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Updates and announcements impacting Environmental Education and Literacy actions. April 2025 CREEC LA – REG. 11 CALIFORNIA REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION COMMUNITY Experiences and opportunities for Teachers and Students offered by our Regional Community Based Organizations A small and non-extensive list of classroom or teacher resources. www.lacoe.edu Announcements Opportunities Resources About The California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network is a program of the California Department of Education. The CREEC Network fosters regional partnerships throughout the state of California to promote environmental education and environmental literacy by providing teachers with access to high quality professional learning opportunities and education resources. Along with statewide sponsors and partners, each of the 11 California CREEC Regions provides professional learning opportunities and resources to educators as well as foster communications among schools and organizations interested in supporting the environmental literacy of California’s teachers and students. More information on the CDE’s CREEC Network program is posted on the CDE website.
Ten Strands is proud to release From Intention to Action: Progress Update on Environmental and Climate Action in California's TK-12 Schools. As part of our Data Initiative, we analyzed data across three critical areas — facilities planning, staffing, and Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) funding — to reveal where our state is making progress and where gaps remain. While momentum is growing, the data show several opportunities:Planning Gaps: Only about 1 in 10 California school districts have released a published Facilities Master Plan within the last five years. Among those that have, climate adaptation and energy resilience strategies remain inconsistently integrated. Understaffing: The movement for dedicated environmental staff is growing, but still rare; only ~10% of districts employ any dedicated environmental personnel. Existing positions are heavily concentrated in campus facilities and operations, leaving curriculum integration and community resilience understaffed. The Commitment-Funding Gap: There is a disconnect between symbolic intent and action. While 18.6% of districts include environmental vision language or goals in their recent LCAPs, only 11.8% actually allocate funding to implement them. This report also includes recommendations for state and local leaders to support districts to develop planning systems, build staff capacity, Where Does Your District Stand on Environmental and Climate Action? secure funding, and establish coordination structures to bring their environmental commitments to life — and help build a sustainable, climate-resilient future for California. How You Can Take Action TodayVisit our interactive tracking system to see environmental and climate action indicators for individual district or districts across one county. Use this data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities. Share this report with someone who has a role to play in scaling this movement. Use this data to support your advocacy efforts locally or statewide. CAELI 2026–27 Season: Beginning the Next Decade As the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI) begins its next decade, educators, community partners, and leaders across the state are coming together to strengthen the relationships and systems that support environmental literacy for all California TK–12 students. In this latest article, project director Andra Yeghoian reflects on the network’s growth and shares how CAELI is building on its foundation through deeper collaboration, shared leadership, and expanded opportunities for engagement.
California Seal of Climate Literacy: Last week, SB 1048 passed the California Assembly Education Committee with unanimous, bipartisan support, moving the California Seal of Climate Literacy one step closer to becoming law! Senator Josh Becker, the bill’s author, and Kirk Anne Taylor, executive director of Climate Action Pathways for Schools, make the case for the Seal of Climate Literacy in a new Capitol Weekly op-ed. The piece highlights how the Seal would connect students with real-world learning experiences and green career pathways, helping expand access to climate-ready skills while giving employers a clear signal that graduates are prepared to contribute to California’s growing clean energy economy. Read the full op-ed here. Help us save $200M for school HVAC funding and prevent these dollars meant for our kids from being given to utility companies! Governor Newsom and legislative leaders need to hear directly from students, parents, and teachers about the need for this funding. Join us in making videos for Instagram Reels calling on California’s leaders to extend the CalSHAPE program deadline and support safe, climate- resilient schools. See the social media toolkit for more, including sample video scripts and how-tos. Now is our last opportunity to save this funding—let’s make a united push this month so that California’s students and teachers can have the schools they deserve! Trusted Testers Program: Trubel&co is seeking educators interested in bringing place-based, data-driven learning into their classrooms. Through the CivicScape platform, teachers can access AI-generated, standards-aligned activities using real-world community data—no prior data experience required. Join the Trusted Testers Program for early access to the AI curriculum builder, curated datasets, educator resources, and a collaborative learning community. Learn more here. From legislative updates to advocacy opportunities, below are a few ways you can help support environmental and climate literacy across California. The California Department of Education (CDE) is initiating the process of updating the Career Technical Education (CTE) Model Curriculum Standards (MCS) and Framework to align California with the Advance CTE National Career Clusters Framework. This framework serves as the foundation for CTE programs in every state and is used for national reporting. Alignment will ensure California's CTE programs remain current, skills-based, and responsive to workforce needs (source here). Draft standards for all clusters and pathways will undergo multiple review cycles and a public comment process to ensure the standards are current, relevant, aligned with workforce needs, and streamlined to reduce redundancy. The updated standards for the Energy and Natural Resources Career Cluster were recently released for public comment. Since this is the cluster most directly connected to environmental and climate action, Ten Strands wanted to elevate this opportunity to provide input. If you would like to review the new standards and provide feedback, please visit the CTE Model Curriculum Standards/Framework Update website. Environmental Literacy Embedded in California's Vision for Student Success A major milestone for environmental literacy has been achieved! California's new Portrait of a Learner now recognizes environmental literacy and sustainability as essential competencies for all students. The adoption of this statewide framework was the result of months of engagement and feedback from Ten Strands and partners across the state and builds on more than a decade of work to embed environmental learning into California's education system. This success reinforces environmental and climate education as core components of a well-rounded education.
Seeds to Solutions™ is a free, high-quality K–12 instructional resource that provides everything needed to teach an age-appropriate, empowering unit on climate change solutions. Developed by the San Mateo County Office of Education, Ten Strands, and teams of educators and climate experts, the curriculum helps students become environmentally literate and engaged community members. Teachers across California are using Seeds to Solutions to teach students about state-specific environmental challenges and solutions. To support implementation, we’ve launched Drop-In Office Hours where teachers can get guidance, ask questions, and connect with the curriculum team. 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month 4:00 - 5:00pm PT Get details or join on Zoom Whether you need help with implementation strategies, customization, or just want to brainstorm, we’re here for you. You’ll meet with Holly Steele, Ten Strands’ professional learning director, or another member of the Seeds to Solutions curriculum team. The California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), led by Ten Strands, advances a statewide effort to ensure that all California TK–12 students benefit from environment-based learning opportunities. As CAELI begins its next decade, the network continues to strengthen collaboration, leadership, and pathways for educators, partners, and changemakers to engage in advancing environmental literacy across California. We believe a strong statewide movement depends on creating meaningful entry points for people at every stage of their environmental literacy journey. Interested in becoming a member in the 2026–27 season? Complete the CAELI 2026–27 Membership Commitment Form. A major milestone for outdoor learning and environmental literacy in California schools just happened: AB 2158, The Outdoor Learning and Environmental Literacy Act of 2026, passed the California Assembly Floor on May 27, 2026, with a bipartisan vote of 61–0 and no opposition. This is an important step forward to ensure all California students have access to meaningful outdoor learning opportunities and environmental literacy experiences. Strong bipartisan support throughout the Assembly process reflects the growing universal recognition that connecting students with nature and environmental learning supports student well-being, engagement, and academic success. AB 2158 has now passed every stage of the Assembly:9–0 in the Assembly Education Committee on April 8 15–0 in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 14 61–0 on the Assembly Floor on May 27 The bill now advances to the Senate, beginning with the Senate Education Committee as early as June 10. As the bill moves through the next phase of the legislative process, continued public support will be critical. How You Can Help We invite you to help keep the momentum going by signing on in support of AB 2158 and sharing the news with your networks. If you have not yet signed on, you can add your name or organization in support of the bill and submit your e-signature for inclusion in the next support letter to the Senate Education Committee. AB 2158 Passes CA Assembly! Help Keep the Momentum Going
Our USDA Forest Service Wildfire Crisis Strategy Team in Southern California does not provide educational programs for students or professional development opportunities for educators, we can provide links to resources such as the Wildfire Risk to Communities website which provides information on understanding, exploring and reducing risk. Attached is information regarding the Southern California Landscape Zone’s primary focus in reducing wildfire risk: 1.Ignition reduction 2.Strategic fuel break networks 3.Montane forest conservation 4.Community planning and preparedness CLICK HERE FOR THESE IMAGES
TreePeople For grades K-8, TreePeople is once again offering field trips, or Eco-Tours, at our beautiful Coldwater Canyon Park. We also have family tours and moonlight hikes. But if you’re not able to travel to us, don’t worry, we can come to you! We continue to offer virtual enrichment lessons for kindergarten through second grade and our traveling dirt doctor can visit your classroom in person. For more information visit our website. SCIENCE LEARNING SEQUENCES Check out the Science Learning Sequences hosted on the California Science Teachers Association website! These lesson resources are free, link directly to Project Phenomena resources, and are available online. From the web page: A suite of K-12 Learning Sequences were developed by California science educators in collaboration with practicing climate scientists. These learning sequences were piloted in classrooms by the teachers that developed them. In addition, they underwent peer review and the NGSS Lesson Screener was utilized to revise and update the learning sequences. All learning sequences were written to support high-quality, phenomena-based, three-dimensional science teaching and learning. The learning sequences were presented as short courses at the 2018 California Science Education Conference. https://cascience.org/climate-summit/k-12- learning-sequences CAELI Launches Teacher Call to Action Resource The Teacher Call to Action for Environmental Literacy is a three-part publication developed for educators by educators. Part 1: The Imperatives for Environmental Literacy defines the field and recounts its development in California. Part 2: Voices from the Field presents case studies of effective instruction at every grade level. Part 3: Roadmap for Instruction describes steps to increase Environmental Literacy integration. Download this resource. What We're Tracking The California Environmental Literacy Initiatives’ Innovation Hubs invite you to a series of webinar conversations: Tools For Environmental Literacy. They will feature authors of new resources to support expanding equitable access to environment-based learning experiences. Register today. This year's Arizona State University (ASU) and Global Silicon Valley (GSV) Summit will feature climate-related sessions and has a channel focused on "Earth on the Edge, Can EDU Stop Climate Change?" Take a look at the upcoming sessions here. PLANET STEWARDS From the classroom to the community, the National Earth Science Teachers Association is committed to continuing the efforts of the NOAA Planet Stewards Education Project, supporting educators in building a more sustainable future. We are proud to champion this initiative offering 10 opportunities of up to $5000 to support hands- on, action-based stewardship projects that engage elementary through college age students, as well as the public. Awarded stewardship projects must make a substantive, measurable impact on an environmental issue related to their community. Awardees completing their stewardship project along with the reporting requirements may be invited to: Represent NESTA Planet Stewards at a national science education conference or Planet Stewards workshops to share their work. Receive invitations to special events and professional development opportunities. Publish work in The Earth Scientist, NESTA's nationally distributed, peer-reviewed journal. For more information: CLICK ON NESTA.ORG
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION RESOURCESGrowing Food in a Changing Climate By Shelly Brooks Ph.D. The California History Social-Science Project presents a comprehensively researched article about "Growing Food in a Changing Climate." Read about the ways that climate change is affecting how food is grown and analyze how current trends may project future problems with food production. Learn ways to discuss this growing problem in the classroom and discover how to integrate EEI units into lessons on this topic. The Source Magazine, Environmental Literacy in History-Social Science The Source is a magazine created by the UC Davis California History-Social Science Project (CHSSP), it provides educator driven content such as sample lesson plans, interviews with teachers and scholars, essays on history education and a calendar of upcoming events. The August 2019 issue focuses on Environmental Literacy in History-Social Science, Environmental Justice, Learning in and From the Outdoors and Empowering Eco-literate Global Citizens. The magazine is accessible and available to read online. Educator Resources for Schoolyard Forests Students can be involved in all aspects of a schoolyard forest—from the initial research, design, and planting, to long-term stewardship and investigation. Schoolyard forests present a special opportunity for engaging students’ minds, hearts, and bodies and provide rich academic experiences across the curriculum. They also provide students regular access to a natural laboratory for developing their environmental and climate literacy. For Forest Lessons and Activities CLICK HERE Living With Fire Wildfire Science Curriculum This curriculum is designed to help Nevada youth understand the role of wildfire in Nevada ecosystems and learn how to reduce their household’s wildfire risk. These materials are the result of an extensive stakeholder engagement process with over 160 different teachers, scientists, tribal members and fire professionals across Nevada and the western United States. Each unit below uses compelling Nevada- specific examples to meet several Next Generation Science Standards. Throughout these lessons, students will gain exposure to current scientific research, career opportunities and engaging hands-on activities that help them be better prepared to live with fire. To learn more CLICK HERE