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 stakeholders around the power of place-based teaching and learning.
Why attend?
Place-based education transforms how we teach and learn by expanding classrooms to include a community’s organizations, history, challenges, and natural features. Investing in place helps youth engage in meaningful learning and civic life, provides vital support for educators, and strengthens communities.
Who should attend?
The Conference features intentionally designed and relevant learning pathways through the agenda content for early childhood educators, early and upper elementary school teachers, subject-specific middle and high school teachers, school and district administrators, high education students, educators and scholars, , non-formal educators, nonformal educators and community partners, policy makers, and funders.
“I loved the community feeling at the conference. Even though there were hundreds of 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, common sense nuts and bolts presentations, and ‘how to’ approaches in PBE. I came away from the conference with renewed vigor that place-based education has deep roots, shown by the attendance of participants from around the world and around our nation.”
“This was 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, it was supremely valuable to connect with so many incredible and well-established formal and informal educators over the couple (of) days.”
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 model 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 National 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!
