Elementary School, Rockport, ME
Grounded Teaching: Movement & Mindfulness Tools for Educator Wellbeing
Emma Corwin Pereira, Grade 2 Teacher, Kate Furbish Elementary School, Brunswick, ME, and Yoga Teacher
Afternoon Keynote
The Wabanaki People and the Watersheds
Minquansis Sapiel, Counselor, Captain, Speaker, Writer & Storyteller
The Wabanaki people have long had a relationship with the Watersheds throughout the Maritimes, Maine, and other New England states. Minquansis will share stories of the people who inhabited this region way before it became known as part of Canada and the United States, and shed light on how advanced the Wabanaki people were when it came to wayfinding and navigating the Gulf of Maine. She’ll discuss climate change and its ongoing effects, decolonizing our relationships with the waters that continue to provide life for us, and how to support children’s understanding of, and connection to, our Watersheds in Maine.
Minquansis Sapiel (pronounced Min-Gwon-sis) is an enrolled member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe from Sipayik. The tribe is a part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. Her children’s book, Little People of the Dawn, is illustrated by the oldest of her three daughters. The story expresses their love for growing up playing on the shorelines of the Passamaquoddy Bay. Minquansis holds her Captain’s license and a Master’s degree in Social Work. As Captain, Speaker, Writer, Storyteller, and Freelancer, she speaks to a wide array of audiences and provides guided tours on Wabanaki history and culture with the waterways throughout Maine.
Afternoon Workshops
Creativity, Wellbeing, the Outdoors and Emotional Regulation
Lindsay Stewart, Director, Sweet Tree School, Hope, ME
Learning Landscapes: Partnerships that support children in caring for their outdoor spaces
Leah Trommer, Coastal Mountains Land Trust, Camden, ME
Gathering for Fire: Playful Ways to Collect and Prepare Materials with Young Children
Julie Curchelle, Outdoor Nature Based Mentor, MaineECO, Augusta, ME
Strategies for Nature-Based Storytelling
Alison Babb, Grade 2 Teacher, Camden Rockport Elementary School, Rockport, ME
Little Explorers, Big Adventures: Nature Play for Infants and Toddlers
Jackie Thibodeau & Cheyenne Poulin, Infant & Toddler Teachers, Educare Central Maine, Waterville, ME
Workshop Descriptions can be found in the Conference Brochure.
Workshop sign-ups will be at check-in on the morning of the conference.
Come prepared with your chosen selections and come early enough to have options.
Accommodations
To request accommodations for special needs, please email the Program Administrator at [email protected].
Terms & Conditions
Cancellations received in writing 7 days before the date of the event are entitled to a full refund. Cancellations received between 6 and 3 days before an event are entitled to a 50% refund. Cancellations 2 or less days before an event will not be eligible for a refund.