Ten Strands

TEN STRANDS IS A SAN FRANCISCO BASED NONPROFIT WHOSE MISSION IS TO BUILD AND STRENGTHEN THE PARTNERSHIPS AND STRATEGIES THAT WILL BRING ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY TO ALL OF CALIFORNIA'S 5.8 MILLION K-12 STUDENTS.

CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY INITIATIVE (CAELI) PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION: LED AND MANAGED CAELI, A COLLECTIVE ACTION NETWORK, AND CAELI'S LEADERSHIP COUNCIL. WORKED TO IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM OF SUPPORT IN CALIFORNIA THAT ENABLES ALL STUDENTS TO HAVE LOCAL, STANDARDS- AND ENVIRONMENT-BASED EXPERIENCES THAT ENHANCE THEIR LEARNING INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM, BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE STATE'S BLUEPRINT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY. PARTNERED WITH MORE THAN 40 GOVERNMENT, NON-GOVERNMENT, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATIONS TO MOVE THE WORK FORWARD, SOUGHT INPUT FROM A 70-PERSON LEADERSHIP COUNCIL IN ADDITION TO A WIDE ARRAY OF OTHER EDUCATORS, SCIENTISTS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTS, ALL FOCUSED ON ADVANCING ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY THROUGH PROFESSIONAL LEARNING, INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, AND CAPACITY BUILDING. ENGAGED SCHOOL DISTRICTS AS THE UNIT OF CHANGE WITH SUPPORT FROM COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION AS BACKBONES. MANAGED PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS. PRESENTED AT STATEWIDE VIRTUAL CONFERENCES PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY. FORGED PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE UC AND CSU SYSTEMS, THE CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION SECTOR, AND THE NETWORK OF RESIDENTIAL OUTDOOR SCHOOLS IN THE STATE. FUNDRAISED FOR, CO-CHAIRED, AND SERVED AS PROJECT DIRECTOR AND FISCAL SPONSOR OF CAELI AND ITS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL. THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL WORKED FOR THE SEVENTH YEAR IN A ROW TO IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STATE'S BLUEPRINT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY TO SUPPORT SCHOOL DISTRICTS, TEACHERS, AND LOCAL PROGRAM PROVIDERS WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF ACHIEVING ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY FOR ALL OF CALIFORNIA'S 5.8 MILLION PUBLIC SCHOOL K12 STUDENTS. CAELI'S WEBSITE CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.CA-ELI.ORG.

NATIONAL OUTDOOR LEARNING INITIATIVE (NOLI): TEN STRANDS CO-FOUNDED NOLI WITH GREEN SCHOOLYARDS AMERICA, THE LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE AT UC BERKELEY, AND THE SAN MATEO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION TO CREATE A FREE LIBRARY OF RESOURCES TO SUPPORT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND SITE LEADERS TO USE OUTDOOR SPACES FOR LEARNING DURING COVID AND BEYOND. NOLI CREATED OVER 200 RESOURCES FOCUSED ON CREATING OUTDOOR LEARNING SPACES, TEACHING AND LEARNING OUTDOORS, AND HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS. THE INITIATIVE GARNERED NATIONAL ATTENTION AND WAS FEATURED ON PBS NEWSHOUR, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, THE NEW YORK TIMES, FAST COMPANY, AND OVER 80 ADDITIONAL NEWS OUTLETS. IN FY21-22, GREEN SCHOOLYARDS AMERICA, TEN STRANDS, THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, AND CALFIRE LAUNCHED AN IMPORTANT EXTENSION OF NOLI, THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLYARD FOREST SYSTEM. THIS NEW INITIATIVE WILL INCREASE TREE CANOPY ON PUBLIC SCHOOL GROUNDS ACROSS CALIFORNIA TO SHADE AND PROTECT K-12 STUDENTS FROM EXTREME HEAT AND RISING TEMPERATURES DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. THE NOLI LIBRARY CAN BE FOUND HERE: WWW.GREENSCHOOLYARDS.ORG/LIBRARY AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLYARD FOREST SYSTEM HERE: WWW.GREENSCHOOLYARDS.ORG/CA-FORESTS. CALIFORNIA HUB FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING AND ACTION (CHELA): PARTNERED WITH THE CALIFORNIA GEOGRAPHIC ALLIANCE AND THE CALIFORNIA GLOBAL EDUCATION PROJECT TO LAUNCH THE CHELA INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL ATLAS OF CALIFORNIA, WHICH USES GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY TO ORGANIZE AND PRESENT ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TO LEARN ABOUT CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL NEEDS IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES. THE SOFTWARE IS FREE TO ALL K12 SCHOOLS, AND EDUCATORS HAVE ACCESS TO PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP THEM USE THE TECHNOLOGIES IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. THIS YEAR'S PROGRAM FOCUSED ON THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OF EDUCATORS.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROGRAM (CCEJP): LAUNCHED IN FY21-22, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SAN MATEO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION AND THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CCEJP WILL CREATE K-12 STANDARDS- AND ENVIRONMENT-BASED CURRICULAR RESOURCES FOCUSED ON CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. WHEN COMPLETE, THE RESOURCES WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO CALIFORNIA TEACHERS FOR FREE THROUGH OPEN EDUCATION RESOURCES LICENSING. TEN STRANDS IS CONTRACTING WITH SAN MATEO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION TO ARRANGE FOR THE CREATION OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND IS WORKING WITH COMMUNITY WRITING TEAMS AND ANCHOR ORGANIZATIONS TO COMPLETE THE BODY OF WORK. MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND HERE: WWW.CCEJP.NET.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH: MANAGED MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS FOR TEN STRANDS RESULTING IN THE TWICE-MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF A NEWSLETTER AND FEATURED ARTICLES (WWW.TENSTRANDS.ORG/NEWS) AND AN ACTIVE PRESENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS. DEVELOPED THE ORGANIZATION'S SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT/IMPACT REPORT, MANAGED THE TEN STRANDS AND CAELI WEBSITES, AND ATTENDED SEVERAL COMMUNITY AND PARTNER EVENTS VIRTUALLY AND IN-PERSON HIGHLIGHTING ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY.ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES & CONCEPTS (EP&CS) INTEGRATION: PROVIDED THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (CDE) A CONSULTANT WHO OFFERED EXPERTISE, GUIDANCE, AND ORIGINAL CONTENT FOR THE MATH FRAMEWORK. ADDED TO A BODY OF WORK THAT STARTED WITH THE SCIENCE FRAMEWORK (2016), HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE FRAMEWORK (2016), THE HEALTH FRAMEWORK (2019), AND THE ARTS FRAMEWORK (2020), LEADING TO THE INCLUSION OF THE EP&CS IN THE STATE'S NEW INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR ALL FOUR SUBJECTS. EDUCATION AND ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE CURRICULUM SUPPORT: STRATEGIC CONSULTANT TO THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT (OEE) AT CALRECYCLE TO GENERATE DEMAND FOR AND MANAGE DISSEMINATION OF THE EDUCATION AND ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE (EEI) CURRICULUM. SAN MATEO ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONARY TEACHER FELLOWSHIP: PARTNERED WITH SAN MATEO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION FOR THE EIGHTH YEAR TO SUPPORT TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOCUSED ON INTEGRATING CALIFORNIA'S EP&CS INTO STANDARDS-BASED INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE, HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE, AND OTHER SUBJECTS, WITH A FOCUS ON SOLUTIONARY UNITS OF STUDY. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: PARTNERED WITH THE CALIFORNIA SIERRA CLUB AND A BROAD COALITION OF OVER 16O ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS ON A CAMPAIGN TO SCALE UP ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION STATEWIDE. THE CAMPAIGN FOCUSED ON A BUDGET REQUEST BUT DID NOT RESULT IN ANY FUNDING. CAMPAIGNED TO HAVE "ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY" ADDED TO AB 185 SECTION 56 ARTS, MUSIC, AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS BLOCK GRANT. THIS EFFORT WAS SUCCESSFUL.