California Regional Environmental
Education Community

California Department of Education,
STEM Office


Region 7 (Central Valley) E-News   
Summer  2017
 


 Environmental Literacy is Taking Root in California's Schools
 
 

In the above graphic, you see (in highly abbreviated form!) the Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&Cs) that are now written into both our State's Science and History-Social Science Curriculum Frameworks. These "EP&Cs" will guide new curriculum development so that students leave our school system with an understanding of the science and decision-making that is essential to managing environmental resources. 
 
California's  Blueprint for Environmental Literacy (EL) is also moving forward! In case you missed the wonderful article in EdSource, you can read it here:  California Renews Push for Environmental Literacy in Schools. To keep track of developments that are paving the way for environmental education for all students, you can subscribe to the listserv set up by California Department of Education and its partners. To receive email notifications related to the environment and science, subscribe to the environmental-science e-mail list by sending a "blank" message to join-environmental-science-ed@mlist.cde.ca.gov. By subscribing to the environmental-science e-mail list, you will receive information including: Environmental Education and Environmental Literacy Steering Committee related updates, Science Updates from the CDE STEM Office, and other important announcements related to STEM education.

If you would like a presentation on the current EL updates contact your CREEC Coordinator. 
 
And for our local summer opportunities, keep reading below or go to the calendar on the Region 7 CREEC Website! 
 

- Jody Bertolucci, CREEC Coordinator, Region 7
-  jbertolucci@fcoe.org
More News and Events
The "Pick and Gather and Merced River Fair Festival at Riverdance Farms" includes, science, nature, crafts, geo-caching, fishing lessons, drones and river adventures on Saturday only. During the whole  weekend, participate in a variety of outdoor activities including Kids Science, Hay-Bale Rides, Kayak lessons, Nature walks, Crafts, fishing lessons and more. Net festival proceeds go to Watershed Education.  For information email Cindy Lashbrook or  click here. 

The five Forestry Challenge events will take place this fall, the Sequoia Challenge will be October 11 to 14, 2017. The Forestry Challenge is an academic event for high school students in technical forestry and current forestry topics. To pre-register in less than 5 minutes and receive a 30% discount,  click here.  For more information click here .
The Tulare County Office of Education will provide an overview of the NGSS standards and how they apply to the 21st Century College and Career Readiness Skills.You will work collaboratively using models, tools and resources to understand the NGSS shifts and create an implementation plan. For more information and registration click here .
$200 Stipend for Water Resources and Ecosystems of the Central Valley Flood Plains Institute - June 12 to 15, 2017
The Floodplain Ecology Institute will be 4 days and includes science and environmental science content focused on the Central Valley floodplain, Delta, riparian, and watershed ecology. Also included is a 6 hour Project WET Certification Course, plus curriculum for the classroom or after school program with NGSS-style lessons. For details or to register click here.


June 13 to 27, 2017

Being offered through Summer Session at CSU-Fresno, explore new and resourceful ways to bring life to your science-based curriculum. Discover how experiences in nature provide a context for educating students about the environment. Use hands-on activities, open-ended questions and field journaling. To access the summer catalog and information click here. Students may register online or in person at the Division of Continuing and Global Education. Current Fresno State students may register by logging into my.fresnostate.edu. New or nonmatriculated students should click here for registration instructions.


Looking to recommend STEM related summer camps for your students, check out SAM Academy's (Science, Arts and Music) multiple week-long STEM Day Camps. Topics include Bots to Biology, River & Coastal Explorations and the popular Coding &Robotics! For details click here.
Receive a $1000 stipend upon completion of this summer institute and course work. This NSF funded institute is a systems approach to solving watershed issues through modeling and hands-on activities for middle and high school students.  On line support course will take place through the school year, as will one additional day. Receive a set of Bluetooth watershed trackers and NGSS curriculum for your classroom. For information contact Dr. Jerry Valadez. To register click here.
Fresno County Office of Education will offer this workshop to teach you how to integrate makerspace activities into your classroom or library. It will focus on activities to help your students become self-directed, work collaboratively and creatively,while integrating standards within the arts and STEM = STEAM. For information or to register click here
Hurry, there's still room in these Free NGSS and Common Core Institutes in the beautiful forest, on June 18-24 in Tuolumne County or July 2-8 in Shasta. FIT  is high-quality PD that provides cross-curriculum training that emphasizes models, Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards- while examining current forestry issues. The goal of FIT is to provide K-12 teachers with knowledge, skills and tools to effectively teach their students about forest ecology and forest resource management practices, to gain a deeper understanding of forest ecosystems and human uses of natural resources. For details click here.

The "EAT" Foundation (Education and Agriculture Together) is offering their most popular class,"The Ag Tour and Seminar" Workshop again  t his summer. Two CE's are available for this three-day adventure. This includes tours of local farms, dairies and packing houses as well as active participation in local farming and gardening techniques. Statewide and local guest speakers discuss water, soil, bugs and Ag crime, while explaining the importance of agriculture, nutrition and education. For registration information  click here test drive the experience by clicking here. Flyer available here.

Learn how to build an engaging and learner-centered STEM program for your classroom, after school program, library or informal program that is aligned to three-dimensional learning of the NGSS. Learn the progression of the crosscutting concept of Energy and Matter, using STEM-rich Making Projects. Understand energy transfer through natural systems, design and build projects, tinker with circuits, explore informal science and engineering, with English Learner strategies. For details  click here and for more information on Community Science Networks click here.
 
Presented by the Tulare County Office of Education, this class will cultivate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in the classroom by implementing design thinking challenges for your students. Learn how to implement CCSS in a way that empowers students to demonstrate character and citizenship. In this interactive workshop, participate in design thinking processes using strategies that you can use in your classroom the next day. Frameworks and resources will be presented to engage students in empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping and testing. For information and registration click here. 

Explore the Sierra Nevada with scientists and K-12 educators during this 4-day investigation into the water cycle and the impacts of drought on biodiversity. We will start with the three dimensions of NGSS and then take a deeper dive into two cross-cutting concepts: cause and effect and systems and system models. Educators will learn how to analyze the impacts of drought on biodiversity and how to engage in the scientific practices of field investigation and data analysis. They will leave with an NGSS-aligned unit created with their peers. For registration click here .

Open to teachers that have completed the "EAT" Foundation's Ag Tour and Seminar, "Experience Farm Life" Workshop, this "EAT" (Education and Agriculture Together) two-day Workshop will take place in late July (date TBA soon) and will encourage educators to grow an awareness of water conservation, water resources, California 's  water history and water law.  State-of-the-art field tour of a local reserve dam included. For details click here or contact Kelly by clicking here.  


Third Annual Better Together Teacher Summit - July 28, 2017

This Summit will bring teachers across the state together for a powerful day of learning led b y teachers, for teachers.  This is an opportunity for teacher to collaborate and re-energize.  
The Summit will feature TED-style ED Talks presented by local teachers, Edcamp Discussions and opportunities for networking and sharing ideas and resources with fellow teachers. The Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, the Cal STate University and New Teacher Center  are organizing the third Summit.  This is FREE. For details and registration click here .

Join Brian Brown, Project WET Education Director and the Department of Water Resources Scientists, as they explore regional climate change with real stream data and snow pack values.This is the first time Merced County will host this workshop. Receive Project WET certification and free Curriculum. For details and registration click here .

Fresno Metro Flood Control District Awards Nine Schools with Stormwater Grants
 
 
Students on Flood District Field Trip Exploring the San Joaquin River
  


The 2017 Clean Stormwater Grants have been awarded! At its Winter meeting, the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District's Board of Directors awarded $15,000 to fund nine, 5th grade class field trips to the San Joaquin River.  In addition, the Stormwater Retention- Community Rain Garden Project by Stone Soup Fresno, a non-profit advocacy and educational organization, serving the Southeast Asian community received funding. 
The elementary schools awarded field trip grants were: Temperance Kutner in Clovis Unified School District; Addams, Bakman, Calwa, Hamilton, Heaton, Roeding, and Yokomi in Fresno Unified School District; and West Fresno in Washington Unified School District.  By the end of this school year, each school will receive a free field trip to Fresno County Office of Education's Scout Island Outdoor Education Center, located on the San Joaquin River.  Students will learn about local water resources and why it is important to keep them clean.  
In the photo above, students enjoy exploring the "Creepy Crawly Critters" that make up the base of the River's food web. In fact, one Temperance Kutner teacher called this field trip "an absolutely wonderful experience" and rated this outdoor learning opportunity as excellent.  Many teachers recommend this funding source as a means of getting your students outside for a standard-driven learning opportunity or to fund your environmental education projects relating to Stormwater. Recall, the Blueprint for Environmental Literacy recommends students spend 40 hours learning outdoors per year and this is a perfect way to do this for FREE.  For details on how you can apply or about the next round of grants coming this fall click here.

RECEIVE FUNDING

Sources for teachers and providers

View Funding Resources
Disclaimer: These professional learning opportunities and resources are intended merely to provide access to information. The California Department of Education (CDE) has not reviewed these opportunities or resources for effectiveness or alignment with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). CDE does not warrant or guarantee the effectiveness or results of any opportunity or resource that may be made available through this communication network. The inclusion of an opportunity or resource is neither an endorsement nor recommendation by CDE. Please excuse formatting errors that may result from the software application used to distribute this newsletter.
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The California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network is an educational project supported by the California Department of Education in collaboration with state, regional and local partners. Its expansive communication network provides educators with access to high-quality educational resources to enhance the environmental literacy of California Students.

Shannon Gordon, CREEC Network State Contact, sgordon@cde.ca.gov, STEM Office, California Dept. of Education, 1430 N Street, Suite 4309, Sacramento, CA 95814

Region 7 CREEC is housed and supported by the Fresno County Office of Education,
Jody Bertolucci, jbertolucci@fcoe.org
Sonya Force, sforce@fcoe.org
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