The California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), established in 2016 and led by Ten Strands, works statewide with guidance from a leadership council to create systems change to support and elevate the importance of environmental literacy in TK-12 schools.
- We focus on work at the district level to support administrators, teachers, staff, and students because that’s where change happens.
- We believe the school district holds space at the heart of the community and is entrusted with our most valuable resource: our young people.
- We celebrate the victories of our partners and recognize the strength of a network working together.
In doing this work, we provide multiple constituents with the tools they need to catalyze long-lasting change.
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In Their Own Words
“The work of the CAELI County of Education Innovation Hub allows me to collaborate with others who are doing groundbreaking work to support student environmental literacy learning. Having colleagues to lean on, learn from, and mentor means that each County Office of Education has a better chance of successfully partnering with school districts to provide students with environmental literacy experiences that are culturally relevant and accessible to ALL.”
“I am a product of outdoor education, and I need to pay it forward as an agent of change in the educational community so that the next generation can benefit from our environment.”
“The work I am most excited to do as a member of the Equity Initiative is to cultivate a level of accountability in middle school environmental programs in communities closest to the impact of harmful environmental issues. By pairing that accountability with a comprehensive environmental curriculum and project-based sustainable skills, I hope to nurture programs that teach responsibility to generations of California students that rival “The Lorax!”
“All students need daily opportunities to understand the connection between humans and the natural world. This supports student inquiry and environmental literacy by helping students understand and apply the Environmental Principles and Concepts in their local communities and beyond while building on students’ interests and existing experience to learn about and solve real-world problems.”
“The natural environment connects us all. It impacts every part of our lives, and our everyday actions impact our natural environment. Starting with every child, every person should have access to and knowledge about our natural environment to help improve it and everyone’s quality of life.”
