For K-12 School & District Leaders interested in leading hopeful, aspirational action towards a thriving future for all.
July 6th – 9th, 2025
at The Ecology School at Riverbend Farm in Saco, Maine, USA.
A beautiful drive through the countryside for many in Ontario, Québec, and the Atlantic provinces as well as the U.S. North East.
20 Miles south west of the Portland airport, 100 miles north of the Boston Logan Airport.
Learning Goals:
We will focus on wellbeing, systems-thinking, hope and a vision of a thriving future for all as we:
1. Establish a new lens, clear intentions and refreshed approaches for personal and organizational leadership in the face of the climate, biodiversity and multiple social crises we are facing.
2. Explore and apply a framework for strategic, hope-filled, system-wide action towards a thriving future for all.
3. Identify practical next steps for leading climate, nature and community action focused on solutions, impact, and greater individual, community and eco-system health in your schools, districts and communities.
We will work with case study examples from the participants’ schools and districts, and share leading practices from around the K-12 sector. Everyone will leave with new resources, inspiration and connections to a growing Community of Practice leading aspirational change in K12 schools everywhere.
Join a 25 minute Information Session to learn more:
Tuesday February 25th, Noon Eastern
Wednesday, February 26th, 2:00 Eastern
Complete this short form and we will send the zoom link and calendar invite for your preferred session, or you can send us any questions you have.
Review the detailed description and agenda for the session.
Register HERE. Registration just opened, and the first 3 registrants will receive a $25 gift certificate to either the Outdoor Learning School & Store or the Take Me Outside Store!
There is a special early bird rate of $974 per person covering the program, food and accommodations for the 4-day, 3-night institute.
Limited spaces at this rate – reserve one for you and your team soon!
Enjoy this video with highlights and reflections from our first Leading Beyond Green Institute in June 2023.
NAAEE 2023 Conference: Leading Beyond Green: Hope-Filled Regenerative Climate Action in Schools
Interview: The Ecology School as a Living Community
Michèle Andrews, Executive Director at DoorNumberOne.org, enjoys a long conversation with Drew Dumsch who leads The Ecology School in Saco, Maine. Drew shares the story of The Ecology School, and the path they took to create a Living Community Challenge Master Campus Plan, the first in the world approved by the International Living Future Institute. They have also recently completed 2 Living Buildings, a new 200+ person dining hall with a fully electric commercial kitchen, and a 140+bed dormitory. The Living Building and Living Community Challenges are the most rigorous and aspirational green building certifications in the world.
The Ecology School
The Leading Beyond Green Leadership Institute is hosted at the Ecology School at Riverbend Farm. Located in the pristine, rural location on the Saco River in Southern Maine, USA.
The Living Building Challenge
The Ecology School is the first organization in the world to submit a Master Plan for the Living Community Challenge, a building standard designed to create a truly healthy relationship between people, all the rest of nature, and all aspects of the built environment.