This is open to (and required of) cohort members only. These would not be of interest to other educators. Cohort members must attend all 4 session dates at the time of your choosing. . Please put them on your calendar so you don't get double-booked with an IEP, SST, etc. 

1. November 3rd, 2026, at 9:30 or 3:30

2. January 11th, 2027 at 9:30 or 3:30

3. February 25, 2027, at 9:30 or 3:30

4. March 18, 2027, at 9:30 or 3:30

1. The grant does NOT pay for a sub on the one day in the fall when a sub might be needed. This is the district/organization's contribution for your PL. No other days require substitutes. 

2. Grant participants receive materials. In 2025-26 it included: a Portable Pocket Microscope, a USB Microscope, The World Becomes What We Teach by Zoe Weil, Sharing Nature by Joseph Cornell, Teaching Climate Science in the Elementary Classroom by Stephanie Sisk-Hilton, and Science Notebooks: Writing About Inquiry by Brian Campbell and Lori Fulton

3. Your stipend is intended to be $800. We pay more than that to your employer to cover employee benefits. Your actual stipend is determined by them.  

• You must attend all 4 PL Days and all 4 Sharing Sessions. To receive the stipend, participants must attend all 4 PL Days and all 4 Sharing Sessions. A maximum of one (1) PL Day and one (1) Sharing Session may be made up in the event of an emergency. A second absence of any kind will result in the loss of the stipend. Please note that scheduled conflicts, such as after-school meetings or IEPs, do not qualify as emergencies; two time slots for each day are provided for Sharing Sessions to accommodate scheduling needs.

• Throughout the grant, you will work on a project of your choice using the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycle. This could be a tool or method you implement, a lesson you modify or write (possibly a lesson for a field trip), a project like a garden, or anything else related to the grant goals. The project must be meaningful to you, and it may change as the year progresses.

Funding for this work is being provided by an Environmental Education Grant from the California Department of Education through the California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network Program.  Nature's Narrative is managed by a coalition of county office leaders from Shasta (lead), San Mateo, Mendocino, and Sacramento Counties as part of CREEC North.

The California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network is a program of the California Department of Education. It fosters regional partnerships throughout the state to promote environmental education and environmental literacy by providing teachers with access to high-quality professional learning opportunities and education resources.

The CREEC Network is composed of 11 California CREEC Regions that are grouped into three larger regions, CREEC South, CREEC North, and CREEC Central. More information can be found at creec.org