1. CAELI Report: Peaks and Valleys: A Landscape Study of Environmental Literacy in California’s TK-12 Classrooms
This recently released report offers an in-depth look at the state of environmental education in California. This yearlong study, conducted by the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), Ten Strands, and the Lawrence Hall of Science, examines how environmental literacy is being integrated into classrooms and outdoor learning environments across the state.
Key Findings: A Mixed Landscape
The Peaks and Valleys Report uncovers both encouraging progress and challenges in California’s environmental literacy efforts. A key finding is the strong desire among educators and administrators to increase the presence of environmental education in their schools. Over eighty percent of those surveyed expressed a keen interest in expanding environmental literacy in their districts, classrooms, and outdoor spaces. This widespread enthusiasm highlights the recognition of environmental education as essential for preparing students to make informed decisions that contribute to sustainable and equitable communities. Visit the CAELI website to download the Executive Summary or the full Report HERE.
2. CAELI Environmental Superheroes of the English Language Arts Classroom Podcasts
This podcast collection highlights stories of California’s TK-12 educators who teach reading, writing, listening, and speaking through the lens of environmental literacy and justice, giving a glimpse into what this type of work might look like in TK-12 classrooms.
As the state of California deepens efforts to include environmental literacy in all content areas, the California Environmental Literacy Initiative Professional Learning CAELI-wide Initiative’s English-Language Arts Working Group captured stories from the field to show examples of the benefits and power of this integrated model of instruction, which improves overall literacy skills in a number of important ways. It engages students with real-life issues of local and global significance about which young people genuinely care. It invites students to interact with the natural environment, not only through science content, but through multiple genres of literature and diverse writing tasks. Students are then empowered to think critically and creatively about solutionary action and effective forms of advocacy about environmental issues by providing an authentic audience to which students can speak and write.
In the elementary classroom in particular, integrating environmental literacy and English-Language Arts provides both efficiency and significant time-saving potential. Teaching English-Language Arts standards through the lens of environmental literacy and justice provides an important opportunity for all students to gain access to environmental learning, regardless of their school’s location.
For each superhero podcast, you will find:
- A short podcast teaser
- A full podcast
- A snapshot of the episode
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Find all the Podcast Episodes HERE.
3. Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6-12. Activating Science Teachers to Take on the Climate Crisis Through NGSS by Kelley Le
Looking to tackle climate change and climate science in your classroom? This timely and insightful book supports secondary science teachers in developing effective curricula around the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) by grounding their instruction on the climate crisis.
This new edition focuses on meeting teachers where they are in their teaching and learning while tending to various contexts, communities, and cultures to activate educators in
understanding and responding to the climate crisis in this moment. Chapters offer design and implementation support for 21st-century learning experiences centered around the climate emergency for meaningful engagement. Dr. Lê provides an overview of the teaching shifts needed for the NGSS using climate change as the vehicle of instruction. She also supports climate literacy for students and teachers via urgent topics in climate science and environmental justice. Teachers will also learn how to engage with the complexities of climate change by exploring social, racial, and environmental injustices stemming from the climate crisis that directly impact their students. Examples of successful applications of these learning experiences are new to the second edition, as well as added activities and overall updates to research and data. By anchoring instruction on the climate emergency through an intersectional lens starting with teachers’ core beliefs and values, Dr. Lê offers guidance on how educators can activate students as agents of change for their own communities.
Dr. Kelley Lê is the inaugural Executive Director of the UC Irvine and CSU Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs). Book available at Routledge books plus many other book outlets.
4. NAAEE Podcast Series: Education We Need for the World We Want
Imagine a world where communities thrive, curiosity sparks change, and hope isn’t just a wish—it’s a plan in action.
Welcome to The World We Want, the NAAEE podcast that’s not just talking about a better future—we’re bringing it to life, one inspiring story at a time.
Brought to you by the North American Association for Environmental Education, The World We Want is a podcast that dives into the heart of what it takes to drive change through education. Each episode shines a light on educators, community leaders, and organizations harnessing curiosity, compassion, and know-how to address the world’s most pressing challenges. Hear stories of resilience and dedicated vision that inspire us all to help shape the just and sustainable world we’re striving to build.
5. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
A bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.
As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy.
How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth – its abundance of sweet, juicy berries-to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution insures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of our relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.
For more information, visit Kimmerer website HERE.
