Welcome to CREEC-LA!
The California Regional Environmental Education Community
(CREEC) Network is an educational project supported by the California
Department of Education, Environmental Education Program in collaboration with
state, regional and local partners. The CREEC Network is the best source for
Environmental Education resources in California. Our online, searchable
Resource Directory includes Environmental Education providers, programs, and
resources available to Los Angeles County teacher and non-formal educators. Our
Calendar features EE activities, exhibits and events from all around the city
include professional development opportunities for teachers.
In Los Angeles, CREEC is housed and supported by TreePeople.
Los Angeles County News
It's Earth Day! Get out and do something for the Earth. Candice, the CREEC-LA Coordinator will be hanging out in Santa Monica at Heal the Bay's Earth Day celebration. Come on out!
Environmental Education NewsEEI - Education and the Environment Initiative
California is currently poised to lead the nation in environmental literacy with the Education and Environment Initiative (EEI). More can and should be done to understand our relationship with the environment, and we believe the best place to begin is in California�s classrooms. With education and a thriving economy at the forefront of the state�s priorities, California�s landmark EEI Curriculum is a national model designed to help prepare today�s students to become future scientists, economists, and green technology leaders.
The K-12th grade curriculum is comprised of 85 units teaching select Science and History-Social Science academic standards. Each EEI Curriculum unit teaches these standards to mastery using a unique set of California Environmental Principles and Concepts.
The curriculum was created to bring education about the environment into the primary and secondary classrooms of more than 1,000 school districts serving over 6 million students throughout California. Mandated by legislation AB 1548 (Pavley, Chapter 665, Statutes of 2003-PDF) and
AB 1721 (Pavley, Chapter 581, Statutes of 2005-PDF), the EEI Curriculum is the result of a multi-agency education and environmental partnership. Current key partners include the State Board of Education, the Office of the Secretary for Education, the State Department of Education, and the California Natural Resources Agency.
NCLI - No Child Left Inside
BREAKING NEWS
On April 16, 2012 at the first-ever White House Summit on Environmental Education, EPA
Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the formation of an interagency task force
on Environmental Education, to be co-led by EPA and the U.S. Departments of
Education and Interior.
Many in
the environmental education community�including hundreds of members of the
national No Child Left Inside Coalition have previously encouraged the
Administration to create such a taskforce, particularly in light of budget cuts
to key federal environmental education programs in fiscal year 2013.
In
another positive move, Administrator Jackson also committed $5 million in EPA
funds for environmental education in next year budget, to include money for
teacher professional development, grants to schools, and funding for the
National Environmental Education Foundation.
Few
details regarding the newly formed taskforce are immediately available, but
sources at the Summit say participation is likely to be at the Deputy Secretary
level, indicating the Administration is giving high priority to a coordinated
and cohesive plan for increasing environmental education opportunities and
expanding the role of the Department of Education in achieving that goal.
From Wikipedia
The No Child Left Inside movement in the United States seeks to encourage and provide funding for environmental education.[1] Its stated goals include the enhancement of environmental literacy between kindergarten and 12th grade and fostering of understanding, analysis, and solutions to environmental challenges.
The 2005 Richard Louv book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder created an increased interest in children's environmental awareness.[2] As of 2007, the aims of the No Child Left Inside Coalition had been endorsed by 58 organizations including the Sierra Club, theNational Audubon Society, and the National Wildlife Federation.[3]
Several states, including Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin, endorsed the movement by creating programs in local parks and schools that addressed the concern of children's disconnect with nature during the 2000s.[4][5][6][7][8] A federal bill, the No Child Left Inside Act of 2009, was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 22, 2009 (Earth Day) by representative John P. Sarbanes (Democrat, MD-3),[9] with 82 co-sponsors, asH.R.2054and referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. A similar measure, the No Child Left Inside Act of 2008 (H.R. 3036, 110th Congress) was passed by the House of Representatives on September 18, 2008,[10] but was never voted on in the Senate.[11] The bill was introduced in the Senate as S.866by senator Jack Reed (Democrat, Rhode Island)[12] with 17 co-sponsors and was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. On June 4, 2009, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education. The main goal of the proposed legistation is to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind Act)of 2001 under the Bush Administration with environmental education. [13]
The federal bill proposed that appropriations be provided to train teachers for such instruction, provide innovative technology, and to develop studies assessing the worth of these programs in elementary and secondary school curriculums. While mainly addressing environmental literacy, this legislation also seeks to touch on healthy living programs encouraging outdoor recreation and sound nutrition. Developed programs will include funding for curriculum changes as well as field trips to local environmental areas of interest.
The No Child Left Inside supporters insist that there are countless benefits to including environmental education in elementary and secondary education curricula, including an increased focus, a more vivid imagination, better test scores, and a friendlier disposition.
