EVENT
SPONSORSHIP
Dear Environmental Education Supporter,
We invite you to show your support for environmental education in our state by sponsoring Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) events this year. KACEE unites public agencies, teachers, community organizations, businesses, and individuals behind a common cause - teaching kids how to think, not what to think, about environmental issues through non-biased and science-based EE.
KACEE is a 501(c)3 organization with a vison to grow a healthy, vibrant and resilient Kansas through the power of environmental education. A portion of your sponsorship is tax deductible. Your sponsorship will be recognized in our promotions, reaching 1300+ people across Kansas.
By sponsoring our fundraising events, you will help offset costs, reduce registration fees, and provide scholarships for educators. Support for environmental education is vital for a healthy environment, vibrant economy, and successful communities.
If environmental education is something that you or your organization deeply values, sponsoring one or more of our events provides the opportunity to live your values and lead your community by example.
Thank you for your consideration!
The KACEE Board and Staff
About the Theme
From the soil beneath our feet to the networks that sustain our field, this year's conference is built on a simple but profound truth: everything is connected. The health of our land shapes the health of our communities; the strength of our schools and food systems determines how well our children and ecosystems thrive; and the relationships we build with each other as educators, leaders, and neighbors are what make lasting change possible. Across three strands — Relationships that Sustain Us, Systems that Sustain Us, and Connections that Sustain Us — this conference invites us to explore those connections from the ground up, from the personal to the communal, from the backyard to the watershed.
Environmental education has always understood what systems thinkers are still working to convince the rest of the world: that you cannot separate human wellbeing from ecological health, or individual learning from the communities that shape it. This year, we gather to deepen that understanding together — to trade ideas, forge partnerships, and leave with the tools and relationships to do more than any of us could alone. Whether you come as an educator, a land steward, an environmental/outdoor learning supporter, or a curious learner, there is a place for you in this system. And this system is better because you are in it.
Relationships that sustain us
Land, place, and belonging
How do we cultivate a deep, reciprocal relationship with the land we live on? This strand explores the practices, philosophies, and creative traditions that help people — educators, students, and communities alike — develop a genuine sense of place and responsibility. Sessions draw on indigenous knowledge systems, land ethics, and the arts to ask how we become, in the fullest sense, inhabitants rather than occupants of our landscapes
Systems that sustain us
One Health, thriving communities
The health of people, wildlife, and ecosystems is inseparable. This strand takes a One Health lens to examine how the systems we build — schools, food networks, built environments, and learning cultures — either nurture or undermine collective wellbeing. Sessions connect the dots between ecological health and human flourishing, addressing everything from youth mental health and outdoor learning to pollinator support and regenerative agriculture.
Connections that sustain us
Networks, partnerships, and collective power
Environmental education doesn’t happen in isolation — it depends on a web of organizations, educators, advocates, and learners who reinforce and amplify each other’s work. This strand examines how networks are built and sustained, how seemingly unlikely partners find common ground, and how we create continuity of engagement from early childhood through higher education. Sessions explore power mapping, cross-sector collaboration, citizen science, and the conditions that allow the EE community in Kansas, Missouri, and beyond to do more together than any one organization could alone.
About the 2026 Conference
Monday, October 26th
The kick-off to the 2026 Kansas & Missouri Environmental Education Conference will be held at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center in Kansas City, Missouri, the evening of Monday, October 26, 2026.
Tuesday, October 27th
The 2026 Kansas & Missouri Environmental Education Conference sessions will be held at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
Kansas City, Missouri
Kauffman Foundation Conference Center
Opening Night Keynote
Monday, October 26th
Kauffman Foundation Conference Center
From Classroom to Community: Nourishing People, Planet, and Possibility
Diane Mora, CCC, CFCS-HNFS, MA Ed, is an award-winning educator, chef, and food system advocate who serves as Director of Programs and Education for Kids Feeding Kids, the education initiative of Pete's Garden. Throughout her career, Diane has connected classrooms, communities, and food systems to empower young people to address real-world challenges through service, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The 2019 Kansas City Public Schools Teacher of the Year and an internationally recognized culinary and education leader, Diane has helped students prepare and distribute tens of thousands of meals to families experiencing food insecurity and create systems solutions to prevent nutritious food from going to waste. Her work demonstrates the power of systems thinking, showing how education can connect environmental stewardship, community well-being, and meaningful action. Through inspiring stories and practical examples, Diane invites audiences to recognize the connections that unite us and the role educators play in creating lasting change.
Day Two
Keynote
Tuesday, October 27th
Kauffman Foundation Conference Center
TBD
From the soil beneath our feet to the networks that sustain our field, this year's conference is built on a simple but profound truth: everything is connected. The health of our land shapes the health of our communities; the strength of our schools and food systems determines how well our children and ecosystems thrive; and the relationships we build with each other as educators, leaders, and neighbors are what make lasting change possible. Across three strands — Relationships that Sustain Us, Systems that Sustain Us, and Connections that Sustain Us — this conference invites us to explore those connections from the ground up, from the personal to the communal, from the backyard to the watershed.
Lodging
Details coming soon.
The Booking Number is TBD and the Event Name is KACEE to get your discount.
DEADLINE TO BOOK: OCTOBER 19, 2026.
Register to Attend
Sponsor the Conference
Sponsorships are a key part of making the annual environmental education conference happen! We are seeking sponsorships from $100 - $2,500. Each sponsorship level is an opportunity to support a specific aspect of the conference; whether you want to go big and become a Title Sponsor or support equity and access as a Conference Scholarship Sponsor, there's a sponsorship to suit your desired level of support.
Exhibit at the Conference
Conference Exhibitors will exhibit on Monday & Tuesday (October 26-27, 2026) at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center. Included with your purchase is ONE complimentary conference registration. According to the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center policy, businesses are not allowed to have exhibit space.