DNR Sponsors 23rd Annual Environmental Educator Conference
Governor O’Malley Applauds Effort To Expand Outdoor Learning

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FLINTSTONE, MD —The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a major sponsor of the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) 23rd annual conference, which begins Friday, Feb. 1 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008 at Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort in Allegany County. The theme of the conference is Convenient Actions for an Inconvenient Truth.

The conference aims to share ideas between environmental educators – both professional and volunteer – on how to best utilize our natural environment to reinforce what students learn in the classroom.

“Today’s young people are tomorrow’s stewards, and experiencing our natural world is an essential component of environmental learning,” said Governor O’Malley. “I am extremely pleased that Maryland is helping to lead this important effort.”

Kevin Coyle, Vice-President for Education and Training at the National Wildlife Federation will offer the conference’s keynote address. Mr. Coyle has helped to set new standards for climate change education and to encourage states to address the growing problem of “nature deficit” in today’s children.

DNR Education Coordinators Elena Takaki and Cindy Etgen served as chairpersons of the conference. Featured speakers, roundtable discussions, and workshops will focus on a variety of topics including, Wild About Watersheds, Jumping Through New Hoops: Sustainability for Abundance, Talking Bones, Children and Nature and Going for the Green! A Scales and Tales workshop is also part of the agenda.

The MAEOE conference is the largest state environmental education conference in the nation, with more than 450 attendees. A major conference sponsor is REI who contributed money to provide scholarships for teachers, and high school and college students to attend the conference. MAEOE also now has its first corporate member, Wind Currents.

For further information, members of the public may contact Elena Takaki at 410-260-8715 or etakaki@dnr.state.md.us or visit the MAEOE website at www.maeoe.org.

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January 31, 2008

Contact: Olivia Campbell 410-260-8016 office I 410-507-7525 cell ocampbell@dnr.state.md.us

The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) is the enforcement arm of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). With an authorized strength of 280 officers and a dedicated staff of civilian and volunteer personnel, the NRP provide a variety of services in addition to conservation and boating law enforcement duties throughout the State of Maryland. These services include homeland security, search and rescue, emergency medical services, education, information and communications services on a round the clock basis. NRP is the only police force aside from the Maryland State Police that has statewide jurisdiction.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 449,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 12 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov