In partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, TEC designed and launched the Climate Leaders in Action (CLiA) program in Contra Costa County, California. CLiA is a STEM-aligned replicable and scalable climate literacy program aimed at providing real world training, tools, and local career connections to underserved K-12 students and their educators.
California has set aggressive and ambitious about its climate goals in the wake of historic droughts, devastating wildfires, extreme heat, billions of dollars in property damage, and threats to human health and food supplies. To achieve these goals, we must prepare local students, teachers and citizens to become environmental stewards in their own community through comprehensive environmental education and career pathways.
The Challenge
Environmental action that starts within the community and amongst youth achieves the longest-standing impacts, but communities that are overly burdened by environmental degradation often don’t have the funding or support to elicit change. TEC connected with and trained community groups and schools within disadvantaged California communities of Pittsburgh and Richmond to support their students through curriculum delivery, field trips to pro-environmental locations, and student-led action projects.
Our Strategy
TEC leveraged proven expertise in online and in-person formal and informal educator training to design a programmatic framework called Climate Leaders in Action.
Climate Leaders in Action is a replicable and scalable train-the-trainer model that recruits and trains educators to successfully instruct a curriculum with four core modules: Energy, Water, Waste and Climate Impact. Through Climate Leaders in Action, TEC teaches students about career opportunities and equips them to take action in their communities. Working with a vast network of partners, over the course of 10 months TEC:
- Designed a k-12 environmental curriculum with community and career connections
- Trained educators and school administrators to become Ambassadors to school staff
- Provided educator support and resources through an online learning platform
- Provided 15 field trips and 8 action projects led by students.
Result: increased climate literacy in underserved communities
Through Climate Leaders in Action, TEC supported climate literacy in K-12 youth and developed their workforce-ready skills. Though Student Action Projects, TEC facilitated direct community action to increase environmental awareness and improve air quality conditions within the community.
9,600+
Underserved students reached
8
Student-led action projects
190
Educators trained on climate curriculum
What’s Next
The Energy Coalition will continue to leverage our community relationships to bolster Climate Leaders in Action enrollment and support K-12 youth. We’re expanding the Climate Leaders in Action program to increase opportunities for engagement in k-8 classrooms. Contact us to learn more!
Climate Leaders in Action was funded through the EPA Local Grant Region 9 – Environmental Education.
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