CAELI Partner Portal Resources June 2025

1. Seeds to Solutions

Description: Seeds to Solutions™ is a set of free, solutions-oriented instructional resources for grades K–12 on California environmental issues. Developed in response to teacher and community demand, the lessons empower students to address real-world environmental issues, from food waste to water use to wildfire management. Age-appropriate, solutions-focused, and trauma-informed, Seeds to Solutions prepares students to be environmentally literate, engaged community members. Seeds to Solutions includes everything needed to teach the topic and guide student investigations. It aligns with CA standards and Environmental Principles & Concepts. It transforms classroom learning into discussions that go beyond school, and it empowers students to explore environmental solutions with confidence. Browse the units by grade level at Seeds to Solutions. 

2. California Urban Tree Canopy Viewer and Change Analysis Tool


A map of the united states

AI-generated content may be incorrect.




.

Description: CAL FIRE and the USDA Forest Service are proud to announce the release of the California Urban Tree Canopy Viewer and Change Analysis Tool. This interactive mapping tool shows California’s urban tree canopy and how it has changed over time, using 2022 high-resolution (60cm) urban tree canopy for all 2020 Census-designated urban areas in the state of California, as well as canopy-related change between 2018 and 2022. The mapping tool overlays the tree canopy layer with other information, including census data, urban heat severity, and the extent of the wildland urban interface and intermix. These layers provide context to help us understand differences in tree canopy across communities. Understanding the extent and location of existing tree canopy and how it has changed over time can help a community design and implement sound management practices to maximize services such as prioritizing tree planting locations in areas with extreme heat, protecting existing tree canopy to offer community-wide benefits, and identify which tree species protect homes in the wildland-urban interface.

Check out this NEW tool to see how you can use the data with your students!

3. 2025 California Green Ribbon School Awards


A green and white card with text and stars

AI-generated content may be incorrect.
Description: The California Green Ribbon Schools (CA-GRS) recognition award honors K–12 schools, school districts, and County Offices of Education that demonstrate exemplary achievement in three key areas: resource efficiency, health and wellness, and environmental and sustainability education. This recognition is part of a broader statewide effort to identify and promote effective practices that enhance student engagement, academic performance, graduation rates, and career readiness.

Twelve of the 39 honorees for 2025 participate in the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), a clear demonstration of the strength, innovation, and collective impact of this statewide network. Laguna Beach Unified School District and the San Mateo County Office of Education received Green Achiever recognition, the highest possible. Congratulations! 

Click HERE to see the list of all the honorees.

4. WordlinkStory.Earth: A New Tool for Planetary Learning



Amazon Region: Mammal Species Richness
Description: Story.Earth brings learning to life through stunning planetary visualizations, interactive digital tools, and NGSS-aligned lesson plans. Students use real-world data to observe patterns of change, think critically, and explore solutions for a sustainable future. With its global perspective, Story.Earth cultivates systems thinking, futures thinking, and environmental literacy. By engaging with maps and globes, students learn core scientific concepts and develop inquiry and analysis skills that are vital for their future roles as informed citizens and planetary stewards.

Ready to explore? Visit Story.Earth and join the movement to educate, empower, and inspire the next generation of changemakers.

5. The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan





The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Description: Tracking the natural beauty that surrounds us, The Backyard Bird Chronicles maps the passage of time through daily entries, thoughtful questions, and beautiful original sketches. With boundless charm and wit, author Amy Tan charts her foray into birding and the natural wonders of the world.

“With this book as your guide, embark into the bird world Amy Tan. This is an intimate view, a sort-of love affair with the birds and their behavior, that Amy has come to know over several years. Within the leafy universe of her own backyard, she has quietly beheld, patiently observed, and taken in-depth notations of an extensive array of bird species. In colorful detail, she describes various bird’s behavior, while capturing their beauty in exquisitely rendered illustrations. Species include fearsome predators and watchful prey, long distance migrants and hometown residents. Through her unique insight and gift as an author and artist, Amy exposes a world of intrigue, beauty, even humor about the birds we all share this world with.”
—Keith Hansen, author of Hansen’s Field Guide to Birds of the Sierra Nevada

“Amy Tan’s bird journals can change the way you see the world. They show that stories, mysteries, humor, and beauty are all around us if we take the time to pay attention. They remind us that we never stop learning and growing, and if we put in the work, we can learn and master new skills. These journals invite us to look out of our own windows with fresh eyes and wonder.”
—John Muir Laws, author of The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds

News & Events June 2025

1. California Naturalist CoursesDates: June, July, August 2025
Location: Different locations in California

Screenshot 2023-09-29 at 5.25.28 PM
Description: Whether you are a high school or college student or an environmental education professional seeking your CalNat certification, California Naturalist is offering several courses over the summer to build your knowledge and skills. 

Visit the CalNat website to learn more.
2. California State Parks Week: This is Where you Live!Dates: June 11-15, 2025
Location: In State Parks across California

state parks week
DescriptionCalifornia State Parks along with partners California State Parks Foundation, Parks California, and Save the Redwoods League, are joining together to celebrate California State Parks Week. The fourth annual celebration theme is “This is Where You Live!”  

There will be more than 170 events and virtual programs at parks across the state. The festivities will also include the 175th year of California statehood. For more information, visit the CA State Parks Foundation website.
3. Monterey Bay Aquarium online course – Ocean Plastic PollutionDates: Course is self-paced
Location: Online

Description: This self-paced online course for educators in grades 3-12 will support you in initiating a plastic pollution reduction project with your students — no matter where you are! 

Do you live like you love the ocean? Are you ready to help your students live like they love the ocean? Join us for an action-based online course that prepares and motivates educators to be part of the plastic pollution solution! Each day, we throw away about 300 million tons of petroleum-based plastic bottles, bags, utensils, packaging and other so-called disposable items. Sadly, this disposable plastic will persist in the environment and may travel throughout the global food web forever.

Sign up for the course to learn about the science behind plastic pollution, discover project ideas for the classroom, and mobilize your students to take action! For more information, email: educatorprograms@mbayaq.org.
4. Teach Climate Network Summer InstituteDates: July 14-15-16, 2025
Location: Virtual

The Teach Climate Network Summer Institute is a virtual, three-day conference focused on climate change education for both formal and non-formal educators.

A group of logos and symbols

AI-generated content may be incorrect.
Join Ten Strands, Climate Generation, and 20 regional climate change education leaders from around North America as we practice what it means to teach climate change as an interdisciplinary, justice-centered issue. 

Are you looking for a community of educational professionals and mentors who can support your climate change knowledge and teaching strategies? Our Summer Institute network is full of educators and climate change practitioners doing just that! Discover best practices, activities, lesson plans, and tools that will help you strengthen your climate curriculum and better support your learners. 

Whether you’re a formal classroom teacher or a non-formal educator, this is the perfect opportunity to grow your climate change education skills and connect with like-minded professionals. Plus, scholarships are available.

On July 16, join us for the California Cohort Day, hosted by Ten Strands! Participants will engage in sessions focused on how to integrate trauma informed practices into climate literacy. It also features special presenters from Ten Strands’ Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program.

Register HERE by June 27.
5. NatStart25 Conference: Rooted and ResilientDates: July 14-18, 2025
Location: Virtual in 2025

Description: The Nature-Based Early Learning Conference is organized by the Natural Start Alliance, a project of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). Natural Start is a network of people and organizations that believe that all young children need frequent opportunities to experience, learn from, and care for nature and the environment through high-quality education. The Alliance serves as a backbone organization to focus and amplify the collective impact of the people and organizations that share this common vision.

Registration includes a full year of access to 100+ on-demand sessions, recordings, workshops, and certificates of participation. Register Today.

CPB Feature for June 2025

Island Packers

Island Packers is the concessionaire to the Channel Islands National Park, providing transportation to the islands from the Ventura and Channel Islands Harbors. They offer Floating Classroom programs to K-12 students, focusing on the unique resources and environmental challenges impacting these offshore islands and the waters surrounding them. Their programs can be tailored to meet the educational goals of the instructors in both science and social science topics, and include subjects like introduced species, endemism, geology, marine resources, Native American inhabitants, human impact, and environmental stewardship. 

Anacapa Island K-12 Education – This true oceanic island offers 360-degree views of the ocean, and East Anacapa is known for its abundant bird population and seasonal wildflowers. Its remote location makes it a perfect spot to cover science and social science themes. 

What makes this destination unique?  East Anacapa Island is one of the most popular destinations for first time visitors to the Channel Islands. This small, rugged island is big on the sights and sounds of a remote island wilderness. Surrounded by sheer cliffs, the top of the island is an ancient wave cut terrace. Anacapa offers spectacular panoramic views from everywhere you journey. The surrounding kelp forests highlight the rich marine resources present in the area. Sometimes you will see dolphins or whales right from the trail. There are always sea lions and seabirds present. From mid-April through June, you can expect to see the nesting activity of Western Gulls and their chicks. Anacapa island also offers a rich cultural history, including the last lighthouse built on the California coast. There are several archaeological sites documenting the presence of the Chumash people.Prisoners Harbor, Santa Cruz Island K-12 Education – Mature students and/or smaller groups may want to consider the Pelican Trail hike at Prisoners Harbor. This trail is considered one of the most diverse hikes on the islands. Trail highlights include lush native vegetation and spectacular vistas. Education themes are similar to those described for Scorpion Ranch with an emphasis on restoration and conservation. (Requires special permission and release forms to visit The Nature Conservancy property).

What makes this destination unique? Prisoners Harbor is located where the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) boundaries meet, giving unique access to the Pelican Bay Trail. This trail offers beautiful vistas that overlook the Santa Barbara Channel and all its rich marine diversity. It also traverses several different vegetation habitats, providing the best opportunity to see the most diversity of endemic species of any trail on Santa Cruz. This vegetation provides habitat for many bird species as well, including the endemic Island Scrub Jay, which is found nowhere else in the world. The Harbor area still houses an old ranch storage building and an archaeological site that offer a window into the rich cultural past of this island.

Scorpion Ranch K-12 Education – Located on the east end of the largest island off the California Coast, Scorpion Ranch is a unique location to study science themes such as native and endemic organisms, introduced species, geology, and the marine environment. Scorpion Ranch has a long and interesting history of human activities including the site of one of the largest Chumash villages on the Channel Islands. 

What makes this destination unique? East Santa Cruz Island is rich with cultural history and feels like a step back in time. Old ranch buildings still stand just off the main beach. One building has been converted into a Visitor’s Center. Prior to the ranching era, the Chumash people inhabited this same valley. There are archaeological sites as well as current activities that document their connection to this place they know as “Limuw.” As the largest island in California, there is great diversity in the geology and topography. Starting at the cobblestone beach, moving up to wave cut terraces, and continuing to mountainous peaks. Besides the beautiful vistas that overlook the Santa Barbara Channel and all its rich marine diversity. The island is host to a very unique habitat of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. It is fairly common to see the endemic Santa Cruz Island Fox along the trails at Scorpion.

Wildlife and Whales K-12 Education – This is a non-island landing excursion that focuses on the natural history of this unique marine region, and the various types of wildlife that depend on a healthy ocean. Within the waters of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, over 35 species of marine mammals have been identified. Throughout the year it is possible to see Common Dolphin, Risso’s Dolphin, Minke Whales, Bottlenose Dolphin, Pacific White Sided Dolphin, Dall’s Porpoise , Humpback Whales, and an occasional pod of Orca. Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions are also common around the harbor breakwaters and Anacapa Island. The islands and surrounding waters are also habitat for at least 60 species of seabirds. Some of the more common sightings of seabirds include Western Gulls, California Brown Pelicans, and several species of cormorants and shearwaters. 

What will students experience? There is always an opportunity to see wildlife in route to the islands. They will brake to see whales and dolphins! Once ashore, students will have a lunch break. After lunch they will take a guided hike with their naturalist. Their naturalists are trained on the unique natural and cultural resources found in Channel Islands National Park and have a large repertoire of activities to reinforce the information they present. Anacapa Island possible science themes include adaptation, habitats, native and endemic organisms. As well as introduced species, research and restoration, marine ecology, and geology. Social science themes may include Native American inhabitants, explorers, and shipwrecks. All trips can be tailored to meet your curriculum goals and objectives. Financial assistance is available