Program vision
The Environmental Education Program seeks to increase environmental literacy, providing Californians with the knowledge and skills to take individual and collective actions that improve the environment, human health, and economic prosperity.
Program Overview
The Board of Directors created the Environmental Education Program in 2010, to act as a linking strategy that supports goals across Environment and the Foundation’s other program areas. Environmentally literate Californians are able to weigh various sides of an environmental issue and make responsible decisions as individuals and as members of the local and statewide community. Quality environmental education improves everyday life and economic prosperity by: strengthening hands-on, inquiry-based opportunities that engage children in STEM Education; providing quality Character Development & Citizenship opportunities for youth and communities; and advancing Health through healthy eating and environmental stewardship.
Grantmaking objectives
Evidence. Advance quality environmental education by demonstrating impact and improving cultural relevance.
Field Building. Promote coordination and collaboration to strengthen the field of environmental education providers.
Awareness. Develop effective messages and build public awareness about the importance of environmental literacy.
Discovery. Inspire personal connections to the natural environment and interest in STEM learning among students in San Francisco Bay Area school districts.
Stewardship. Encourage local stewardship and develop new leaders from urban communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Highlighted grants
Discovery. Since 2001, the San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance (SFGSA) has spearheaded the effort to transform unused corners of San Francisco’s asphalt playgrounds into vibrant outdoor classrooms. The SFGSA played a leading role in securing $7 million in voter-approved bond funds to construct green schoolyards at 56 of the 104 schools in San Francisco Unified School District. However, the bond funding is limited to construction costs, and it does not support the critical program development and teacher support needed to ensure that the schoolyards provide the maximum benefits for students, teachers, and communities. The Foundation made a grant in 2011 to help the SFGSA launch its San Francisco Outdoor Classroom Initiative and convert the city’s loose network of green schoolyards into a cohesive system of effective outdoor classrooms. This five-year initiative will provide educational programming, teacher training, and other resources to help San Francisco’s school communities maximize the educational potential of their green schoolyards. The Foundation has also partnered with other funders to support the pilot Green Schools Corps project, which promotes academic learning for elementary students by integrating environmental learning and sustainability throughout school instruction and operations.
Staff
- Angie Chen, Program Officer
- Cherielyn Ferguson, Grants Manager