Jan. 12, 2023 Newsletter
With new leadership and a revised Blueprint for Change, we are rallying in the new year with a renewed focus on expanding environmental literacy to all of California’s 5.8 million public school students. To start, CAELI project director Andra Yeghoian reflects on her hopes for 2023 and how recent changes and initiatives from CAELI leadership are kicking off the year strong.
Looking Forward to the Year Ahead
The change of a calendar year offers an excellent opportunity to take stock of where we have been and to look forward to where we are headed next. In that spirit, Andra Yeghoian captures a reflection on the first half of the 2022-23 CAELI season and looks forward to hopes and opportunities for the rest of the season.
Check Out the Ten Strands 2021-22 Annual Report
We are thrilled to share the work Ten Strands and partners have accomplished to advance environmental literacy across California schools. Last year, Ten Strands continued to grow a diverse team, built a coalition for legislative priorities, launched a climate change and environmental justice curriculum program, and helped implement strategies for scaling widespread educational change. Ten Strands continues to shift the educational landscape to ensure that all students understand and experience the interdependence of natural and human social systems.
Innovation Hub Spotlight
CAELI’s innovation hubs represent a growing community of people dedicated to environmental literacy and outdoor education for youth. Here, we introduce one of our innovation hub leaders!
Opportunities, Events, and News
- You’re invited to attend the Community of Practice for Schoolyard Forests, a free monthly discussion forum for school districts, county offices of education, and public agencies to share information and build a collegial network to help bring schoolyard forests to scale! Learn more here.
- Join CAELI’s District Innovation Hub in an interactive online series showcasing the work of inspiring equity-focused leaders. Kicking off on January 19, our first meeting will feature Rialto Unified School District’s journey to becoming a Green Ribbon School district. The webinar series will also provide time to learn about current opportunities from the CAL FIRE Green Schoolyard Grants, the California Bay and Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) grant, and the Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program. Join us and hear in-depth accounts of successes from across the state, followed by informal discussions. Register here.
- In collaboration with The Outdoor Learning Store and Take Me Outside, AEOE is pleased to announce the Outdoor Learning Virtual Winter Workshops Series! Free access, resource sharing, a certificate of attendance, and prizes at each session! Tuesdays from 4–5 p.m. Register here.
- The California Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program is seeking grant proposals from schools that need funding to build capacity for county or district-wide TK–12 climate literacy initiatives that support the policies and structures necessary to advance climate literacy. Apply by February 23! Learn more here.
