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New CAELI Innovation Hub Structure Focuses on Equity and Inclusion

In early 2021, the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI) sought to center its work in equity, diversify representation, and move to a model of self-governance when it launched a new...

Three Recommendations for Schools During COP26

Following the recent 26th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow and the increasing awareness — as a result of the recent Intergovernmental...

The IPCC Report Offers Educational Leaders the Opportunity to Lead Our Most Important Teachable Moment

As students return to school this fall, educators are tasked with balancing young people's education with a staggering set of urgent situations that call us to act. An important starting...

How Equity in Education Can Foster Youth-Led Climate Advocacy

For a generation of youth who refuse to continue a legacy of environmental destruction, the promise of a sustainable future is in question if we stay on our current path....

Youth Climate Leaders: It’s Time for Everyone — Especially those in Power — to Step Up and Make the Environment a Priority

In a world facing ongoing climate crises, youth bring a belief in science and the will to survive to counter powerful decision-makers driven by self-interest. Two student leaders, Atiya Angleen...

Growing Up Wild: Fostering Youth Development through Education and Environmental Stewardship

Youth reminds us of the curiosity and awe we all once held of the world around us. That same curiosity lays the foundation of science-based inquiry. Even when constrained, youth...

Youth Outside and BEETLES: A Partnership Making Environmental Education More Equitable

In service of CAELI’s commitment to centering equity and justice throughout the environmental literacy field, we are highlighting the partnership between Youth Outside and BEETLES at the Lawrence Hall of...

How Justice and Equity are Shaping Environmental Literacy for a Better Future

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, a reckoning with racism, and the enduring battle against climate change have starkly revealed the need for systemic change. Equity has proven to be a...

Hoover Hawks Victory Garden: A School and Community Jewel

The Hoover Hawks Victory Garden thrives on the Hoover Elementary School campus in West Oakland, a neighborhood rich in history, culture and people. Urban farmer Wanda Stewart is the tireless...

2020 Distinguished Contribution Award Winners: Ten Strands and CAELI!

Karen Cowe, Ten Strands CEO and California Environmental Literacy Initiative project director, discusses her work to uplift environmental literacy in this interview with California Association of Science Educators (CASE). This...

A Silent Service: Why Water Workers Support Environmental Literacy and Career Technical Education

Water is a vital natural resource that shapes the development of California’s environmental, social, and economic landscape. Despite this, the essential workers that maintain California’s water supply are often overlooked....

How Global Education and Environmental Literacy Empower Students as Citizens of the World

Global education and environmental literacy go hand-in-hand when helping students connect with the world around them. As the executive director of the California Global Education Project (CGEP), Dr. Emily Schell...

Teaching Environmental Science with Social Justice at the Center

Science gives us critical clues to understanding the complex web of the natural world, how it works, and how we can embrace our role in it. That’s why Dr. Suzanne...

The Green Return to School: California Administrators Find a New Lens for Teaching Environmental Literacy

The new school year is approaching, and educators are having to adapt to a new educational reality amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As California administrators think outside the box with new...

California Youth Lead the Movement for Environmental Action

Across California, young people are making change happen in their communities, and leading the way on environmental action. We interviewed four student leaders in Alameda, Orange, and Santa Cruz Counties...

Aniya Butler: Leading Youth Activism for Environmental Justice

Aniya Butler is a student who works with Youth Vs. Apocalypse. This climate activism group brings together young people in the Bay Area to uplift the voices of people of...

Azucena Nieto: Remembering Our Connection to the Natural World

Azucena Nieto is a youth artist and activist working with the Youth for Environmental Action (YEA) group in Santa Cruz County. Her powerful creative writing pieces represent the interconnectedness of...

Marlize Velasco: Powering Community Change Through Sustainability

Marlize Velasco is a student that works with the Santa Cruz County Youth Environmental Action group. By empowering her peers to come together and develop ideas for environmental action, she...

Seth Whiteaker: Bringing Students Together for a Green Campus

Seth Whiteaker is a student whose lifelong experiences in nature have fostered a love for native gardening. After founding a Gardening Club at his school, he’s organized a coalition of...

Rowyn Cook: Living Her Love of Nature

Rowyn Cook is a student who works with the Youth Environmental Action Group to promote sustainability ideas on social media and organize a climate conference. We spoke with Rowyn about...

Isaac Wallace-Menge: Knowledge is Key to Protecting the Natural World

Isaac Wallace-Menge is a recent high school graduate with extensive experience researching and volunteering for environmental causes, from coastal restoration to recycling practices. As an advocate for sustainable development, he...

Educators Using Biomimicry to Teach Nature-Based Problem Solving

Educators are drawing from the emerging field of biomimicry to engage young people in the STEAM fields through real-life connections. This short film features a December 2019 professional development training...

How California Environmental Education Providers Are Keeping Student Success at the Forefront During the Pandemic

In this Q&A, three environmental education leaders share how critical environmental educational experiences are to connecting youth with the natural world, and building the critical skills in science, leadership and...

Through Environmental Literacy Initiative, Teachers and Students Gain Real-World Knowledge

We asked three teachers who participated in the San Mateo Environmental Learning Collaborative (SMELC) Teacher Fellowship Program for some examples of how the program has benefitted them and their students—and...

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