We are excited to invite you to the 3rd annual "How Outdoor Learning Outperforms Indoor Learning Leadership Summit," an essential event designed to equip formal school leaders in Texas with the knowledge and tools to leverage the transformative power of nature. Our goal is to help you create systems that better support students and teachers in whole child wellness and academic excellence.
Registration will open in Connect20 on September 1, 2026 (Connect20 Session #117624). You must register in order to receive login information to create a personalized schedule. Invitations to join the Sched conference platform will be distributed beginning in September to registered attendees.
Registration fee is $150. 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Location for event: Seguin ISD Irma Lewis Outdoor Learning Center, 1865 E. US Hwy 90, Seguin, TX 78155
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Outdoor learning spaces have enormous potential, and a well-documented implementation problem. Too often, they're designed with enthusiasm and abandoned within a year. The culprit is usually not funding or facilities. It's the getting the question that drove their creation just right.This hands-on, two-hour workshop invites educators and school leaders to slow down and do the most important work first: developing a right-sized, community-rooted design question that will drive meaningful, sustainable outdoor learning.Grounded in EcoRise's work with K-12 teachers across Texas, EcoRise's Design Studio guides participants through the first and most critical phase of the design thinking process. Your school is invited to send a design team, where participants will examine real examples of outdoor learning spaces, identify the conditions that make them thrive or stall, and collaboratively develop and refine a design question tailored to their own school community.This is not a lecture. Participants will leave with a design question they've actually stress-tested, a clearer sense of the assets and constraints in their own context, and a framework for moving from question to implementation plan.The session is designed for administrators, instructional leaders, and teachers who are ready to move beyond inspiration and into action. No prior experience with design thinking is required, only a willingness to think carefully and work collaboratively.Outdoor learning works best when it's built around the real needs of real people and communities. This workshop is where that process begins.
