Welcome Service Providers

Project Overview

Help us to demonstrate the impact of providers of environmental learning experiences in our state! Our goal is to build the capacity of our sector to advance environmental education and environmental literacy in California. Through this collective effort, we will develop a comprehensive understanding of the environmental education already happening on the ground and identify gaps in service and the resources needed to ensure that every young person in our state has access to environmental learning experiences offered by community-based partners. The project will result in the following:

1. Field trends dashboard of environmental learning providers across California, and

2. Interactive map of environmental education providers, green schools, climate risks, and equity considerations across the state.

These resources will be open to the public and shared with community leaders and stakeholders to inform and advance K-12 environmental education and climate justice. This effort is led by AEOE and is part of a joint data initiative in partnership with the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI) and Ten Strands, that focuses on data relevant to Community-Based Partners that operate and provide environmental education programs in California. This project is made possible through the generous support of the Pisces Foundation, Clarence E. Heller Foundation, Ten Strands, and North American Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education.

Expected Outcomes

This project will allow us to identify gaps and barriers throughout the state that prevent access to meaningful environmental educations for California students. The findings will have the potential to increase funding opportunities for EE providers and influence advocacy efforts and policy change statewide as well as provide direct opportunities for EE providers to deepen their practice, increase cultural relevance, and strengthen their approach in partnering with local schools and districts. Ultimately, we hope this effort will lead to the development of a set of recommendations and next steps for increasing and strengthening environmental literacy efforts in California.

Next Steps – Where You Come In

Contribute to the strength of our sector: submit your organizational and program data through this statewide survey to join this collective impact effort.

Who should be involved? Any service providers in California that offer programs or resources for youth and K-12 schools focused on environmental education, climate resilience, environmental justice, green schools, outdoor learning, food and nutrition, health and wellness, conservation, green jobs, and related topics. Such programs could be classroom-based or off-campus, formal and informal, and can include broader beneficiaries, such as district administrators, Pre-K children, and families.

Project Timeline: The data will be collected through spring of 2023 and analyzed over the summer. We anticipate launching the “Climate, Equity, & EE” map and an interactive dashboard of field trends and project findings in fall 2023. Additionally, data will be shared with the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) to develop a national dashboard that can be used to create a state of the state report in collaboration with NAAEE Affiliates and Gen:Thrive.