Earth Week Educator Toolkit April 17 - 21, 2023

Introduction & Acknowledgements The Santa Clara County Office of Education is committed to serving, inspiring and promoting student and public school success. The Santa Clara County Board of Education and County Superintendent of Schools committed to support Environmental Literacy, Sustainability, and Climate Action through the adoption of Board Resolution 2291-4. The SCCOE provides workshops and specialized professional development to support educators with content frameworks and Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&Cs) alignment, coaching and technical assistance for educators who are implementing environmental literacy projects at their schools and districts, and workshops and technical assistance for climate education and district climate action plans.

Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash

Mary Ann Dewan, Ph.D., County Superintendent of Schools, Santa Clara County Office of Education

Earth Week, also called National Environmental Education Week, is held annually on the week that Earth Day is celebrated. It is the nation's largest celebration of environmental education, inspiring environmental learning and stewardship among K-12 students. The week culminates with Earth Day, which is an annual event that celebrates the achievements of the environmental movement and raises awareness of our responsibility to protect our planet and it’s natural resources for future generations.

Anisha Munshi, Ed.D., Associate Superintendent, Professional Learning and Educational Progress Division, Santa Clara County Office of Education

This guide provides background, tools, and resources to support educators during and beyond Earth Week.

Tara Sikorski, Coordinator - Science, Integrated STEAM

“Our schools must also prepare students to live and lead in a world that is being fundamentally re-shaped by climate change. This means developing students’ basic climate literacy, engaging them in understanding, evaluating, and designing climate solutions, and preparing them to do – and to create – jobs in an emerging green economy.” Dr. Dewan, County Superintendent of Schools

Karen Larson, Director, Integrated STEAM Jennifer Mutch, Coordinator - Science, Integrated STEAM

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Table of Contents Monday, April 17

Climate Literacy

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Tuesday, April 18

End Plastic Pollution

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Wednesday, April 19

Planting Trees & Growing Gardens

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Thursday, April 20

Global Cleanup

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Friday, April 21

Sustainable Fashion

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Saturday, April 22

Earth Day

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Additional Resources

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Climate Literacy Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children. —Native American Proverb Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Description

Career Connection

“You are climate literate if you understand the influence of climate on yourself and society and your influence on climate. A climate-literate person understands the essential principles of Earth system governing climate patterns; knows how to gather information about climate and weather, and how to distinguish credible from non-credible sources on the subject; communicates about climate and climate change in a meaningful way; communicates about climate and climate change in a meaningful way.” - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Environmental Educator plans events, activities, and programs for children and adults to raise awareness of environmental issues, and lets people know what they can do to live sustainability. Garden Educator plans and teaches lessons that use school gardens as a learning laboratory for elementary science education and environmental literacy. Park Ranger helps visitors appreciate the natural and cultural history of the lands, answers questions about the various features of the park, leads interpretive talks/tours, presents educational programming, and patrols the park to check for safety concerns. More jobs in Environmental and Outdoor Education

Possible Next Steps ● ●

Resources ●

K-2

GLOBE: Elementary Climate Module

3-5

WWF: Introduction to Climate Change Teaching Guide & Presentation

6-8

Our Climate Our Future: Sharing Your Climate Story

9-12

Our Climate Our Future: Sharing Your Climate Story

Start a Green School club to help promote environmental friendly choices at your school site. Learn more about what your site and/or district is doing to make your school community environmentally friendly and/or ecologically sustainable. Speak during public comments at a school board meeting about your environmental and climate concerns and provide suggestions as to what schools and districts can do to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

End Plastic Pollution “The plastic pollution problem does not start at the middle of the ocean; [it] does not start on our shores or in our rivers: It starts on land. Solutions should be found on land, its source.” Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

– Merijn Tinga, Dutch environmental activist

Description “Of the seven billion tonnes of plastic waste generated globally so far, less than 10 per cent has been recycled. Millions of tonnes of plastic waste are lost to the environment, or sometimes shipped thousands of kilometres to destinations where it is mostly burned or dumped. The estimated annual loss in the value of plastic packaging waste during sorting and processing alone is US $80- 120 billion.” “Despite current efforts, it is estimated that 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic is currently found in our oceans. Unless we change how we produce, use and dispose of plastic, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple from 9-14 million tonnes per year in 2016 to a projected 23-37 million tonnes per year by 2040.” - UN Environment Programme

Career Connection Bioplastics Engineer/Polymer Chemist formulates and tests new bio-based plastic materials for durability and biodegradability, improves existing bioplastic formulas, and works to make the production of bioplastics less expensive and more efficient. Recycling Specialist supports operations to make recycling more impactful and efficient, ensures the various types of recyclable wastes end up at the proper recycling facilities, and creates/updates educational information. Environmental Policy Analyst researches and analyses local and state policies on environmental issues including recycling, waste prevention, and plastic pollution, advocates for policy change at the local or State level, and raises public awareness on the importance of the new legislation.

Possible Next Steps ● ●

Resources ●

K-2

WM: Recycling Right

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3-5

Global Earth Challenge: Only Jellies in the Belly!

6-8

Global Earth Challenge: Landfill in a Bottle

9-12

Global Earth Challenge: The Price of Plastic Production

Create or revitalize a recycling program in your community. Further explore the plastic pollution problem and create a social media campaign to spread awareness and provide solutions. Speak during public comments at a school board meeting about the need to remove single use plastics from schools and offer alternatives. Bring your own washable utensils and water bottles to use at school and when getting takeout. Collect and contribute data to the Plastic Pollution Widget in the Global Earth Challenge’s app.

Planting Trees & Growing Gardens Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages

“The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together.” - Robin Wall Kimmerer

Description “Since the beginning of the 20th century, the world’s forests have lost about 20% of their coverage. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, about 7.3 million hectares (18 million acres) of forest are lost every year, and roughly half of Earth’s tropical forests have already been cleared. [P]lanting billions of trees across the world is one of the biggest and cheapest ways of taking CO2 out of the atmosphere to tackle the climate crisis. Not only do forests act as carbon sinks, but they also provide vital habitat for animals and ecological services for humans, such as purifying the air we breathe and regulating local temperatures.” - EarthDay.org

Career Connection Arborist works to maintain the health of trees by inspecting trees for insects and disease, creating plans to improve the health of the tree including pruning, fertilizing, and other treatments, and ensuring that the trees are healthy and safe for people to be around them. Native Plants Landscapers designs landscapes that incorporate native plants to accomplish the goals of the property owner/manager, maintains and oversees diverse plantings of trees, shrubs, flowering plants and grasses, and engages in the routine care to maintain the health of the plants, shrubs, and trees. Urban Agriculture Coordinator maintains community produce gardens and gardening tools, engages in community outreach, coordinates volunteers, and facilitates on-site special farm/garden activities and events.

Possible Next Steps ●

Resources K-2

UT Austin: Trees - Our Past and Our Sustainable Future

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3-5

TeachEngineering: Engineers Speak for the Trees

6-8

Nature Lab: Reforestation & the Impact on Climate

9-12

UW Madison: Value of a Tree

Volunteer in your school’s garden or work with a teacher to start a school garden. Pollinator Garden Toolkit & Pollinator Garden Planning Worksheet. Create a composting system at home and/or school to reduce the impact of food waste and create nutrient rich soil for your plants and tree. Work with your school site and district to plant more trees on your campus. Check out Our City Forest for more information on how to do this. Host or participate in an Arbor Day Event. Speak during public comments at a school board meeting about the importance of greening school campuses and positive health benefits of creating nature spaces at school.

Global Cleanup “There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away, it must go somewhere.” – Annie Leonard Photo by OSPAN ALI on Unsplash

Description “Pollution touches all parts of the planet and it's the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death in the world today. As the world’s population approaches 8 billion and resource use intensifies, pollution is ever more extensive, pervasive, and persistent. It affects our health through the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. By 2025, the world’s cities will produce 2.2 billion tonnes of waste every year, more than three times the amount produced in 2009. That said, pollution is not a new phenomenon and is largely controllable and often avoidable, as shown in some countries and cities that have succeeded in decoupling economic growth from pollution and waste accumulation.” - UN Environment Programme

Career Connection Environmental Engineer works assess cleanup sites, develops creative and environmentally friendly plan to remove waste and other contaminants, and monitor the progress of the project to ensure best outcomes. Environmental Technologist assists with the cleanup of minor spills of hazardous materials, inspects and manages hazardous waste, audits waste storages areas, packages waste for disposal, and ensures compliance with local, state, and federal regulations. Environmental Construction Project Manager reads and communicates construction plans to ensure project success, ensures safety procedures are followed, and ensures local, state and federal environmental regulations are followed

Possible Next Steps ● ●

Resources K-2

Green Education Foundation: Reduce Your Trash

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3-5

Green Education Foundation: 3Rs and Plastic Bags

6-8

Monterey Bay Aquarium: Beach Contamination

9-12

National Geographic: Simulate an Oil Spill Cleanup

Host or join a community clean up day as part of the Great Global Cleanup. Create a mindfulness campaign to engage folks in thinking critically about what they put in the trash. Learn about the new laws regarding food waste in homes and in schools and create a food waste plan. Explore the Composting in schools program resources. Monitor and collect data about the amount of waste you and/or your class create(s), and then create a plan to reduce your impact. Learn about your local waste management facilities and then create a system to ensure recyclable or compostable items don’t end up in landfills.

Sustainable Fashion Photobyby Prudence Earl on Unsplash Photo Markus Spiske on Unsplash

“The most sustainable garment is the one that is already in your wardrobe” - Orsola de Castro, Co-Founder of Fashion Revolution

Description

Career Connection

“New season, new styles, buy more, buy cheap, move on, throw away: the pollution, waste, and emissions of fast fashion are fueling the triple planetary crisis. [T]his century the world’s consumers are buying more clothes and wearing them for less time than ever before, discarding garments as fast as trends shift. It is estimated that a truckload of abandoned textiles is dumped in landfill or incinerated every second. Meanwhile, it is estimated that people are buying 60 per cent more clothes and wearing them for half as long. Plastic fibres are polluting the oceans, the wastewater, toxic dyes, and the exploitation of underpaid workers.” - UN Environment Programme

Sustainable Fashion Designer develops sustainable and inclusive clothing designs using eco-friendly materials, stays up to date on fashion trends, fabrics, and techniques, attends sustainability and fashion events. Seamstress makes clothing garments and accessories from sustainable materials or repurposed materials, prepares budgets based on time of work and cost of materials to make the clothing, and makes and adapts patterns for production. Textile Processor receives, sorts, and displays clothing and accessories, ensures that gently used items are clean and worthy of resale, works with management to prevent unusable items from ending up in landfills.

Possible Next Steps ● ●

Resources K-2

TeachEngineering: Snack Attack! Designing a Snack Holder out of Recycled Materials

3-5

Green Guardians: My Journey to Circular Fashion

6-8

Global Goals: Threads Fast Fashion Lesson Plans

9-12

Get Redressed: Lesson Plan

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Create an awareness campaign about the environmental costs of “fast fashion”. Repair worn out or torn items using embroidery techniques or fun patches. Donate unwanted clothing and textile items to other people, shelters, or second hand stores such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, or the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop. Host a clothing swap at your school site where folks can bring unwanted clothing and accessories to trade with peers.

Earth Day “The environment is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest; it is one thing that all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves but a focusing lens on what we can become.” –Lady Bird Johnson

History “Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. The first Earth Day inspired 20 million Americans — at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States — to take to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development which had left a growing legacy of serious human health impacts.” “Groups that had been fighting individually against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness and the extinction of wildlife united on Earth Day around these shared common values. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, urban dwellers and farmers, business and labor leaders. By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first of their kind environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act.” “Today, Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy changes.” - EarthDay.org

Possible Next Steps

Resources Earth Day: Education Resource Library

K-12

Find and attend a local Earth Day Event ○ Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action Events ○ Eventbrite Earth Day List ○ Oakland Zoo | Earth Month 2023 ○ East Bay Regional Parks Events

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Start a tradition of spending Earth Day in nature Create some Nature Art for Kids (and adults too!)

Discovery Education: Earth Day 2023 Nature Lab | Youth Curriculum Our Climate Our Future Climate Generation Resources

MS-HS

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Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability: Climate Change Education Curriculum PBS LearningMedia: Celebrate Earth Day

Additional Resources Climate Literacy

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“Your actions matter. No action or voice is too small to make a difference.” — Vanessa Nakate

SCCOE's Environmental Literacy Web Page

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California Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI): Environmental Principles & Concepts Ten Strands Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles TED-Ed: Earth School NOAA Climate.gov: Teaching Climate New York Times: Resources for Teaching About Climate Change ThoughtBox Education: Climate Curriculum (free with an account) Subject To Climate: Lesson Plans Earth Day: Teach-In Toolkit

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Recycling Right Resources Penn State University: Plastic Pollution Curriculum WWF Oceans and Plastics: Grades 3-6 Activity Resources Monterey Bay Aquarium Ocean Plastic Pollution Online Course Valley Water Plastic Voyages Lesson

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SCCOE’s Growing Gardens Web Page

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Living Classroom Life Lab Veggielution Our City Forest Arbor Day Foundation The Canopy Project

Global Cleanup

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The Quest for Less: Activities and Resources for Teaching K-8 UN Sustainable Development: Climate Action Superheroes Zero Waste Schools Santa Clara County: Composting Education

Sustainable Fashion

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Educators 4 Social Change: Teaching About the Fast Fashion Industry Redress: ECF Circular Fashion Education Programme Toolkit Global Goals: Threads Fast Fashion Lesson Plans

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SCCOE's Grant Opportunities Resource Page

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End Plastic Pollution

Planting Trees & Growing Gardens

Grants & Funding Opportunities

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San Mateo COE Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative : Funding CalRecycle Home Page: Grants and Funding Programs 10