Worried Germinate Conference is Stuck in the Past?
Here’s How We’ve Evolved
Lately I have spent some time off Instagram (my social media app of choice). Mostly for creation but I still sneak on there to check out what my friends are up to.
And if you are reading this and our team follows you/you follow us, there is a HIGH percentage that I am seeing what your chapter is doing and secretly fangirling.
I also see some familiar faces who have been around the G&G space since it began who have moved on from attending G&G events (no hard feelings, promise!). And I see you all getting married, growing your families, expanding your programs, excelling in your classrooms and chapters and I am HERE FOR IT.
At G&G we understand and CELEBRATE that their are seasons of life (and careers).
Seasons of abundance
Seasons of drought
Seasons of the status quo
With that, there’s a chance that Germinate Conference wasn’t what was right for you in the past. And if we’re being completely honest, Germinate 2019 or even 2022 wouldn’t fly for us in 2025 either.
Which is why I wanted to write a blog post all about how Germinate has changed and what you can expect when you register for the 2025 conference.
Think of this as a little love letter back to our G&G OG’s. We have had you in our mind for the past 7 months as we have been working to update, revitalize, and curate the best experience for attendees in July.
4 Reasons You Might Be Hesitating To Join Germinate Conference
1. Hesitancy for Virtual PD
I hear it all the time that in our “post-COVID” days we are stepping away from virtual. Now, as someone who taught before, during, and after the pandemic I sing “hallelujah” from the rooftops about not forcing students into virtual learning. But, for professional development I say “why are you hating”
How much time do we spend on social media gathering new tips/tricks for the classroom (or even catching up with your fav creators)?
How much time do we spend watching reality TV?
How much time do we spend facetime our family members across the US/World?
How much time do you spend scrolling Facebook Groups, Pinterest or TPT for lesson ideas?
How many webinars or townhalls have you attended for ____?
Everything I listed above is virtual.
And those avenues are valuable.
Why would we treat professional development differently than the other ways we enrich our lives and careers? Especially when we know these cold hard facts about virtual learning (for ADULTS)
Virtual Learning reduces training costs by 30 to 70% than in-person trainings
Virtual Learning requires 40-60% less time our of your busy schedule than traditional classroom settings
Virtual Learning can increase information retention by up to 80%
Germinate was created to break down travel and financial barriers to connect incredible agriculture teachers and professionals together.
No need to travel across the country for a couple day conference
No need to argue with administration about dropping $1,000+ on conference registration, hotel, ubers and food.
No need to sit in on sessions that aren’t relevant to your program
Germinate doesn’t replace your regional and national conferences for your teaching organizations. Those conferences have important legislative sessions and industry updates that are vital to the progress of agriculture education. And we support teachers attending them (we even offer a scholarship to help fund those trips for teachers once a year).
But, we realize it is a reality of many teachers that they will not get the opportunity ever or very rarely in their career to do that kind of travel.
Hence, why we have hosted 11 agriculture teacher organized, presented, and attended Germinate Conferences since 2019.
2. Hesitancy for the same conference over and over again
Hey, if you have been to Germinate before, we are so happy you decided to come in the past! And we also understand that you might wonder why you should attend again…
It’s kind of like going to see the same artist in concert over and over – will the show be any different? You’ve seen it once, is it worth it again? (Tbh, the only person I’d go see and over and over is our girl Taylor 🤣).
With this in mind, we actually decided that we need to reach outside of our circles and hired two new team members to SHAKE UP GERMINATE this summer. Jacklyn and Jason have been working their tails off to push the team to step outside the Germinate norm.
Case and point: At Germinate 2025 we have 23 new speakers AND 12 never before seen topics at Germinate!
There have been 296 professional development sessions hosted by G&G over the past 6 years. And we are jazzed to have some new ideas, new voices, and new takeaways that will help a teacher who is gearing up for a 2026 school year (and not re-teaching pre-pandemic content).
So, if you have been to Germinate before I can attest to you that …
The format is similar to what you have seen in the past BUT…
You won’t be listening to the all the same speakers from the past
You won’t be hearing all the same topics from the past
The content has been reviewed and edited by current ag teachers to be in the best format for you.
3. Hesitancy on investment
Y’all I think everyone can agree that money is tight. I’ll be the first to say that teachers are NOT compensated fairly and I will continue to advocate for increased teacher pay to my local representatives.
While we at G&G cannot increase your local pay, we have created a few avenues to help lessen the financial barrier for you to attend Germinate.
Scholarships
(SCHOLARSHIPS CLOSED)
We love being able to connect with teachers who need support. Whether that is with finding the right lesson or getting assistance to attend Germinate. We offer scholarships every year prior to registration opening. Be on the lookout for applications at the beginning of the calendar year.
Payment Plans
I get it, dropping $100+ at a time can be a commitment. That is why payment plans are so prevalent in our lives from our mortgages, car payments or even using Klarna. Germinate also offers payment plans so you can break up the payments to your conference.
School Supported Payments
Yes, your school can pay for Germinate. Last year we had 13 attendees have their schools pay their way to Germinate with an invoice. If you are looking to do that, request an invoice using this Google Form. PLEASE be aware that Green & Growing Education can only accept payment for invoices using a credit card payment via QUICKBOOKS (No checks for Germinate).
Early Registration Discounts
The early bird gets the worm in nature and at Germinate. We have multiple registration discounts available and here is how they play out for Germinate 2025:
Feb 10-Mar 15, 2025: $109
March 16-May 15: $149
May 16-June 28: $199
4. Hesitancy on the content being right for you
How many times have you been to a local professional development conference and you scan the agenda and mentally are saying to yourself…
“That’s a lot of content for core subjects?”
“Is there even anything for just CTE teachers?”
“Why am I even going if the content isn’t going to help me or my students?”
WE HAVE BEEN THERE. And TBH we end up there every year. That is why we all started attending Germinate. Because we know the content IS RELEVANT to agriculture teachers.
While we admit that you might not have sessions that fit your exact case load, FFA chapter needs, or SAE issues, we can commit that every session is created around the three circle model WITH AG TEACHERS needs at the forefront.
So, while you might be HOPING for a Conduct of Chapter Meetings session, we can offer you a Parliamentary Procedure session from a 7th year ag teacher who has coached their teams to a GOLD ranking at nationals 4 times.
While you might be HOPING for some new ideas for field trips, we can offer you a strategic session that can help you stop sweating the small stuff in your trip planning.
While you might be HOPING to get some new strategies for assisting your IEP students, we can offer you a session on engaging multi-language learners that might inform ideas to assist all of your students with IEPs.
If you want to take a deeper dive on the sessions offered at Germinate this year, you can check them out here.
I am hopeful this new information can help you see how Germinate has changed with you in mind. And if you still aren’t ready to join in this season of life, know that we are behind the scenes still cheering you on. Why? Because we don’t care about your registration fee. We care about YOU, the teacher, and more importantly, you the PERSON, choosing what is right for them.
But if this version of Germinate IS what you are looking for, you can register HERE.
If you are looking for some other ways to connect with the G&G community, join us at our next Marigold Meetup.
If you are looking for resources that you can download today to help you in your classroom, check out the resource library.
