“Environmental education partners in Santa Clara County are wanting to reach more teachers and schools through collaborative efforts and partnerships, and through [the Hub] they will have the ability to do so.”
Jennifer Mutch, Science Coordinator, Santa Clara County Office of Education
Green Guardians, Ten Strands, and the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI) are excited to announce the launch of the CAELI Community-Based Partner Hub (the Hub) with generous initial funding support from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Morgan Family Foundation.
The Hub promotes environmental literacy by building educator awareness of environmental education community-based partners and their products and services and fosters educator-partner relationships for increased student enrichment and engagement. Through the Hub, county offices of education and districts showcase and promote existing environmental education community-based partners in their communities to schools and teachers as well as discover new partners looking to align their offerings to the needs of the K–12 school system.
The Key Themes of the Hub:
- Increase Equitable Access to Environmental Education Programs
- Support Capacity Building for Administrators and Teachers
- Create Connections Between the Formal and Nonformal Education Sectors
Five California county offices of education will have a dedicated presence at the Hub — Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Joaquin, San Mateo — with more coming online later in the year. San Francisco Unified School District, a district and a county, will also have access to the Hub.
Check out our video highlighting the features and goals of the Hub below:
The the full press release here.
Relevant Links
CAELI Community-Based Partner Hub
The Hub promotes environmental literacy by building educator awareness of environmental education community-based partners and their products and services and fosters educator-partner relationships for increased student enrichment and engagement.
California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI)
The California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), led by Ten Strands, works statewide with guidance from a leadership council to create systems change in support of environmental literacy with a focus on access, equity, and cultural relevance for all students.
Ten Strands weaves stakeholders and strategies together into strong, focused education partnerships, with the goal of raising environmental literacy by providing high-quality environment-based learning and hands-on education to all California K–12 students. Ten Strands acts as an incubator and a catalyst to create collaborations, build capacity, and transform systems to increase their impact and sustainability.
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation works with partners around the world for social, cultural, and environmental change designed to improve the lives of children, families, and communities. Learn more about the Foundation.
The Morgan Family Foundation is a private, family foundation that was established in 1993. The Foundation focuses its giving on youth, education, the environment, and stewardship. Its shared goal is to see a return on its investments measured by lives changed and communities transformed.
San Francisco Unified School District
San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is the seventh-largest school district in California, educating over 57,000 students every year. San Francisco is both a city and a county; therefore, SFUSD administers both the school district and the San Francisco County Office of Education (COE). This makes SFUSD a “single district county.”
San Joaquin County Office of Education
The San Joaquin County Office of Education is a regional agency that provides educational leadership, resources, and customized services to assist school districts. The SJCOE promotes student achievement and accountability, serves San Joaquin County’s most at-risk students, and strives to create an environment in which every student, regardless of circumstances, has an opportunity for a quality education.
San Mateo County Office of Education
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) supports local school districts in San Mateo County by providing services that can be done more efficiently and economically at the county level. These include implementing new standards, staff development and training programs, and instructional procedures; designing business and personnel systems; and performing many other services to meet the changing needs of local school districts.
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Working collaboratively with school and community partners, the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) is a regional service agency that provides instructional, business, and technology services to the 31 school districts of Santa Clara County. The County Office of Education directly serves students through special education programs, alternative schools, Head Start and State Preschool programs, migrant education, and Opportunity Youth Academy. The SCCOE also provides academic and fiscal oversight and monitoring to districts in addition to the 21 Santa Clara County Board of Education authorized charter schools.
Santa Cruz County Office of Education
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education provides student programs, supports school districts, and provides curricular and fiscal oversight to schools and students in Santa Cruz County.
News and Events
Mar. 24–May 31, 2021, Golden Gate Audubon Society
This year’s Birdathon offers innovative new programs from March through May that will keep everyone healthy while still reveling in Bay Area birds.
Advocacy and Water Protection in Native California Curriculum Educator’s Training
Mar. 26–Apr. 02, 2021, Save California Salmon
The curriculum is based on a 3-month speaker series and certification program developed during the summer of 2020, which featured dozens of leaders in science, art, law, environmental management, education, and Indigenous history.
Redlining and the Climate Crisis
Apr. 07, 2021, U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Justice
The co-authors of a recent study on the correlation of redlined areas and the location of urban heat islands will discuss their participatory research on the spatial distribution of climate impacts, involving communities in measuring heat in cities.
U.N. Human Rights Experts Say Environmental Racism In Louisiana’s Cancer Alley Must End
Mar. 02, 2021, Huffpost
The report from a body that normally investigates Russia, Myanmar and Afghanistan condemned disproportionate cancer rates in the badly polluted petrochemical corridor.
New EPA Administrator Michael Regan Champions Environmental Justice
Mar. 11, 2021, Mother Jones
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Michael Regan as the nation’s 16th Environmental Protection Agency administrator, tasking the former North Carolina regulator with rebuilding a rule-making body that saw scientists and staffers leave by the hundreds under the Trump administration…
First-of-Its-Kind Study Offers Blueprint for Ocean Protection
Mar. 18, 2021, EcoWatch
The study, published in Nature on Wednesday, endorsed protecting 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030 in order to protect biodiversity, restore fisheries and combat the climate crisis…
Time to make nature studies a compulsory school subject – before it’s too late
Mar. 20, 2021, The Conversation
The UK government is reported to be seriously considering making ‘nature studies’ a compulsory subject for all pupils…
Europe and US could reach ‘peak meat’ in 2025 – report
Mar. 23, 2021, The Guardian
Fast growth of plant-based alternatives means consumption of conventional meat will start to fall.
What if the world’s biggest customer went green? The U.S. government wants to find out.
Mar 24. 2021, National Geographic
The U.S. government can fight climate change by shifting the way it spends its multi-billion-dollar budget.
East Oakland students challenge the city to clean up trucking pollution
Mar. 24, 2021, The Oaklandside
Metal factories and big rigs on I-880 are local issues young environmentalists are learning about—and campaigning against.