First-time attendee guide

Before you arrive

• Register and add Friday, Feb. 19, 2027, to your calendar with the buttons below.
• Look over the three workshop tracks and pick the session you want in each.
• Plan your ride. If you’re coming with a school group, your teacher will arrange it. Otherwise, see directions and parking.
• Pack a notebook, a pen and an environmental issue you care about.
• Dress in layers. February mornings are cold.

When you arrive

Check-in opens at 8:45 a.m. at the registration table inside the main entrance. Pick up your badge and schedule, then head to the IUSB Auditorium for the 9 a.m. welcome.

During the workshops

• Choose workshops that build toward the story you want to pitch. If you want to write about local trees, take the biodiversity session in the first block and the written journalism session in the third.
• Ask questions. Presenters are there to help with your story.
• Take a break if you need one. A quiet room is open all day.

At lunch

Lunch starts at 12:30 p.m. in the IUSB dining area. Tables are grouped by topic, so sit with a presenter or professional whose work interests you. Have one question ready about their job or your story.

At the story pitch session

The last session starts at 3 p.m., when you can pitch your story idea to the panel. A good pitch says what the story is, why it matters to people nearby and who you would interview.

After the conference

If your pitch is selected, a YEPT mentor will work with you to finish the story for publication.