2025 National PBE Conference
November 12–14, 2025
Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
The national Place-Based Education Conference is a three-day event designed to inspire, support, and celebrate the place-based education community and community stakeholders around the power of place-based learning.
Why attend?
Place-based education transforms how teachers teach and how students learn by expanding classrooms to include a community’s organizations, history, and natural features. Investing in place helps youth engage in meaningful learning and civic life, provides vital support for teachers, and strengthens communities.
Who should attend?
The Place-Based Education Conference is open to all K-12 educators/administrators/students, university faculty/administrators/students, non-formal educators, natural resource professionals, staff of community organizations, business leaders, community leaders, policy makers, and funders.
“I loved the community feeling at the conference. Even though there were over 300 participants, the conference had a ‘summer camp’ feeling where everyone was supportive and hugs and high fives were the norm. As a biologist and educator, I loved the balance of analytical science presentations with common sense nuts and bolts presentations with ‘how to’ approaches in PBE. I came away from the conference with renewed vigor that place-based education has deep roots in Michigan, shown by the attendance of participants from around the world and around our nation.”
“This was one of the most impactful, warm hearted and supportive working conferences I’ve participated in.“
“This was my first conference ever, and as a 20-something trying to find my place in environmental education work, it was supremely valuable to connect with so many incredible and well-established formal and informal educators over the couple (of) days.”
Check out the amazing array of presentations and workshops we had in Grand Rapids!
Meet Your Conference Organizer
Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI) is a leading innovator in the field of place-based education (PBE), promoting and supporting PBE through its modeal of Place-Based Stewardship Education and network of community-based hubs.
GLSI organized the first PBE Conference in 2011 as a way to promote, celebrate, and advance PBE as a powerful pedagogy for engaging youth in meaningful learning and strengthening communities.
In 2025, the 9th PBE Conference will welcome hundreds of members of the PBE community from across the U.S.—and beyond—to Southeast Michigan.
We are grateful for our 2025 Conference Hosts!
