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The Data Initiative for Environmental and Climate Action in California's TK-12 Schools focuses mostly at the district and county scale; however, CalRecycle and Ten Strands have partnered (starting in Fall 2025) to explore how environmental literacy and climate action are being integrated at the school site level.
This page provides an overview of the project goals for this CalRecycle and Ten Strands Partnership, methods, and data sources, along with insights into how schools across the state are advancing this work.
Overview to Ten Strands and CalRecycle Data Project
CalRecycle and Ten Strands are partnering to better understand how environmental literacy and climate action are taking root in school communities across California. This project supports a state law (AB 649, Bennett, 2022) focused on strengthening environmental justice and ensuring that all communities, including schools, are supported in this work.
This collaborative project includes multiple key objectives:
Expand on existing district-level indicators of progress and support CalRecycle to host an interactive data dashboard on their website, allowing users to explore and engage with collected data.
Gather more detailed, site-level information to better understand on-the-ground implementation across schools. This will be done through the following strategies:
Design and implementation of a statewide, site-level survey to gather self-reported data on sustainability practices, challenges, and needs.
Conducting a set of school site visits, guided by a specially developed School Engagement Plan (SEP), to help validate survey data and provide qualitative insights into sustainability practices and barriers.
Synthesize results into a report (with embedded dashboard and case studies) that summarizes key findings, lessons learned, actionable recommendations to support zero-waste and climate resilience in schools.
Key Objective: Expanding on the District Level Data
Addition of New Environmental and Climate Indicators
This part of the project focuses on expanding the indicators in the current Environmental and Climate Action Indicator Tracking System to include the following new indicators:
Climate Adaptation & Resiliency Efforts
Climate emergency preparedness
Heat protection
Wildfire protection
Energy reliability
Water conservation and drought preparedness
Sustainable landscaping
Expanded Zero Waste Indicators
Food recovery
Food waste reduction
Composting efforts
E-waste recycling
Reduction of single-use plastics
Hazardous waste management
Expanded Environmental Education Indicators
EEI curriculum use
AP Environmental Science
AP Human Geography
Environmental Science Electives
Community science
Funding Sources for Environmental Efforts
LCAP analysis
Bond measure analysis
Farm to School Grants
Data Collection Approach: The district-level data for this project was collected from publicly available sources by interns from the UC Berkeley Data Science Discovery Program following the methods used to collect Ten Strands' existing dataset. Throughout the process Ten Strands' data team has implemented data validation by conducting outreach to district superintendents and chief business officers (CBOs), and by partnering with select County Offices of Education to review findings.
Get Involved with the District-Level Data!
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE FOR TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS:
We understand that publicly available data sources are not always up to date or tell the full story, so we encourage district leaders to add to or correct any of the data that has been collected for your district in the efforts to make this dataset as accurate as possible.
Please help us review and validate the data we were able to collect for your district!
Select Your County and Validate Your District's Data!
Alameda Alpine
Amador Butte
Calaveras Colusa
Contra Costa Del Norte
El Dorado Fresno
Glenn Humboldt
Imperial Inyo
Kern Kings
Lake Lassen
Los Angeles Madera
Marin Mariposa
Mendocino Merced
Modoc Mono
Monterey Napa
Nevada Orange
Placer Plumas
Riverside Sacramento
San Benito San Bernardino
San Diego San Francisco
San Joaquin San Luis Obispo
San Mateo Santa Barbara
Santa Clara Santa Cruz
Shasta Sierra
Siskiyou Solano
Sonoma Stanislaus
Sutter Tehama
Trinity Tulare
Tuolumne Ventura
Yolo Yuba
If you are unable to access the links above, please reach out to Sarah Whiting at swhiting@tenstrands.org.
If you notice any data discrepancies for your district, please fill out this form to correct them.
Key Objective: Gather Site-Level Data
SITE SURVEY PROJECT
The goal of the Ten Strands and CalRecycle site-survey data collection is to learn more about how environmental action may or may not be happening across an individual school's campus, curriculum, community, and culture. The findings will help highlight promising practices and identify where additional support or resources may be most needed.
Site Survey Design and Development
Using the 4Cs Whole Systems Framework as a foundation, Ten Strands and CalRecycle developed a survey that would support understanding how environmental and climate initiatives are being integrated across a school's campus, curriculum, community and culture. Survey questions were developed and adapted using a number of different already existing successful survey instruments from Ten Strands and partners. Further, to ensure alignment with national and international research efforts, Ten Strands included survey elements from two other resources:
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
These references informed question design, structure, and formatting improvements. Iterative feedback from field experts helped refine wording for clarity, relevance, and practical usability in a school setting.
Get Involved with the Site-Survey!
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE FOR TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS:
If you are a teacher or administrator at a California TK–12 school, we invite you to complete the site-level survey. Your input will help us understand how best to support schools statewide in strengthening environmental literacy and climate action!
Participation in the site-survey by March 31st makes you eligible for the prize giveaway!
Winners will be chosen at random; the earliest entry gets first pick of prizes.
Everyone who completes the survey will also receive a digital badge of completion that can be used on their website, social media, or other digital platforms.
SITE VISIT PROJECT
This part of the project focuses on collecting detailed data on a representative sample of school sites across the state. Ten Strands will be conducting school site visits to understand how environmental and climate initiatives are/and are not being integrated into campus, curriculum, community and culture in order to surface what is working, what challenges or barriers schools currently face, and what support would make a difference to being able to get started or do more.
Site Visit Methods
Total time for each visit: The site visit team will be at the site for about 1.5 - 2 hours
Observational data accounts for about half of the data collection and will require a campus walkthrough to observe landscaping, stormwater management, energy systems, waste stations, cafeteria/food management and more. The team will also need to briefly look into one or two classrooms to note waste, energy use, and physical infrastructure (not to conduct lesson observations).
Interview data accounts for the other half of the data to collect and can be completed through interviews with staff who can speak to how environmental initiatives are/are not integrated into curriculum and instruction, campus facilities and operations, community engagement and broader school culture efforts.
During the site visit Ten Strands team may interview the following staff (if available):
Principal/Administrator
Facilities manager (district or site if they have one)
Custodian or Cafeteria worker
Teacher leader who is most involved in this work
Youth or parent leader who is most involved in this work
After the site visit, the Ten Strands data team will develop a site visit summary that will highlight the strengths of environmental and climate action integration at the school and identify opportunities for next steps.
Get Involved with the Site-Visits!
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE FOR TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS:
We are looking to connect with schools to conduct a short site visit in support of this project!
The visit will take about 1.5 to 2 hours, consisting of: a walk of the campus, observation of facilities, and speaking with school staff about environmental initiatives.
This visit is not a compliance check. It’s a chance to share what’s working, what challenges the school faces, and what support would make a difference for integrating environmental initiatives across a school's campus, curriculum, community, and culture.
Why Participate?
Influence programs that benefit schools across California
Optional recognition on CalRecycle’s website (with the school’s approval)
Receive tote bags, stickers, and a digital participation badge for the school’s website and social media
Receive a summary of the data collected for use in strategic planning and/or Green Ribbon applications
Interested in learning more and/or scheduling a site visit?
Use the links below to schedule a virtual meeting with one of our team members!
Key Objective: Synthesizing the Findings
Progress Indicators Dashboard and Report
Findings will be analyzed to inform recommendations aligned with California’s environmental education strategies and climate justice goals. This analysis will be available in the form of an interactive dashboard and final report. The final report will summarize all findings, lessons learned, and offer actionable recommendations to support zero-waste and climate resilience in schools. Appendices will include all tools, data sources, and a technical guide to using the dashboard.
Currently Under Development
Please check back in the Spring of 2027 for access to the final report and data dashboard.
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