Bow Seat's 2026 Ocean Awareness Contest – Your Story, Our Ocean – encourages you to explore the many ways our ocean sustains, protects, and inspires us. Bow Seat invites you to think about your personal connection to the ocean – whether you’re coastal or landlocked – through the value it brings to your life. The benefits of the ocean are widespread and multifaceted, from food production to climate regulation to artistic inspiration. Go through the sub-themes and explore the topics that resonate with you. Share how the ocean has shaped your story through art, writing, performance, film, or multimedia. How does the ocean sustain, protect, and inspire you?

Be sure to check out Bow Seat's past winners and explore the broader Resource Studio for ideas and guidance.

Quick Contest Details:

• Free to enter
• Open to students worldwide between the ages of 11 - 18
• Cash awards up to $1,000
• Submit by June 8, 2026
• Submissions accepted in:
• • Visual Art: Handcrafted
  • Visual Art: Digital
  • Creative Writing
  • Film
  • Poetry & Spoken Word
  • Performing Arts
  • Interactive & Multimedia 
• Explore the Submission Requirements to learn more about the Categories.

On October 9, 2025, the Vermont Education & Environment Network (VEEN) gathered for a delightfully spooky evening of networking and learning at the Green Mountain Audubon Center’s Education Barn. The Fall Gathering, aptly themed “Spooky Species,” brought together environmental educators, scientists, and community members for a night celebrating some of nature’s most misunderstood creatures.

Breaking the Ice — With a Spooky Twist

To kick off the evening, VEEN Board member Mandy led a lively icebreaker game of “Who Am I?”—but with a “spooky species” spin. Guests arrived to find nametags featuring a mysterious animal (eel, hyena, spider, and more!) and had to mingle and ask one question of each new person to guess their identity. Laughter filled the barn as conversations sparked, connections formed, and everyone got into the Halloween spirit.

Learning from the Experts

The heart of the night featured three engaging presentations from local experts who shed light on creatures that often get an undeserved bad rap:

Diana Butler, wildlife rehabilitator with the Vermont Bat Center, kicked things off by sharing fascinating bat facts and debunking myths that make bats seem scary. She explained that in many Eastern cultures, bats symbolize good luck and fortune. Diana also introduced the species found here in Vermont, outlined threats they face—like habitat loss and white-nose syndrome—and offered practical tips on what to do if you encounter a bat in the wild or at home.

️ ️Dr. Ruth Fabian-Fine, neurobiologist and professor at St. Michael’s College, followed with an enthralling talk about spider brains. She shared her journey into researching the surprising similarities between spiders and humans—particularly how studying their brains can help us understand neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s. Ruth’s ability to translate complex science into accessible, relatable ideas had the audience hanging on every word.

Craig Newman, from Outreach for Earth Stewardship, closed the evening by introducing everyone to Muir, a magnificent Great-Horned Owl. As the group stepped outside under the glow of the rising moon, Muir’s presence was both humbling and awe-inspiring—the perfect “spooky” finale to a night full of wonder.

The Rural Schools Collaborative, backed by a three-year grant from the Bezos Family Foundation, is expanding its Grants in Place program to support 100 rural classroom projects over the next three years. Rural Schools Collaborative

• The application deadline is October 24, 2025. Rural Schools Collaborative

• Grant awards up to $2,500 each 

• The goal is to help rural teachers design projects that deepen connections between classrooms, students, and their local communities (i.e. place-based education)

Learn more here: https://ruralschoolscollaborative.org/news/rural-schools-collaborative-receives-grant-to-expand-place-based-education-in-rural-communities

The George Masa Foundation is proud to announce the Second Annual Youth Conservation Photo Contest—an opportunity for young photographers to show how they see and care for the natural world.

If you’re a middle or high school student (ages 11–18), this is your chance to share your best work. Winning photos will receive cash prizes and be featured on our website and social media.

Submission deadline: Wednesday, November 19, 2025 (11:59 PM ET)

Contest Categories

• Wildlife – Wild animals in their natural environment (no pets or domestic animals).

• Landscape – Mountains, forests, skies, and scenic outdoor places.

• Water – Rivers, lakes, waterfalls, streams, and oceans.

• Changing Environments – Images that capture shifts in natural or human landscapes.

• Conservation in Action – People or communities engaged in protecting the environment.

  
  

How to Enter

1. Upload your photo(s) and complete the entry form.

2. You will need a Gmail account to enter.

Click here to Enter Contest and for all of the details.

George Masa’s photographs helped inspire the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Appalachian Trail. Today, his legacy continues by encouraging young people to use photography to celebrate, protect, and connect with the natural world.

This fall, I had the pleasure of visiting a StoryWalk® Trail at Distant Hill Gardens in Walpole, NH. On or about the first of each month, the Walpole Town Library installs a new children’s book along the trail, turning the woods into an outdoor reading adventure. As their website explains:

“The book trail consists of laminated pages of each book posted along the trail, with a fun thing for the kiddos to do as they move from page to page.”

What struck me most was that these “fun things for the kiddos” truly bring joy to all ages. On my visit, our group ranged in age from our 40s to 90s, and everyone was drawn into the magic. I watched two 90-year-olds twirl like leaves blowing in the wind, laughing as they searched excitedly for a special leaf to complete one of the prompts. It was a beautiful reminder that storytelling and play are ageless.

StoryWalks® and the Seasons

StoryWalks® often highlight the current season, adding another layer of connection to place. For example, Beaver Brook Association in Milford, NH, is currently featuring Fall Is Not Easy by Marty Kelley on their Burns Farm Loop—a playful book that captures the quirks and colors of autumn.

A Vermont Innovation that Went Global

The StoryWalk® Project was created in 2007 by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT, in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Since then, it has grown far beyond Vermont. Today, StoryWalks® exist across the United States and in 13 countries worldwide, including Germany, Canada, Bermuda, Pakistan, and South Korea!

StoryWalk® is a registered service mark of Ms. Ferguson and the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. To learn more about guidelines for creating one, check out the official StoryWalk® FAQ.

StoryWalks® in New Hampshire & Vermont

In addition to Distant Hill Gardens, here are just a few organizations in our region that host StoryWalks®:

• Aaron Cutler Memorial Library, Litchfield, NH

• Groton Free Public Library, Groton, VT

• Squam Lakes Association, Holderness, NH

• Montpelier Public Library, Iron Horse River Trail, Montpelier, VT

• Beaver Brook Association, Milford, NH

• Abbott Library, Sunapee, NH

• Billings Farm & Museum, Woodstock, VT

• Stonewall Farm, Keene, NH

Do you know of other StoryWalks® happening in Vermont or New Hampshire? We’d love to add them to this list! Please email  thenetworkVT@gmail.com.

Want to Start a StoryWalk®?

If you’re in Vermont, you can borrow a StoryWalk® from the state collection. If you’re outside Vermont, it’s easy to create your own: laminate the pages of a children’s book, mount them on wooden stakes, and install them along a trail or outdoor path. Just be sure to review the StoryWalk® guidelines to do it properly.

For questions about the StoryWalk® Project, email storywalk@kellogghubbard.org.

Written by Leigh Ann Reynolds, VEEN Coordinator & NHEE Administrator

Empower your students to be problem-solvers for the planet! The World of 8 Billion student video contest challenges middle and high school students to create a 60-second video that presents a sustainable solution to one of this year’s topics: Energy, Economics, or Wetlands.

This project encourages students to research, think critically, and communicate their ideas for tackling urgent global challenges. Winners can earn up to $1,200 in cash prizes, and teachers are eligible for classroom grants. To make participation easy, we provide topic overviews, lesson plans, and step-by-step guides. Submissions are due March 4, 2026. Learn more and get your students started ➡️ https://www.worldof8billion.org/

#WorldOf8Billion #StudentVoices #GlobalGoals #STEM

World of 8 Billion Contest Flyer 

• Digital Flyer

• Printable Flyer

Plainfield, VT — The natural world is not separate from us—we are woven into it. As climate disruption accelerates and the boundaries between human and nonhuman systems blur, new ways of seeing, thinking, and relating are needed. Living Systems, a three-part author series hosted by Cutler Memorial Library, invites the community to explore ecology not only as science, but as lived experience, cultural memory, and ethical challenge.

Each event features a contemporary author whose work engages deeply with questions of interconnection—between people and place, species and systems, knowledge and responsibility. Through essays, reporting, storytelling, and critical inquiry, these writers challenge audiences to reflect on how we live now—and how we might live otherwise.

Event Schedule:

Zoë Schlanger — Tuesday, September 23 at 6 PM (Live Remote Q&A)

Journalist for The Atlantic and author of The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth, Schlanger will explore the surprising ways plants perceive and respond to the world. Participants can ask questions and engage in a conversation that will challenge assumptions about the plant kingdom.

Ethan Tapper — Tuesday, September 30 at 6 PM (In-Person)

Forester and author of How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World, Tapper will share insights into the delicate, often surprising relationships between humans and forests, highlighting the challenges and rewards of caring for these vital ecosystems.

Bryan Pfeiffer — Tuesday, October 7 at 6 PM (In-Person)

Naturalist Bryan Pfeiffer, known for his Vermont radio program For the Birds, will present his 21-year search for the elusive Elfin Bog Butterfly—the first confirmed sighting in the state. Blending natural history, personal narrative, and reflections on the human condition, Pfeiffer’s talk celebrates curiosity, discovery, and our connection to the living world.

Together, these conversations will explore what it means to listen to the living world, to learn from it, and to imagine futures that move beyond extraction toward relationship.

This series is free and open to all. Events are hosted at the Plainfield Town Hall and Opera House and are presented in collaboration with the Plainfield Conservation Commission, made possible by a grant from the Echo Center.

Contact:

Angela Ogle, Director, Cutler Memorial Library

802.454.8504, angela.m.ogle@cutlerlibrary.org, cutlerlibrary.org

“Conserving and restoring habitat is critical to protecting species native to the Lake Champlain Basin,” said Dr. Eric Howe, NEIWPCC Program Director of the Lake Champlain Basin Program. “This funding opportunity can support a variety of habitat conservation projects that will provide long-term benefits for fish and wildlife populations, improve water quality, and strengthen the Basin’s resilience to flooding and other challenges.”

Approximately $600,000 in funding is available to support awarded projects. Grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded in the small grants category, and grants between $50,001-$175,000 will be awarded in the large grants category. Eligible organizations may submit one proposal per grant category.

The awarded projects will advance the goals of the long-term Lake Champlain management plan Opportunities for Action (plan.lcbp.org). This grant opportunity is supported by funds awarded to NEIWPCC by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of the Lake Champlain Basin Program, and in partnership with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

Proposals are due at 5:00 PM EST on October 30, 2025. An informational webinar covering healthy ecosystems (large and small), clean water, and aquatic invasive species (AIS) grants will be offered on September 9, 2025 at 12:00PM (register for the Zoom webinar at this link

). Please note that clean water and AIS grant opportunities have been, or will be, released under a separate Request for Proposals, but the informational webinar will cover all of the above grant categories. Awarded clean water projects are targeted to begin work in May 2026 and must be completed by March 2028.

More information, including grant guidelines and applications, is available on the Lake Champlain Basin Program’s website at lcbp.org/grants.   

The Lake Champlain Basin Program coordinates and funds efforts that benefit the Lake Champlain Basin’s water quality, fisheries, wetlands, wildlife, recreation, and cultural resources. The program works in partnership with federal agencies, state and provincial agencies from New York, Vermont, and Québec, local communities, businesses, and citizen groups. NEIWPCC—a regional commission that helps the states of the Northeast preserve and advance water quality—serves as the primary program administrator of LCBP at the request of the Lake Champlain Steering Committee and administers the program’s personnel, finances, and contracts. NEIWPCC is a program partner of LCBP. For further information, contact the Lake Champlain Basin Program, 54 West Shore Road, Grand Isle, VT at (802) 372-3213 / (800) 468-5227 or visit https://www.lcbp.org/.

Non-formal environmental educators are invited to share their perspectives on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in non-formal environmental education. This survey is intended for participants, over the age of 18, who work in non-formal settings conducting environmental education programs in the United States of America. This may include zoos, aquariums, science centers, nature centers, parks, or other out-of-school settings. 

Your insights are crucial to this timely exploration and will help shape the future of environmental education. 

 Click Here to Take the Survey

Or copy and paste this link into your browser: https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6XWoOzGGPLRTkrQ

 Survey Duration: Approximately 15 minutes

 Deadline: Please complete the survey by Sep 30, 2025

Thank you for contributing to a deeper understanding of how AI can support non-formal environmental education!

Post Contact:

Yue Li 李 悦

Assistant Professor 

Environmental Education

School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences
University of Florida

EPA Region 1 is offering community-based organizations the opportunity to borrow PurpleAir sensors as part of an air sensor loan program. These units are user-friendly, Wi-Fi-enabled, stationary sensors that collect particulate matter (PM) data, specifically PM_2.5, and can transmit the data wirelessly to an online map, where you can observe the amount of PM in the air in real-time. Take a look at this map to see all of the registered PurpleAir units in action! 

The loan program can be a useful community education tool since it provides a uniform framework for investigating outdoor air quality, which can empower community members to reduce emissions of and exposure to harmful PM pollution where they live, work, and play.  

For more information about the loan program and how to apply, please refer to the Program Plan, which is attached to this email. Additionally, EPA Region 1 hosted an information session in January 2025 about participating in the loan program.The information session covered information included in the Program Plan. If you would like to view the recorded information session, please email coombs.michelle@epa.gov.

Applications are required in order to be considered for a loan. EPA offers two (2) rounds of open application periods. The first deadline for submitting applications was April 1^st, 2025. The next deadline for submitting applications is October 1, 2025.  To request an application, please email coombs.michelle@epa.gov. 

Post Contact:

Michelle Coombs

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 1

Laboratory Services and Applied Science Division

Field Services Branch 1 – Air Monitoring Team

11 Technology Drive (Mail Code: LFSB)

North Chelmsford, MA 01863-2431

coombs.michelle@epa.gov | (617) 918-8665