I enjoyed a much needed sojourn into the Eastern Sierras this summer. For two weeks, my husband, our two Queensland Heelers, and I cruised our truck camper in and out of the mountains north and south of Bridgeport, California. We hiked every day through quiet forests, alongside rushing rivers and churning waterfalls. The dogs frolicked […]
As a kindergarten teacher, one of my goals at the beginning of each school year is to have my students reading and (hopefully!) writing by June. At the beginning of every year I realize what a monumental task it is as I gaze at my classroom on that first day of school. If you’ve ever […]
As a new-ish CREEC Coordinator, I experienced a combination of awe, humility, and a call to activism at this June’s first conference for the California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network in nearly a decade. I became a CREEC coordinator in Region 10 (Riverside, Inyo, Mono, and San Bernardino counties) about a year ago and attended […]
Last week at the 16th floor penthouse of the Holiday Inn Sacramento, something great was going on. But it wasn’t the swanky party you might expect. Instead, a party of dedicated Education and the Environment (EEI) Curriculum Teacher Ambassadors and environmental experts gathered to evaluate the state of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) implementation and environmental […]
On June 27, in a landmark victory for environmental literacy, Governor Jerry Brown approved the California 2017–18 Budget with a one-time $4,000,000 funding allocation for environmental literacy.
It’s a sunny May morning in the Imperial Valley; by 8:00am it’s already 90° and climbing. I arrived the afternoon before and decided to avoid the interstate by taking the 78, a winding two-lane road that at times looks like what I imagine the surface of the moon would. Extending south from the Salton Sea […]
Senate Bill 424 (Allen), the bill seeking permanent funding for the California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network, passed the State Senate last Thursday in a 28-11 vote! Sponsored by Ten Strands, this bill will now move on to be considered by the State Assembly.
Science is central to how we understand and make sense of the world around us. Could it be that the best way to teach science might be to turn that idea on its head? The natural world is central to how we understand and make sense of science. Across California, where schools are implementing new […]