We are pleased to announce that Senate Bill 720, authored by Senator Ben Allen, co-authored by Assembly Member Tony Thurmond, and sponsored by Ten Strands was officially signed by Governor Jerry Brown and is now law. Thank you to everyone who helped ensure passage of this important legislation, which will continue to build the foundation […]
The unit that we are making and the units other teams are making are so rich. I love that they address real-world, local, environmental problems, and that they include elements of project-based learning. It makes me happy to think about children engaging in these lessons and addressing these issues. During the last week of June, […]
It is a beautiful Friday morning in May when Ten Strands team members Karen Cowe, Ariel Whitson, Mike Howe, and I arrive at Dixie Elementary School in San Rafael, California. After gathering in front of the school’s jungle gym playground, we head to the front office, where we are instructed to sign-in and choose one […]
We are excited to share our 2017 Annual Report. Learn more about the California Environmental Literacy Initiative—a multi-faceted movement focused on advancing efforts across the education landscape with the ultimate goal of achieving environmental literacy for all of California’s K–12 students. Through this work Ten Strands has embraced our role as a field catalyst and become the […]
It’s a dark November night as I drive through the western Sierras toward Quincy, CA (elevation 3,423 ft.). The narrow road twists through pine and rock as the elevation rises, edged by water spanned by erector-set bridges and intermittent power stations. Because it is so dark, because there are no streetlights, and because the stars […]
There are countless ways to create positive, lasting experiences that nurture an empathetic relationship with the environment. Getting students outdoors is just one way; some common examples are investigating solutions to combat campus pollution or harmful air quality, growing school plants to observe their unfolding natural processes, or inviting a fun, interactive presentation conducted by […]
On November 29, Will Parish, Founder and President of Ten Strands, was a keynote speaker at the Green California Schools and Community College Summit and Exposition. Prior to his speech, Will was interviewed by Carl Smith, President of Green Technology, organizer of the Summit. The following is an excerpt from that interview. What made you […]
When we speak of environmental literacy for all, that “all” encompasses the vast diversity that makes up California’s 6.2 million K–12 public school population. Just as biodiversity creates more resilient ecosystems in the natural world, California’s diversity is one of its greatest strengths, and the Environmental Literacy Steering Committee engages many partners in the fields […]