DEREN’s fifth annual CONVERGENCE Conference will bring together conservation professionals from throughout eastern Maine to discuss the importance of science-based conservation as an effective tool for protecting the region’s ecosystems. The theme of this year’s conference is sustainability. Registration (with lunch): $40.

We will focus on scenario planning, an effective, flexible, participatory, and inclusive process.  We will have speakers from the University of Maine; Scenarios, Services, and Society Research Collaboration Network (S3RCN) at the Harvard Forest; Acadia National Park; Forest Society of Maine; Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park; and the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratories.

At Convergence 2015 you will hear engaging, informative, and inspirational speakers, gain tools and skills to help advance your individual and group’s conservation goals, and participate in working sessions that will advance the Downeast region’s conservation efforts through joint education and research collaboration.

Please register today!  Scholarship applications available for a short time only.  With your registration fee you will receive entry to all talks and working groups, a delicious lunch on the beautiful Schoodic Institute’s campus, and valuable networking opportunities.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Keynote Speaker, Bridie McGreavy, Assistant Professor of Environmental Communication, Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine

Plan to join DEREN for this important conference dedicated to strengthening and promoting conservation collaborations in Hancock and Washington counties, Maine.  The CONVERGENCE Conference serves as the annual networking meeting of conservation practitioners, educators, researchers, and managers in eastern Maine.

Scholarships are available for CONVERGENCE 2015. For more information and instructions on how to apply, please contact Anica Miller-Rushing at anmiller-rushing@schoodicinstitute.org. You need to apply for a scholarship before you complete your registration. The deadline for applying for a scholarship is September.

For information about DEREN and the CONVERGENCE conference, please visit www.downeastresearchnetwork.org.