The start of a new calendar year offers a great time for reflection and renewal. 2025 feels especially momentous as it marks the 10th anniversary of the Blueprint for Environmental Literacy, a foundational document for CAELI’s Theory of Action. Humanity is also halfway through the United Nations’ Decade of Action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and we have twenty-five years left to achieve the necessary and ambitious goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. With such ambitious goals, it can feel overwhelming that there is not enough action. However, here in the CAELI network, action is alive and well! As we hit the midway mark in our CAELI season, we are happy to reflect on the great progress that has occurred in the first half, and we look ahead to what is coming up in the second.
Much of the action this past fall centered around CAELI members gathering in person at a number of conferences to network, exchange best practices, and share stories from the field. These events included the Green California Schools and Higher Education Summit (see recap article from December), the CA Science Educators (CASE) Conference and CAL-MSCS Meet-Up, and NAAEE. CAELI activators in the COE and CBP Innovation Hubs also hosted a number of virtual gathering opportunities for capacity building and networking through communities of practice, webinars, and fellowships. The CAELI Green Ribbon Initiative successfully hosted two Green Ribbon Statewide Network meetings and supported a number of districts and schools across the state in submitting Green Ribbon applications this past November. Other important achievements include the COE Innovation Hub’s release of the AB 285 Climate Science Education Toolkit and the expansion of the CAELI Partner Portal, which now has twenty county microsites and over 350 community partners on the site.
Also important to highlight is CAELI’s ongoing commitments to putting our equity values into action, which has been championed by leaders from our CAELI Equity Initiative. Additionally, we celebrate how our CAELI network has grown tremendously through our shared leadership approach and continues to diversify in demographics and geographical representation.
Looking ahead to the second half of 2024–25, we will continue many of the efforts begun in the fall as well as launch other exciting projects and endeavors. This activity includes new ELA Superhero podcasts to be released in spring, another season of the District Innovation Hub’s Spring Webinar Series (stay tuned for more information coming soon!), guidance on how to engage with statewide policy advocacy campaigns, a new graduating cohort of COE Fellows, the launch of a Green Career Webinar series, and many more opportunities to meet virtually and in person. Each of these efforts will continue to increase awareness, build capacity, strengthen our ecosystem, and increase agency for environmental and climate action in California’s TK–12 schools.
There is much to look forward to in the second half of 2024–25, and our CAELI leadership team remains grateful for the ongoing commitment of our CAELI community as we work collectively to advance environmental literacy in California for ALL students.
In Solidarity,
Andra Yeghoian
Ten Strands Chief Innovation Officer and CAELI Project Director
