It is not easy to find a healthy habitat on our school campus. Our campus is a bit of a concrete jungle. Concrete sidewalks connect the buildings that lead to an expansive concrete play area which is surrounded with, you guessed it, more concrete. Beyond the concrete are a few green spaces. There is a […]
Touring the Port of Los Angeles, engineering transportation corridor models, investigating the environmental impact of the war in Vietnam, and designing a student webpage to highlight the effects of climate change and globalization on endangered species were a few of the ways that teachers recently explored classroom applications for California’s Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&Cs) […]
In October, the CA STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) Symposium was held in Long Beach, CA. Leaders from two school districts and one county office of education presented on behalf of the California Environmental Literacy Initiative. Their session entitled “Advancing Equity and Cultural Relevance in Science Education: Developing Environmental Literacy to Increase Student Engagement, […]
The theme of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) conference held in Spokane, Washington was, “Environmental Education: A Force for the Future.” The community that was built during the conference of over 1,300 formal educators, professors, environmental educators, students, government officials, speakers, and organizers showcased the passion and dedication we all have to […]
This interview originally appeared in Green Technology Magazine and was republished with permission. Sharon Danks describes the benefits that transforming schoolyards as public resources can bring to students, teachers, and communities. I was wondering if you can tell me what green schoolyards are, exactly? Green schoolyards are rich outdoor environments that strengthen local ecological systems, provide hands-on learning resources, […]
The Wigwam Motel is a horseshoe-shaped collection of nineteen stucco structures fashioned after teepees located on a stretch of historic Route 66 in Rialto, California. The final installment of designer Frank Redford’s Wigwam Villages (there were seven, three remain), built in 1949, was purchased and lovingly restored in 2003 by a family who emigrated from […]
I have always loved science and the outdoors. Prior to becoming a classroom teacher, I worked as an outdoor educator and had the pleasure of hiking through the redwoods with groups of fifth and sixth grade students. I majored in science as an undergraduate and consider myself to be a scientist. When I joined my […]
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, […]