Thank you for attending!
Thank you to everyone that joined us for the annual virtual CREEC Central conference. Fellow educators and community partners came together for an event aimed to improved environmental literacy across the central CREEC Region and beyond. The conference provided a space of educators to learn, network and collaborate around relevant environmental topics, lessons and activities. Workshop sessions recordings and resources are available for educators TK-12 and Community partners. Workshops were presented by CREEC Central Education Leaders and County Office of Education Leads.
QUESTIONS: Contact Tamara Basepayne at tbasepayne@sjcoe.net
Welcome Session: 9:00-9:25 am
Session Feedback Form | Please complete this form for each session you attended or watched the recording.
Conference Feedback Form | Complete this form to provide feedback on the overall conference.
Virtual Calming Room | https://calmingroom.scusd.edu/home
Conference Support | https://sjcoe.zoom.us/j/81854509392
Session 1: 9:30-10:25
Grade span | K-12
Workshop Description | This interactive workshop explores how the Liberatory Design Model and the Environmental Schoolyard Report Card can be powerful tools for fostering student agency and solutionary thinking. Through the Environmental Schoolyard Report Card assessment, attendees will learn how to guide students in evaluating their outdoor spaces, identifying areas for ecological and social improvement, and designing actionable change projects. Participants will leave with practical strategies and resources to help students take ownership of their learning, advocate for sustainability, and become changemakers in their communities
Presenters | Dorene Arnold & Tom Arnold
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Grade span | K-8
Workshop Description | Interested in providing equitable access to outdoor education? Whether you're in the classroom or not, we have standards-aligned resources to share, as well as ideas for how to leverage your own learning space to create 5E, NGSS aligned lessons to provide a high-quality outdoor learning experience for learners.
Presenters | Laura Lutz, Chris Moreno, Adrienne Nau & Camille Fagundes
Session Materials | Slide Deck Resources | Playground Lesson Framework
Grade span | 6-12
Workshop Description | Participants will use nature journaling, modeling, and hexagonal thinking to build a deeper understanding of climate change causes, effects, and actionable solutions.
Presenters | Jenn Boyd, Danielle Narzisi & Chelsy Lancaster
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Resources | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eQgNWqFUCs3_m3d1L-r456ICvgVH1ZgImHkGnOgaFPY/edit?tab=t.0
Grade span | 4-12
Workshop Description | This session will engage participants in activities and practices that put hope at the center of learning about environmental problems and climate change while also sharing resources and examples across the grades.
Presenters | Amity Sandage
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Session 2 | 10:35 - 11:30 am
Grade span | K-12
Workshop Description | This interactive workshop introduces educators to the benefits of planting native gardens as a Project-Based Learning (PBL) experience. Participants will explore how native gardens enhance student engagement, promote interdisciplinary learning, and build a foundation for environmental stewardship. By the end, educators will leave with actionable ideas to implement a native garden project tailored to their school site.
Presenters | Rachel Castongia & Karen Wessel
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Grade span | TK-12
Workshop Description | New to the Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&Cs)? Join us to learn more about the EP&Cs and how they relate to your students and classroom.
Presenters | Nathan Inouye, Tylar Rose & Tim Adamson
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Grade span | 9-12
Workshop Description | Learn about the California State Seal of Civic Engagement as a path to student empowerment. Explore resources and get tips from a teacher who has learned to enhance student voice in the process of integrating the civics seal with science.
Presenters | Satina Ciandro, Amity Sandage
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Grade span | 9-12
Workshop Description | Teachers will be joined by a park ranger at the local state park plus a student volunteer/docent to discuss the opportunities that can be created to provide volunteer community service for high school students plus advantages for the state park system.
Presenters | Sally Finch, Corie Ross, Karri Pearcey & Sophi Smith
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Session 3 | 11:40 - 12:35
Grade span | 4th - 6th
Workshop Description | Get an introduction to The BEETLES Project and best practices for outdoor teaching and learning! Tour the free resources BEETLES has created, including teaching guides for high quality outdoor learning activities as well as facilitation guides for leaders providing training of education staff.
Presenters | Heather Malloy & Amity Sandage
Session Materials | BEETLES Project website and Pro Tips for Schoolyard Teaching
Grade span | K-12
Workshop Description | Discover high-quality science lessons from California Educators Together. This session will highlight free, high-quality resources designed to support TK-12 educators in integrating environmental literacy into their classrooms. Explore ready-to-use lessons, connect with a network of educators, and leave with practical tools to enhance environmental literacy along with access to additional resources for math, ELA, social studies, and more.
Presenters | Chelsy Lancaster & Cecilia Estrada
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Grade span | 3-12
Workshop Description | Discover how to engage students in data literacy using interactive online tools like Data Nuggets and Tuva. Learn how every dataset tells a real-world story and explore strategies to help students analyze and interpret data meaningfully. This session will highlight the importance of data literacy, introduce user-friendly tools, and provide hands-on time to explore premade datasets.
Presenters | Sandi Starr & Andrea Ames
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Grade span | K-5
Workshop Description | Follow along a teacher’s journey around developing an interdisciplinary, student-centered unit anchored in environmental literacy and integrating writing, reading, math, and science grade-level standards. Learn how all this learning culminates in a classroom of kindergarten scientists collaborating with community-based partners to have a helpful impact on the planet.
Presenters | Melanie Smith & Mandy Breuer
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Grade span | K-12
Workshop Description | This workshop equips educators with the knowledge and tools to start and sustain a successful student-led recycling program. Participants will learn how to assess their school's recycling needs and engage the school community in sustainability efforts. The session covers organizing collection systems, educating peers about proper recycling practices, and partnering with local organizations for support. Participants will hear from two educators -- one who has just started their classroom recycling journey and another who has years of experience leading student-centered recycling programs.
Presenters | Tom Arnold, Adria Bray & Jose Marquez
Session Materials | Slide Deck
Networking Session | 12:35 - 1:00
Funding for this conference is provided by:
An Environmental Education Grant from the California Department of Education through the California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network Program. To Learn more about the CREEC Network Program, visit www.creec.org
Central CELP Teacher Leaders
Adria Bray
6th Grade Teacher
Walnut Grove Elementary
Amy Roe
Certified Naturalist
Foothill Horizons Outdoor School
Stanislaus COE
Andrea Ames
K- 3 Grade Teacher
Reading Specialist
Lodi Unified School District
Chris Moreno
7th /8th Grade Science Teacher
Bryant Middle School
Dos Palos Oro Loma Joint Unified School District
Merced COE
Corie Ross
Calaveras County
Jennifer Boyd
AP Environmental Science
Honors Environmental Field Studies
Science Department Chair
Westlake High School
Karen Wessel
Tuolumne County
Laura Lutz
Outdoor Educator
Burris Park
Kings County Office of Education
Lety Gomez Gong
Region 5 Expanded Learning Partnerships
Monterey County Office of Education
Mara Wold
Monterey County
Nathan Inouye
Moorpark Unified School District
Ventura County
Rachel Castongia
Tuolumne County
Sally Finch
High School Math Teacher & Docent for Big Trees State Park
Calaveras
Sandi Starr
Science Instructional Coach
Lodi Unified School District
Satina Ciandro
Santa Cruz County
Tamara Wallace
Teacher/TOSA
Ellen Fletcher Middle School in Palo Alto Unified School District
Santa Clara County
Timothy Adamson
Kern County
Tom Arnold
6th Grade Teacher
Lakewood Elementary
Stanislaus County
Dorene Arnold
Stanislaus County
Tylar Rose
Chemistry Teacher
Ridgeview High School
Kern County
Celeste Freeman
Mariposa County
Heather Bridger
Fresno County
Mandy Breuer
Fresno County
Melanie Smith
Fresno County
Molly Schnur-Salimbene
Fresno County
Renee Miller
Madera County
Caleb Witt Unruh
San Luis Obsipo County
Danielle Narzisi
San Luis Obispo County
Devon Azzam
Santa Barbara County
Ilana Norris
San Luis Obsipo County
Megan Michel
Kern County
Norman Graham
Kern County
Riley Hine
San Luis Obispo County
Sarah Clayton
Kern County
Shandi Noble
Ventura County
Central CELP Lead Mentors
Jenn Mutch
Santa Clara COE
Region 5
Marie Bacher
Santa Clara COE
Region 5
Amity Sandage
Santa Cruz COE
Region 5
Heather Molloy
Santa Cruz COE
Region 5
Maria Parker
Monterey COE
Region 5
Tony Balbas
San Benito COE
Region 5
Tamara Basepayne
San Joaquin COE
Region 6
Bret States
San Joaquin COE
Region 6
Jose Marquez
Stanislaus COE
Region 6
Nikki Luckin
Fresno COE
Region 7
Lesley Gates
Fresno COE
Region 7
Adrienne Nau
Science & STEAM Coordinator
Merced COE
Region 7
Camille Fagundes
Merced COE
Region 7
Chelsy Lancaster
Kern COE
Region 8
Tammy Herzog
San Luis Obispo COE
Region 8