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CAELI Partner Portal Resources August 2025

1. NAAEE Podcast Series: The World We Want, Episode 11: Through the Lens: EE Efforts from the South Side to San Antonio




Description: Filmmakers James Parker and Juliet Grable have discovered that assumptions about perceived divides often dissolve when people connect over what we share: the planet. In Our Nature investigates how EE proves to be one of the most effective tools for building community and finding common ground. 

In this conversation, James and Juliet reveal how environmental education addresses several interconnected crises of our time: children’s increasing screen time, the loneliness epidemic, declining mental health, and widening social-political divisions. They dive into how meaningful connections—to each other, to place, and to the natural world—can be powerful antidotes to social disconnection. Through immersive, on-the-ground storytelling, they show how EE is uniquely positioned to rebuild trust across gaps in varying lived experiences and identities. Both filmmakers argue that in an age of digital isolation, the need for place-based, community-centered environmental education has never been more urgent.

2. Seeds to Solutions




Description: Why Seeds to Solutions? Students are witnessing environmental changes in their communities, like extreme heat, flooding, and wildfires. Yet, until now, teachers have lacked California-specific instructional resources to address these critical topics. Seeds to Solutions™ changes that, delivering the tools educators need to engage and empower.
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. Browse the units by grade level.

3. CA Foundation for Ag in the Classroom Teaching Resources




Description:  CA Ag in the Classroom provides a variety of resources to teachers, after-school coordinators, and anyone educating students in grades K-12. The resources can be downloaded or one can order a set at no cost. Resources are listed by type such as Grab Bag, Lesson Plans, Learning About Ag, Fact Sheets, Farm to You, Ag-Bites, Great Reads, Farm to School, School Gardens, Early Childhood Ag, and more! You can also search by subject, keyword or grade level.
These resources are valuable for all educators who want to teach their students about California agriculture, where we grow so much of the world’s food!

4. Project WET Teaching Resources


Description: Project WET activities are science-based. Content experts review the information, and educators and students field test the materials. They are Interactive. Engaging students through questioning and other inquiry-based strategies, educators involve students in hands-on lessons and encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning by seeking answers to real-world problems, playing games to explore scientific concepts, and reflecting, debating and sharing by creating songs, stories and dramas. The activities are 
multisensory. Full-body activities engage the senses, which research shows enhance learning. The activities are also solution-oriented. Project WET believes in linking awareness and education to action and solutions. Explore their resources Here.

5. Children & Nature Network: Learn to Nature Journal with John Muir Laws


Description: Nature journaling offers numerous benefits, including enhanced observational skills, improved mental and emotional well-being, and a deeper connection to the natural world. It can also boost cognitive functions like critical thinking and creativity. Additionally, nature journaling can reduce stress and anxiety, and foster a sense of awe and wonder.

Join award-winning artist, author, educator and scientist, John Muir Laws, for a two-hour hands-on virtual class where he will share his best tips and tricks for nature journaling learned through his 40 years of teaching and illustrating (recorded on June 7, 2025).

News & Events for August 2025

1. Justice Outside Community Workshops: Stronger Teams, Brighter Futures: Become the Place Everyone Wants To Work At


Dates: August 13, 20, and 27, 2025
Location: Virtual
Description: Recruitment and hiring is expensive.
This 3-part training series is for organizations that
want to rethink the way they build and sustain
Their teams—from identifying the most important
skills, to crafting inclusive job descriptions, to
onboarding staff in ways that make them feel
welcome from day one and excited to celebrate
many anniversaries with your organization. When you aim to bring in not just “the best and brightest,” but people who expand your perspective and add real value, you don’t just fill roles—you build a workplace people are proud to be part of. 

Join Justice Outside staff as they explore how to think differently about job qualifications, broaden your candidate pool, interview for practical strengths, and retain staff by fostering a workplace culture that feels good to be part of. Strong teams don’t happen by accident. Let’s create a workplace people want to grow with. 

To register, click Here. If you have any questions, email learning@justiceoutside.org.

2. Justice Outside Bi-annual Conference: Unite and Ignite 2025


Dates:  September 23-24, 2025
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Description: Unite & Ignite 2025 creates a vital space for connection, solidarity, and strategic action. Through inspiring sessions, keynotes, and collaborative conversations, the conference will focus on organizing, mobilizing, and amplifying diverse voices to build collective power for lasting change in outdoor spaces. Attendees at this conference will amplify community voices to transform policies and change who makes decisions about the natural world, connect with leaders redirecting resources to where communities need them most, build networks that center excluded communities in the environmental movement, and transform solidarity into coordinated action for lasting structural change. For more information and to register, click Here.

3. California Coastal Cleanup Day



Date: September 20, 2025
Location: California beaches, creeks, and rivers
Description: Coastal Cleanup Day is California’s largest annual volunteer event. It is an opportunity for people across the state to clean our creeks, rivers, lakes, coast, and shorelines of all kinds, to help restore our environment. Virtually every body of water in California ultimately flows to the ocean, and that water can carry a lot of trash. That’s why Coastal Cleanup Day takes place throughout the state – no matter where you’re cleaning, you are helping to protect our coast and ocean. California Coastal Cleanup Day is organized by the California Coastal Commission in partnership with many NGOs and local government partners around the state. It is part of the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by the Ocean Conservancy, which is the largest volunteer event on the planet!

Join the Trashure Hunt! This year, California Coastal Cleanup Day will become the world’s largest scavenger hunt. Special “trash” items will be hidden at cleanup sites all across the state. If you find one of them, you can redeem it for valuable prizes! Learn more about the 40 year history of California Coastal Cleanup Day. Details to participate can be found Here.

4. AEOE Online Course: Climate Literacy


Dates: August 20 – October 5, 2025
Location: Online – Moodle
Description: This rigorous online course is designed for communicators, educators, and community leaders who want to deepen their understanding of the science behind climate change and evidence-based, equitable solutions needed to address it. Participants will explore how climate systems function, how human actions influence climate, and how climate influences people and other parts of the Earth system. The course combines scientific readings, engaging videos, interactive simulations, systems thinking activities, and data visualizations to support a rich learning experience. While it does not focus on teaching strategies, it provides a strong scientific foundation to support confident, informed engagement with climate education materials. In addition to global climate science, the course incorporates California-based resources and data to ground concepts in real-world examples; while these materials are locally focused, they serve as valuable case studies that offer insights and applications relevant to participants from any region. Click HERE to register.

5. NAAEE 2025 Conference: Forward Together



Dates:  October 30, November 3-6, 2025
Location: Virtual
Description: In the face of unprecedented global challenges, our 2025 virtual conference will highlight how we can move forward by harnessing our collective wisdom and diverse perspectives to create a more just and sustainable future. Environmental education is our foundation—it equips people with the tools to act, encourages new ways of thinking, and leads to positive change. As we confront environmental threats, misinformation, and division, our mission has never been more urgent. Progress depends on collaboration, innovation, and the collective power of educators, learners, changemakers, and communities. Our conference will bring together voices from across the field and around the world. Together we can support more educators, inspire more learners, and create lasting impact. Registration is now open.

CPB Feature for August 2025

Hippo Works is an animation studio founded by cartoonist Denis Thomopoulos to inspire kids about the environment. Hippo Works’ content reaches kids through collaborations with caring brands and organizations. Most recently Hippo Works has teamed with UNICEF and Project Everyone to inspire children everywhere about the UN Global Goals through a comic book series along with the animated adventure “Cool The Climate!’” as well as a School Lunch Composting Program with EcoSafe Zero Waste.

Cool the Climate! features Simon the Hippo and friends who go on a song-filled adventure while learning about the world’s changing climate, the role that carbon dioxide and methane play, and the good green habits we can all develop to help cool the climate. Along their way the animals find out about topics such as the greenhouse effect, the food chain, the three Rs (reducing, reusing, and recycling), composting, and carbon offsetting. Educators can download a kit that includes a half-hour movie, an eBook (with climate action activities and coloring pages), lesson plans with K-8 NGSS and Common Core standards connections, a memory game to reinforce concepts, and the movie soundtrack. 

Hippo Works produces comic books on various topics that teaches students about the UN’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development. These two comic book stories focus on Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being and Goal 13: Climate Action. Simon Says Save the Climate or Kids Fight Smog comic books are available for download.
Hippo Works offers students 21 Steps to Cool the Climate. Steps include learning about 350ppm (the safe level of carbon in the air according to climate scientists), how to calculate your carbon footprint, the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), composting, ways to be energy smart and travel smart, suggestions for changing your diet to reduce your carbon footprint, using less water, growing your own garden, the importance of individual actions, and more! The webpage features fun graphics your students (and adults) will enjoy.