Maine held its first Green Schools Symposium last week at Thomas College in Waterville.
More than 400 educators, students and officials came together Friday as part of the 'Green Schools Network.' Attendees formed working groups to generate ideas on outdoor education, sustainability in schools, green infrastructure in school buildings and more.
Glenn Cummings, Green Schools Director at the Department of Education, said that despite the environment being a popular subject in an outdoor state like Maine, there are still some districts where there's only one person teaching climate.
"We don't want those people to feel alone," he said. "They want to feel like they can be part of a larger network, and they can get resources, they can get conversations going, and they can get support for each other that allows them to just be more effective."
Students and professionals mixed together in workshops, with youth leading a lot of the conversations about sustainability initiatives and ideas for schools.
Eamon Meade, a junior at Freeport High School, said he got involved because he loves the outdoors in Maine and wanted to learn to be a better steward of the ocean and woods.
He said the conversations helped to bridge the gap that usually exists between adults and youth.
"I think it's really important to have the next generation involved with this kind of thing," he said. "It's good to see kids taking on responsibility for our climate and our world."
The Maine legislature passed a law to create the Green Schools Network in June. Maine was one of the first states in the nation to create a climate literacy plan, which was also released earlier this year.