The California Environmental Protection Agency, partnering with a number of other organizations, is introducing the Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) to more than 1,000 school districts. The initiative is designed to boost environmental literacy, and is the first of its kind in the US. The curriculum spans Kindergarden to twelfth grade with 85 units that encourage responsible stewardship of natural resources. California hopes to use this initiative to help prepare students to take future leadership across the country, and the world, in science and green technology.

 The initiative has received some negative press recently due to revisions to an eleventh grade lesson. The lesson on the environmental effects of plastic shopping bags was updated with input by the plastics industry to include benefits of plastic shopping bags. California EPA responded with a statement claiming that the revisions present a fair and unbiased point of view, as well as an understanding of why previous generations have used so many of the bags.

 The initiative, started in 2004 is now in the fifth of seven phases of development and implementation. This phase is focused on professional development and recruiting schools. More than 400 districts in California have already signed up for the program.

 This program could help keep environmental education at the forefront of education beyond the classroom, despite the challenges that schools are having with finding the funds for field trips. CA Assembly Bill 165 has already made changes that limit some schools from being able to take their students on all of the field trips that they have in the past. With a strong new focus on the environment, many schools will hopefully see the importance of continuing to send their students to programs like High Trails.

Dan Bowman

 For more information and access to the EEI lessons and resources, click here.