BROADER CONTEXT FOCUS AREAS OVERVIEW

Factor 1 - County-Level Investments in Environmental and Climate Action

• Purpose and Overview: For the section focused on County-Level Investments in Environmental and Climate Action, ‘broader context’ refers to environmental and climate action indicators that are happening (or not happening) at the county jurisdictional level; for example: climate emergency declaration, local office of sustainability, county or municipal environmental plan, etc. For any given county, the purpose of including this data is to determine what role, if any, that these broader context factors may present as barriers or opportunities for school communities to take environmental action.

• Key Questions: Which county and municipal jurisdictions are making investments in environmental and climate action, and which are not, AND how might these investments (broader context factors) serve as barriers or opportunities for schools within these jurisdictions to take environmental and climate action in their school communities?

• Data Methodology: The data collection process involved gathering information manually from publicly available website sources. The majority of information (ex: Climate Action Plans, Climate Adaptation Plans, Local Hazard and Mitigation Plans) was conducted through research on search engines or specific jurisdiction websites. Community Choice Aggregation programs were also found on the California Community Choice Association website. Researchers included links for ongoing data validation. 

Factor 2 - Climate Impacts 

• Purpose and Overview: For the climate impacts section ‘broader context’ refers to understanding the impacts of the earth's changing climate; such as: extreme heat, sea level rise, wildfire, and extreme precipitation. This factor aims to localize, explain, and provide narratives for educators and school communities to better understand and make sense of environmental and climate related data projections over the course of four decades (2025-2035, 2035-2045, 2045-2055, 2055-2065).

• Key Questions: What are the impacts of climate change that have the greatest threat to the core functions of TK-12 schools? And how will these impacts affect school infrastructure and resources, the physical and mental health of students and employees, and the ability to learn and play safely and without ongoing climate related disruptions?

• Data Methodology: The climate impact tools and data on this site are a streamlined version of the existing data sets and tools found at Cal-Adapt, Surging Seas Risk Finder, and  Surging Seas Risk Finder. In order to create a more simplified tool, custom date ranges were selected and averaged from the initial sources before being added to the spreadsheet for this initiative. Please visit the source websites for more detailed versions of the climate impact projections.

Factor 3 - Community Based Partners (CBPs) Providing Environmental Education: note Factor 3 links (see below) take you to external databases

• Purpose and Overview: The broader context explored in Factor Three focuses on environmental education experiences provided by community based partners (CBPs). The data project for Factor Three is organized by the California Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (AEOE), and done in partnership with the EcoRise Gen Thrive data project, the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), and the California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI). The main purpose of this data project is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the environmental education already happening on the ground, and identify gaps in service and the resources needed to ensure that every young person in California has access to environmental learning experiences offered by community-based partners. 

  • • For more information about the project see AEOE's EE Landscape Analysis Page

    • For more information, explore the methods used in this data collection here.

• Key Questions and Themes: A number of key questions and themes are explored in this data project including gathering an understanding the scope and scale of employment in nonformal and informal environmental education, and understanding who these community based partners (CBPs) are serving across the state. This project also included an exploration of the distribution of Environmental Education (EE) programs and providers, as well as an understanding of the regional demographics, environmental pollution burdens, and climate risks. 

• Database Links on AEOE EE Landscape Analysis Page: 

  • Link 1: CA Environmental Education (EE) Providers Dashboard

  • Link 2: Climate Impacts, Environmental Education, and Equity Map