Equity in Conservation and Outdoor Recreation (E.C.O.R.)
Summit for Action Annual Convening
Summit for Action Annual Convening
SAVE THE DATE!
The 8th annual E.C.O.R. Summit for Action Convening will be held October 1-2, 2026
The 8th annual E.C.O.R. Summit for Action Convening will be held October 1-2, 2026
Summit Dates and Times (Subject to Change)
Thursday, October 1, 2026 (Virtual) : 8am – 4pm PT, 9am-5pm MT, 10am- 6pm CT , 11am-7pm ET
Friday, October 2, 2026 (In-Person) : Denver, CO: 9 am - 4:30 pm MT (Denver Zoo)
Thursday, October 1, 2026 (Virtual) : 8am – 4pm PT, 9am-5pm MT, 10am- 6pm CT , 11am-7pm ET
Friday, October 2, 2026 (In-Person) : Denver, CO: 9 am - 4:30 pm MT (Denver Zoo)
What is the E.C.O.R. Summit for Action?
The annual Equity in Conservation and Outdoor Recreation (E.C.O.R.) Summit for Action convening is an invitation to embark on a transformative journey at the intersection of equity, inclusion, and the great outdoors. Our annual two-day event is a call to action, bringing together thought leaders, activists, practitioners, and community members to engage in profound discussions about the vital role of environmental justice in conservation and outdoor recreation movements.
Why Attend:
The environment should be a place of healing and enjoyment for all, a place where nature's wonders are accessible and inviting to people of every background and identity. However, throughout American history, marginalized communities have been systematically underrepresented or intentionally excluded from the conservation and outdoor narratives and disproportionately impacted by environmental decision making. These injustices are deeply rooted in complex social and economic factors, including explicit racism, sexism, and ableism, as well as the legacy of segregation. Summit for Action is committed to confronting these issues head-on. We believe that understanding the history and impacts of environmental injustice is not only essential but also an opportunity to transform natural areas, policy spaces, and organizations into inclusive, healing, and vibrant environments that benefit all members of society.
The annual Equity in Conservation and Outdoor Recreation (E.C.O.R.) Summit for Action convening is an invitation to embark on a transformative journey at the intersection of equity, inclusion, and the great outdoors. Our annual two-day event is a call to action, bringing together thought leaders, activists, practitioners, and community members to engage in profound discussions about the vital role of environmental justice in conservation and outdoor recreation movements.
Why Attend:
The environment should be a place of healing and enjoyment for all, a place where nature's wonders are accessible and inviting to people of every background and identity. However, throughout American history, marginalized communities have been systematically underrepresented or intentionally excluded from the conservation and outdoor narratives and disproportionately impacted by environmental decision making. These injustices are deeply rooted in complex social and economic factors, including explicit racism, sexism, and ableism, as well as the legacy of segregation. Summit for Action is committed to confronting these issues head-on. We believe that understanding the history and impacts of environmental injustice is not only essential but also an opportunity to transform natural areas, policy spaces, and organizations into inclusive, healing, and vibrant environments that benefit all members of society.
2026 Summit
In a time of escalating environmental harm, political backlash, and deep uncertainty, our communities are being called to do more than respond to crisis. We are being called to hold the line.
This year’s E.C.O.R. Summit for Action, Holding the Line: Protecting People, Place, and Planet, invites participants to gather in defense of the futures our communities deserve. As environmental protections are weakened, public resources are stripped away, and communities already carrying the greatest burdens are asked to survive even more, we know that our work must be rooted in courage, imagination, collective care, and local action.
The 2026 Summit will create space for community members, practitioners, organizers, educators, policymakers, and public and private leaders to explore how environmental justice, racial justice, disability justice, trans liberation, land protection, and community survival are deeply connected.
Together, we will examine the systems that are failing our people and our planet, while also asking a more powerful question: What future are we building in their place?
This year’s gathering will move beyond traditional panels and presentations into a more interactive, collaborative, and action-oriented format. Participants will engage in futurist thinking, strategic foresight, mutual aid conversations, and community-based planning. Through facilitated workshops and local gatherings, attendees will identify the signals of change already emerging in their communities, imagine preferred futures rooted in repair and justice, and develop practical steps they can take within their organizations, neighborhoods, and networks. Our goal is not simply to name what is wrong. Our goal is to help people leave with stronger relationships, clearer strategies, and a deeper belief in their own power to protect people, place, and planet.
The Summit will include a virtual national gathering, opportunities for regional in-person connection in Denver, and tools that support participants in continuing these conversations locally. We believe meaningful change begins at the community level and ripples outward. When environmental groups, Indigenous communities, Black and Brown leaders, queer and trans organizers, community-based organizations, policymakers, researchers, and everyday people come together, we create the foundation for the just and sustainable future we have always deserved.
This year’s E.C.O.R. Summit for Action, Holding the Line: Protecting People, Place, and Planet, invites participants to gather in defense of the futures our communities deserve. As environmental protections are weakened, public resources are stripped away, and communities already carrying the greatest burdens are asked to survive even more, we know that our work must be rooted in courage, imagination, collective care, and local action.
The 2026 Summit will create space for community members, practitioners, organizers, educators, policymakers, and public and private leaders to explore how environmental justice, racial justice, disability justice, trans liberation, land protection, and community survival are deeply connected.
Together, we will examine the systems that are failing our people and our planet, while also asking a more powerful question: What future are we building in their place?
This year’s gathering will move beyond traditional panels and presentations into a more interactive, collaborative, and action-oriented format. Participants will engage in futurist thinking, strategic foresight, mutual aid conversations, and community-based planning. Through facilitated workshops and local gatherings, attendees will identify the signals of change already emerging in their communities, imagine preferred futures rooted in repair and justice, and develop practical steps they can take within their organizations, neighborhoods, and networks. Our goal is not simply to name what is wrong. Our goal is to help people leave with stronger relationships, clearer strategies, and a deeper belief in their own power to protect people, place, and planet.
The Summit will include a virtual national gathering, opportunities for regional in-person connection in Denver, and tools that support participants in continuing these conversations locally. We believe meaningful change begins at the community level and ripples outward. When environmental groups, Indigenous communities, Black and Brown leaders, queer and trans organizers, community-based organizations, policymakers, researchers, and everyday people come together, we create the foundation for the just and sustainable future we have always deserved.
2026 Sliding Scale Registration
Summit for Action using a sliding scale registration model this year. Rooted in economic justice, access, and community responsibility., this model asks each participant to choose the ticket level that best reflects their current financial reality, access to resources, and/or organizational support. Please choose honestly and thoughtfully. Selecting a lower-cost ticket when you have the ability or institutional support to pay more limits our ability to offer scholarships, compensate speakers and facilitators, provide food and materials, and keep Summit for Action accessible to people and communities with fewer resources. If your employer or organization is paying for your registration, please select the highest level your organization can reasonably afford. This includes nonprofit organizations. We know many nonprofits have limited budgets, but we also ask organizations not to use the lowest tiers simply as a cost-saving measure if they have professional development, training, conference, or program funds available. If you are registering as an individual, please consider your income, savings, debt, housing stability, healthcare access, caregiving responsibilities, expendable income, access to family/community financial support, and whether paying more would create real hardship.
Summit for Action using a sliding scale registration model this year. Rooted in economic justice, access, and community responsibility., this model asks each participant to choose the ticket level that best reflects their current financial reality, access to resources, and/or organizational support. Please choose honestly and thoughtfully. Selecting a lower-cost ticket when you have the ability or institutional support to pay more limits our ability to offer scholarships, compensate speakers and facilitators, provide food and materials, and keep Summit for Action accessible to people and communities with fewer resources. If your employer or organization is paying for your registration, please select the highest level your organization can reasonably afford. This includes nonprofit organizations. We know many nonprofits have limited budgets, but we also ask organizations not to use the lowest tiers simply as a cost-saving measure if they have professional development, training, conference, or program funds available. If you are registering as an individual, please consider your income, savings, debt, housing stability, healthcare access, caregiving responsibilities, expendable income, access to family/community financial support, and whether paying more would create real hardship.
Scholarships are available for people for whom cost is a barrier.
Community Supported Level$50 Virtual / $105 Virtual + In-Person
Choose this level if your bottle is less full and paying the standard or sustaining rate would create real financial strain.
This level may be right for you if you:
Standard Level $75 Virtual / $130 Virtual + In-Person
Choose this level if your bottle is partially full and you can pay the standard rate without significant hardship.
This level may be right for you if you:
Sustaining Level $100 Virtual / $155 Virtual + In-Person
Choose this level if your bottle is mostly full or full, or if your organization is paying and has the ability to cover the full cost.
This level may be right for you if you:
A note for organizations
If you are registering staff, board members, volunteers, students, or program participants, please choose the level that reflects your organization’s actual access to funds. Nonprofit status alone does not automatically mean the lowest tier is the right fit.
Please choose a lower-cost tier only if paying the higher rate would genuinely limit your organization’s ability to participate or meet other essential commitments. If your organization has access to professional development, training, conference, grant, sponsorship, or program funds, we ask that you choose the Standard or Sustaining Level whenever possible.
Your honest participation in the sliding scale helps us live our values: access, equity, sustainability, and community care.
Community Supported Level$50 Virtual / $105 Virtual + In-Person
Choose this level if your bottle is less full and paying the standard or sustaining rate would create real financial strain.
This level may be right for you if you:
- can meet most basic needs, but it takes careful planning
- have limited savings or no meaningful financial cushion
- experience financial stress when unexpected costs come up
- have debt, medical expenses, caregiving expenses, or other responsibilities that limit your flexibility
- have limited access to paid professional development funds
- are paying out of pocket and need a reduced rate to attend
- work for a small organization or grassroots group with very limited resources
- would need to sacrifice something important in order to pay a higher rate
Standard Level $75 Virtual / $130 Virtual + In-Person
Choose this level if your bottle is partially full and you can pay the standard rate without significant hardship.
This level may be right for you if you:
- are generally able to meet your basic needs
- have some financial stress, but registration at this level is manageable
- have some savings, stable income, or access to backup support
- have regular access to housing, transportation, and healthcare
- have some expendable income for meals out, entertainment, travel, hobbies, or events
- are employed, self-employed, or have organizational support
- work for an organization that has some professional development, conference, program, or training funds
Sustaining Level $100 Virtual / $155 Virtual + In-Person
Choose this level if your bottle is mostly full or full, or if your organization is paying and has the ability to cover the full cost.
This level may be right for you if you:
- can comfortably meet your basic needs
- have stable income, savings, investments, retirement funds, or access to financial backup
- own property or have stable housing without significant financial stress
- have regular access to healthcare
- can afford travel, recreation, dining out, events, or other non-essential expenses
- have professional development, conference, training, or program funds available
- are registering through an employer, agency, university, foundation, government office, or nonprofit with the ability to pay
- can pay more so that others with fewer resources can attend
A note for organizations
If you are registering staff, board members, volunteers, students, or program participants, please choose the level that reflects your organization’s actual access to funds. Nonprofit status alone does not automatically mean the lowest tier is the right fit.
Please choose a lower-cost tier only if paying the higher rate would genuinely limit your organization’s ability to participate or meet other essential commitments. If your organization has access to professional development, training, conference, grant, sponsorship, or program funds, we ask that you choose the Standard or Sustaining Level whenever possible.
Your honest participation in the sliding scale helps us live our values: access, equity, sustainability, and community care.
Check out our 2025 Summit Speakers
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THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS
Our goal is to highlight the importance of justice, equity, and inclusion in our organizations and communities. We look forward to strengthening our relationships with current partners and connecting with potential partners in our journey of moving diversity forward. Learn about becoming a sponsor.
PRESENTING PARTNERS
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COMMUNITY CONNECTORS
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