April 22 marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. In the midst of sheltering at home and worries about coronavirus, it seems like a particularly important time to think about how all of us are connected to each other and to the natural world.
What does Earth Day and the environment have to do with schools and with PTA?
Plenty as it turns out. In fact, in 2015 the California State PTA passed a resolution called Climate Change is a Children’s Issue to specifically make the connection.
And did you know that California law requires that schools teach about Environmental Literacy? The video below provides you with a quick overview of the Principles and Concepts that schools are supposed to include across several curriculum areas.
The featured speaker is Amity Sandage, Environmental Literacy Coordinator for the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. She presented this talk at the STEAM Extreme event at the California State PTA convention in May 2019.
You can download a full copy of California’s Environmental Education blueprint here. You can also read great stories about what’s happening in local schools at the California Environmental Literacy website.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Amity’s talk, where she gives PTA leaders great ideas for taking action and supporting environmental literacy in their schools and communities.
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