 | arizona association for Environmental Education |
The AAEE 2026 Annual Conference
 | The 2026 Annual In-Person Conference in Flagstaff, AZ September 11-13, 2026 at Northern Arizona University Sustaining the Stewards |
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AAEE is pleased to serve as your professional association for environmental education, outdoor education, sustainability education, and more. The benefit of joining us for our conference always comes down to one thing - dedicated time spent in the field with colleagues and friends where everyone can share ideas and learn from each other. We hope you will join us!
Pre-Conference Event
 | Join us for the second Arizona-wide convening of organizations advancing youth sustainability education and engagement. Friday, September 11, from 8:30 am - 2:00pm At the Elks Lodge in Flagstaff Connect with peers, share your work, and collaborate on building a sustainable, resilient future for Arizona’s youth. Register for this event here and receive a code for 10% off your full conference registration! |
JOIN US
Read through the details and find the registration link at the bottom of this page.
Be sure your membership is up to date before your register. Check your membership status here.
Program and Organizational AND University or Corporate Team Membership include memberships for an unlimited number of staff or volunteers. Be sure to add all staff members to your membership bundle so they are offered the membership rate when they register.
EARLY-BIRD DEADLINE August 31, 2026 at 11:59 pm Arizona Time
- Member - $300.00
- Non-member - $380.00
- Share fair table - $375, which includes a free registration for ONE team member. See details below, email profdev@arizonaee.org for a registration code to reserve your table.
- Student Rate (15 tickets available) - $100 plus the cost of a student membership ($35)
- We have 10 scholarships available for other interested participants. See details below.
- Arizona Master Naturalist Members (10 tickets available) - $180. Must be an ACTIVE AZ Master Naturalist.
Conference Rate starting on September 1st, 2026, at 12:00 am AZ time
- Member - $330.00
- Non-member - $410.00
SATURDAY MORNING KEYNOTE SPEAKER
| Roger Naylor - Author
Roger Naylor is an award-winning Arizona travel writer and author. He has been swoony in love with Arizona since arriving as a wide-eyed college student. For decades he has explored his adopted state while writing about his discoveries. He specializes in national and state parks, lonely hiking trails, twisting back roads, diners with burgers sizzling on the grill, small towns, ghost towns, and pie.
Naylor’s work has appeared in the Arizona Republic, USA Today, The Guardian, Country Magazine, Arizona Highways, and dozens more. He was inducted into the Arizona Tourism Hall of Fame in 2018. He is also the narrator of the Verde Canyon Railroad. Naylor has authored several books including Arizona Boots and Burgers: A Guide for Hungry Hikers, Arizona Route 66 Road Trip, Arizona National Parks and Monuments, Awesome Arizona: 200 Amazing Facts about the Grand Canyon State, Arizona’s Scenic Roads and Hikes, Arizona State Parks, The Amazing Kolb Brothers of Grand Canyon, Arizona Kicks on Route 66, and Crazy for the Heat: Arizona Tales of Ghosts, Gumshoes, and Bigfoot. For more information, visit www.rogernaylor.com. |
SATURDAY LUNCH KEYNOTE SPEAKER
 | Richard Ullman - Interpretive Ranger Having been born and raised in sunny southern California, Richard Ullmann has only had two careers in his working life: four years with the Disney Company followed by 30+ years as a National Park Service (NPS) ranger. At Disneyland he started as a dishwasher and ended up instructing new Cast Members prior to going 'onstage and into the show'. Richard started his NPS career as a volunteer at Grand Canyon and ended up spending 16+ years there as a seasonal, permanent, supervisor, then instructor. Other NPS stints have included Sequoia, Petrified Forest, and he now finds himself as Chief of Interpretation, Education, and Fees at the Flagstaff Area National Monuments. Honored to be a part of this year's AAEE; welcome to the cool pines of Flagstaff and see you soon! |
CONFERENCE SHARE FAIR
Work for an organization and want to showcase your projects, resources, and opportunities? Register as a share fair participant! We have 15 spaces available for the Share Fair. Registration is $375 and comes with one free registration for a team member. Email profdev@arizonaee.org for the registration code. If you'd like to bring more than one person, contact us for pricing OR feel free to have them register for the event. The share fair will be held at on Saturday afternoon at 5pm during Happy Hour. Tables can be set up all day, starting at 730a.
TRAVEL & LODGING ACCOMMODATIONS
There are numerous hotels and home rentals in Flagstaff. Prices range from $80/night - $200/night. Book your reservations soon because there are many events going on in Flagstaff during this, and every weekend, in September.
*In order to keeps costs down we are unable to reserve a block of hotel rooms. We simply can't guarantee that you all will stay there, and we don't want to have to pay a fee or pass the cost along to participants, because people decided at the last minute not to stay.
Several people have asked about carpooling and room sharing options, we've created a Slack Channel for you to talk to each other and find connections! You can join Slack for free and post on the channel "#aaee-ride-share" on our Public Slack Workspace linked below. If you don't want to use Slack, you can post a Get-Give Ride and contact method on this spreadsheet.
SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION
We've made available scholarships for enrolled students (15 available) and others who may need assistance (10 available). Please know we are continuously seeking funding to offset fees because we know these prices may be out of reach.
- Student Rate (15 tickets available) - $100 plus the cost of a student membership ($35). Email profdev@arizonaee.org using your ".edu" email address (or let us know if you are a high school student). First come, first served. We will send you a registration code after you join us as a student member.
- Scholarships available by application. Discounts of $150 for 10 applicants. Apply now
Hosting an event like this is very expensive in 2026, but we believe it to be critically important to elevating the work we do and assisting people in finding and locating new opportunities. If you'd like to assist us with finding conference sponsors, email us at profdev@arizonaee.org. OR if you have some extra funds to contribute, consider making a donation HERE. Thanks for all you do!
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS
We have over 40 conference sessions planned as well as networking and career building opportunities. By participating in the full event, including field sessions scheduled for Friday afternoon, you will be eligible for up to 16 continuing education units.
The conference fee covers two 8-hour days and a half field day of professional development including three meals. Please know we are offering this event at cost. If you need assistance with the registration fee, see the section below on Scholarships.
| FRIDAY EVENING SOCIAL JOIN US on Friday evening for an informal social at Mother Road Brewery. Tickets are $15/person. Limit of 25 people, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED! |
CONFERENCE SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
AAEE offers flexible packages for sponsors looking to advertise and reach our community of environmental education leaders and practitioners. We are happy to adjust these opportunities to meet your business or organization's goals and needs. Review our sponsorship packet for more details. If your organization needs to be invoiced for paying for a portion of the conference rather than be listed as a sponsor, email profdev@arizonaee.org and we can send you an invoice instead.
2026 CONFERENCE SPONSORS
CHOLLA SPONSOR |
PALO VERDE SPONSORS
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