Description: The theme for Earth Day 2025 is Our Power, Our Planet, invites everyone around the globe to unite behind renewable energy, and to triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030.
The EarthDay.org website offers numerous resources on climate education with curricula, toolkits, advocacy packets, calendar of events, and teacher’s guides. There is a Primer: How Climate Change Impacts the K-12 Learning Experience and Solutions.
Description: Why Environmental Education is Important. People care about what they know and fight for what they love. Environmental Education allows people to connect to the natural world through immersive learning experiences in the outdoors, creating environmental stewards for generations to come. The National Environmental Education Foundation provides numerous resources for teachers, students, and parents. Celebrate Earth Month with fun and engaging activities.
Podcast Description: Dr. Astrid Kendrick is currently the Director of Field Experience at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. She was a K-12 classroom teacher for 19 years specializing in Physical Education, English and Language Arts. One of Dr. Kendrick’s main research areas focus on compassion fatigue, burnout, and emotional labour in Alberta educational workers. Dr. Kendrick is the co-producer of the Ed Students in Conversation podcast series on voicEd Radio Canada and developer of the HEARTcare Educators website. She was the recipient of the 2020 Online Teaching Award from the Werklund School of Education as well as an Emerging Scholar Award from The Learner research network in 2019. Listen to the podcast Here.
Description: The Foundation for Environmental Education announces its Eco-Schools Early Years Handbook. Eco-Schools for Early Childhood Education inspires exploration, fuels curiosity, and nurtures children’s natural desire to ask questions about the world around them. Using the Eco-Schools seven steps framework and themes, children will connect what they learn with the real world. This approach is a crucial basis for building the emotions, attitudes, values, behaviours and skills which will help them build positive relationships with their environment and each other.
Description: Want to get out and explore nature right in your own neighborhood? It is as easy as 1-2-3. Here are some activities that you can download for use with family and friends to get you started on some Neighborhood Nature adventuring. Activities include nature journaling, poetry, learning about the food web, using your senses, go buggy in your backyard or neighborhood, looking for feathers, or looking up at the stars. There is something for everyone.
Description: The purpose of the Ten Strands Data Initiative is to develop and maintain an interactive database that communicates data related to scale, equity, context, and progress on indicators of environmental and climate action in schools. Join a webinar to explore the report’s findings and learn how to apply them at both broad and local levels. This report equips educational leaders and changemakers with interactive tools and data-driven insights to advance environmental and climate action in school communities.
Description: Now in its fourth year and growing, this community of practice brings together staff from a variety of roles in County Offices of Education across the state. They meet every month for networking, professional learning, and focused discussions on self-selected topics. April Topic: Youth Programs Register Here.
Description: Building Bridges: Sharing Resources, Strengthening Community
Meet with other program leaders to discuss the shifting landscape, address current challenges, and crowdsource ideas for how to best support your staff and communities. Learn valuable tips and strategies that will help CBP Program Leaders and your organization grow and thrive. April Topic: Advocacy and Messaging & Marketing Register Here.
Description: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a teaching approach that works to accommodate the needs and abilities of all learners and eliminates unnecessary barriers in the learning process. UDL improves and optimizes teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. UDL is a framework to guide the design of learning environments that are accessible and challenging for all and that gives all students equal opportunity to succeed. This course is designed to encourage you to reflect deeply on your practice to focus on how you plan and teach to support all learners.
For more information or to register, visit the AEOE website.
Location: Walker Creek Ranch, Petaluma, CA Description: This year’s theme is Roots and Branches: Strengthening Community and Expanding Impact.
Join your friends and colleagues for a weekend of learning, networking, and fun in Marin County! The conference is held Friday afternoon through Sunday lunch and includes 40+ workshops, a keynote speaker, an awards ceremony, resource fair, live and silent auction, EE Certification Program presentations, evening entertainment, and more. Lodging and meals are offered onsite starting with dinner on Friday and going through lunch on Sunday. To learn more and to register, visit the AEOE website for details.
The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) is a grassroots organization founded in 1983. They are the leading voice for the protection and restoration of the Yuba River watershed. Their goals focus on river and forest restoration and educating and mobilizing their communities to be good stewards of their environment. To achieve their goals, SYRCL has developed into a vibrant community organization with over 3,500 members and 1,000 volunteers. SYRCL’s River Restoration team is leading the effort to rehabilitate the lower Yuba River for salmon, steelhead, riparian habitat, and wildlife. The Meadow Restoration team is assessing and restoring meadows because of their hydrological and ecological importance as they sequester carbon, act as natural firebreaks, and as important habitat for wildlife. The Forest Health team works with the U.S. Forest Service, private land owners, and other nonprofits to plan and implement projects that address forest health and to prepare for catastrophic fires.
SYRCL’s River Restoration team is leading the effort to rehabilitate the lower Yuba River for salmon, steelhead, riparian habitat, and wildlife. The Meadow Restoration team is assessing and restoring meadows because of their hydrological and ecological importance as they sequester carbon, act as natural firebreaks, and as important habitat for wildlife. The Forest Health team works with the U.S. Forest Service, private land owners, and other nonprofits to plan and implement projects that address forest health and to prepare for catastrophic fires. The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) is a grassroots organization founded in 1983. They are the leading voice for the protection and restoration of the Yuba River watershed. Their goals focus on river and forest restoration and educating and mobilizing their communities to be good stewards of their environment. To achieve their goals, SYRCL has developed into a vibrant community organization with over 3,500 members and 1,000 volunteers. SYRCL’s River Restoration team is leading the effort to rehabilitate the lower Yuba River for salmon, steelhead, riparian habitat, and wildlife. The Meadow Restoration team is assessing and restoring meadows because of their hydrological and ecological importance as they sequester carbon, act as natural firebreaks, and as important habitat for wildlife. The Forest Health team works with the U.S. Forest Service, private land owners, and other nonprofits to plan and implement projects that address forest health and to prepare for catastrophic fires.
The River Education programs integrate science into the curriculum to provide educational opportunities that inspire life-long stewards of the Yuba River watershed. Using a variety of educational tools, they teach students of all ages from their community, as well as surrounding areas, lessons about watershed health, Yuba salmon, climate change, water conservation, meadow restoration, and scientific monitoring. They strive to empower, engage, and collaborate with local youth and learning communities, and create linkages between the River Education program and other areas of SYRCL’s work. The Salmon Expeditions are an amazing opportunity for students and families to adventure down the Yuba River to see spawning salmon. Experienced river rafting guides offer different options to get wet and learn about the salmon life cycle, local ecology, and human impacts on these fish.
The Youth Outdoor Leadership Opportunity (YOLO) is a free, five-day summer science expedition in mid-June for local 9th-12th graders to engage in local climate action and watershed restoration efforts. Surrounded by the gorgeous Sierra Mountains, students get a chance to learn about ecology and build skills in real time. They conduct hands-on field work and meadow restoration research, collect necessary data, connect with teammates to discuss important environmental justice issues, hone leadership skills, and explore the beautiful landscapes of the North Yuba Watershed.
The High School Water Quality Project offers opportunities for high school students to become trained in water quality monitoring practices, collecting water quality data, analyzing and interpreting the data, and learning river etiquette to become River Ambassadors.
SYRCL recently held their annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival. This school program presents film programming for over 3,000 students for their local community and neighboring counties. They curate age-appropriate, engaging, and inspiring content for TK-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12th grade film screenings.
Each student audience gets their very own film festival. In years past, students have had the opportunity to see their films on the big screen – TK-8th graders at the Del Oro Theatre and High Schoolers at school sites. An important part of the school program, the Wild & Scenic education team creates film-specific, standards-based curriculum for participating educators from local elementary, middle, and high schools for further classroom enrichment. The Wild & Scenic education team offers a wide array of low-cost programs for audiences throughout the community.
The South Yuba River Citizens League supports its communities in so many ways. Visit their website to learn more about the education programs they offer schools and the wide-range of activities for community members. For specific questions about their education programs, contact Monique Streit, Education Director, at monique@yubariver.org. Congratulations to Monique who is the recipient of the AEOE 2024 Northern CA Environmental Educator of the Year award.
