405 14th Street, Suite 164Oakland, CA 94612  (925) 471-6175

Community Announcements

Please Contact Us to have events, announcements, or conferences added to this list.

Calling All EE Providers: Join Our Effort To Demonstrate Our Collective Impact!

Do you ever wonder what the collective impact is of our work? How many EE providers are there in California? What is our combined economic footprint? Where are there gaps and gluts in programming across the state? If you are an EE provider, we need your help to answer these critical questions!

JOIN OUR EFFORT TO DEMONSTRATE THE COLLECTIVE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA! To advocate for more resources and increased access to environmental learning, we need a baseline for who is doing what, where, how, and with whom. Strengthen our sector by contributing your organizational and program data.

  • Step 1: Check your inbox for your customized code (don’t have a code? Contact aeoe@aeoe.org) – Please check to see if you received an updated code as there were some issues with the initial distribution list 
  • Step 2: Go to genthrive.org/aeoe and register with your code
  • Step 3: Enter your data to strengthen EE in California!

Survey deadline extended to July 15, 2023. If you aren’t the lead at your organization, please forward this email or encourage them to participate. Contribute your organization’s data today!

Drawing for prizes! While being able to demonstrate our collective impact will be its own reward, as an additional incentive we will hold a drawing in early July with a few special prizes, including a $100 gift certificate to The Outdoor Learning Store, $100 gift certificate to Acorn Naturalists, and one year of complimentary organizational membership with AEOE. All complete entries (with the organizational questions and at least one program entry submitted) will be automatically entered into the drawing.

This effort is led by AEOE in partnership with California Environmental Literacy Initiative (CAELI), Ten Strands, and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)’s Affiliate Network.

Please join us in sharing our gratitude to the Pisces Foundation, Clarence E. Heller Foundation, Ten Strands, and NAAEE for funding this important effort. 

ChangeScale Virtual Discussion Groups

Finding Self Care and Support in Current Conditions of the Environmental Education Field

Join our virtual discussion groups to continue the conversation on Livable Wages and High Quality Jobs in the Environmental Education (EE) Field. There were great conversations around this topic at the in-person spring convening in March, and we recognize that not everyone was able or had the capacity to attend. We hope that this upcoming and other future virtual discussion groups provide an opportunity for all to join the conversation.

This virtual discussion group is for people interested in Finding Self Care and Support in Current Conditions. At the first meeting we will recap the issues that emerged at the Spring Convening, and select topics and a trajectory for future discussions. Topics might include:

  • Discuss the impact of livable wages and high quality jobs self and experience
  • Build community with peers in the environmental education field
  • Provide space for healing and connection

The virtual discussion groups will be facilitated by:

  • Elsa Calvillo (she/her/ella): Park Stewardship Youth Programs Manager, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
  • Daniela Miranda (she/ella): Educational Leader, DEI Strategist, Mentor & Consultant
  • Gloria Desanker (she/her/ella): Program and Operations Manager, ChangeScale

Date and time: Friday, May 12th from 11 am to 1 pm.

Systems Change for High Quality Jobs and Livable Wages in the Environmental Education Field

ChangeScale invites you to join our virtual discussion groups on Livable Wages and High Quality Jobs in the Bay Area Environmental Education Field. There were great conversations around this topic at the in-person ChangeScale Spring Convening in March, and we recognize that not everyone was able to attend. We hope that these ongoing virtual discussion groups provide an opportunity for anyone in the ChangeScale community to join the conversation.

This virtual discussion group will focus on Systems Change for High Quality Jobs and Livable Wages in Environmental Education (EE). At the first meeting we will recap the issues that emerged at the Spring Convening, and select topics and a trajectory for future discussions. Topics might include:

  • The role funders and philanthropic organizations play
  • How to build capacity to start making needed changes
  • Alternative program designs and business models that align with high quality jobs
  • Tangible outcomes or products that might result from our discussions

Facilitators this conversation:

  • Blanca Hernández (she/her): Director of Programs and Partnerships, Yes Nature to Neighborhoods
  • Aaron Rich (he/him): Chief Development Officer, NatureBridge
  • Craig Strang (he/him): Associate Director, Lawrence Hall of Science
  • Gloria Desanker (she/her): Program and Operations Manager, ChangeScale

Date and time: Monday, May 15, 2023 4 -6 PM PST.

 

Registration for both virtual discussion groups is free. Please email admin@changescale.org with any questions or accessibility needs.

Learn how to keep up with ChangeScale updates and events here: https://linktr.ee/changescale .

A Discussion on Equitable Approaches to Quality Jobs and Living Wages in Environmental Education

AEOE

Are you struggling to fill open positions and retain staff in the current job market? Let’s consider how to make compensation and benefits packages for our field more equitable, welcoming, and sustainable. Join us for an interactive presentation and discussion with colleagues across the state to explore frameworks and share tools and case studies that investigate this timely topic. We will take time to reflect on our own organizational capacity to influence quality jobs and living wages at our respective sites.

EE managers and directors with hiring and recruitment responsibilities, as well as those who set or oversee organizational and program budgets with staffing as a consideration

EE practitioners with interest in exploring this topic to better understand trends across the industry

EE funders who are interested in better understanding current challenges the field is facing regarding staffing, and who are invested in systemic change

Thursday, May 25, 2023 | 12-1:30 PM | *FREE* 

Offered in partnership with AEOE, CAELI, ChangeScale, and the Environmental Education Funders Collaborative.

Down By the Bay

Yes Nature to Neighborhoods

Down By the Bay is a Benefit Concert for Yes Nature to Neighborhoods.

Join Yes Nature to Neighborhoods for a change to reconnect with out community while enjoying live music from the Bay Area’s own Little Marvin and the Gardeners and Boca do Rio, a delicious paella dinner courtesy of Venga Paella, and picturesque views from Point San Pablo Harbor.

Location: Point San Pablo Harbor, 1900 Stenmark Drive, Richmond, CA 94804

Date and time: May 20, 2023 VIP at 4:30 PM and General Admission at 5:30 PM

2023 Together Bay Area Conference

Together Bay Area

Want to meet the people who are meeting the moment? Join us!

Everyone who works for climate resilience and social equity is encouraged to attend and participate! This year’s conference is for folks who want to get things done. Who want to get their hands dirty. Who walk in with questions and want to walk out (or dance out!) with answers.

Three big topics are on the agenda. From the main stage and in small groups, we will work together on how to:

ACCESS PUBLIC FUNDING FOR PROJECTS & PROGRAMS

Access public funding for crises like flooding and fires, for land conservation efforts like 30×30, for land stewardship and restoration, and for environmental justice and equitable access to the outdoors.

DEVELOP A DIVERSE WORKFORCE AND CREATE GREEN JOBS

Increase and diversify the workforce for nature-based solutions to the climate crisis, and build meaningful career pathways within our organizations.

BE ALLIES AND BUILD ALLIANCES WITH NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES

Be an ally to and build alliances with Native American tribes and communities for healthy lands, people, and communities.

May 9th to 12th, 2023

Online, In Person, and On The Land

AEOE Annual Statewide Conference 2023

AEOE

Join us for a weekend of learning, networking, and fun in the redwoods! The conference will be held May 5th – 7th, 2023 at YMCA CAmp Jones Gulch, La Honda, CA and includes around 40 workshops, a keynote speaker, an awards ceremony, resource fair, EECP presentations, an auction, evening entertainment, and more!

2023 Keynote Speaker: José G. González, Founder of Latino Outdoors and Co-Founder of the Outdoorist Oath

Lodging and meals offered on site.

FAQs and additional information

New Horizons in Conservation Conference

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI), Yale School of the Environment

New Horizons in Conservation is an opportunity to understand the status of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the conservation field.

The 2023 New Horizons in Conservation Conference is hybrid. The conference will be in New Haven, Connecticut at the Omni New Haven Yale Hotel. Virtual attendees can attend sessions live and watch recorded sessions asynchronously.

May 10th to 13th, 2023

Virtual and In Person Registration

Agenda   |   Field Trips   |   Speakers

Applications for Native Youth Grantmakers Due April 30th, 2023

Native Youth Grantmakers

About the Program                                                               

Native Americans in Philanthropy’s (NAP) Native Youth Grantmakers is designed for Indigenous youth aged 18-24 who are connected to their community (urban, rural, or reservation) and want to grow their leadership skills, advocate for Native youth and youth programs, and learn more about the philanthropic sector.

This year-long course is both in-person and virtual and embraces Indigenous values that can help create conditions for all communities to thrive. As Native people, we are the first philanthropists. Today, philanthropy is a critical tool because it supports endeavors from which we can all benefit; however, Native youth are largely left out of that process.

NAP strongly believes that Native youth bring a critical perspective to the world of philanthropy and deserve decision-making power when it comes to the issues that impact us all. This leadership program is designed to directly support emerging Native leaders, to center their perspectives, and to build power in a community of practice of grantmakers. The NAP team will work closely with program participants to help cultivate and nurture their strengths and connect them to key Indigenous leaders in the philanthropy sector.

Important Eligibility Requirements for Applicants:

  • Applicant must be finished with high school
  • Applicant must be 18-24 years old by March 14, 2023.
  • Applicant must be self-identified Indigenous (Native American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, or Native Hawaiian)

For questions or more information, please email Kristen Pratt at kpratt@nativephilanthropy.org or Danielle Frank at dfrank@nativephilanthropy.org.

Gala for the Gardens

Gardens of Golden Gate Park

Saturday, May 20, 11am-2pm

At San Francisco Botanical Garden

Please reserve your tickets for our Gala for the Gardens on May 20, 2023 at San Francisco Botanical Garden. This occasion marks our first year as the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, joining the magic of the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, and San Francisco Botanical Garden. The Gala is an opportunity to celebrate – and raise money for – these three historic garden treasures and places of community.

To sponsor the event, please visit gggp.org/gala or contact Brooke Bedingfield at 415-515-2969 or bbedingfield@gggp.org.

Save the Date: Symposium on Muwekma Ohlone Tribe Push for Federal Recognition

Chairwoman Charlene Nijmeh invites you to save the date for Santa Clara University’s first annual symposium on Indigenous issues and the push for federal recognition of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. This event is on May 5th, from 9 am to 5 pm PST with a reception following multi-panel and speaker event from 5pm to 7 pm PST. At the Louis B. Mayer Theater in Santa Clara, CA.

Applications for Liberated Paths: Youth Access to Nature Fund are now open

Justice Outside advances racial justice and equity in the outdoor and environmental movement. They shift resources to, build power with, and center the voices and leadership of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color because the health of current and future generations demands it. Justice Outside envisions a just world where Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color experience safety, health, and abundant joy through meaningful relationships with one another and the outdoors. They are thrilled to invite applications to help us achieve this mission and vision through the Youth Access to Nature Fund.

We invite you to learn more about this funding opportunity, and if you think your program or initiative might be a fit, to submit your application by April 10, 2023.

[Jump to application instructions section]

[Watch a recording of our YAN application criteria session]

[Download these guidelines]

Part of their commitment to this work is meeting communities and people where they are. To this end, Justice Outside encourages you to contact Amelia Vigil, Justice Outside Youth Access to Nature Program & Grantmaking Manager, at liberatedpaths@justiceoutside.org, if you have any questions or would like any support.  They are here to support you with what you need to apply successfully, whether that is help with the application itself or recommending the next steps.

Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature

Climate disruption bears down daily, and there’s a widely felt morning-after awakening that it’s going to crash the economy and bring civilization to its knees. Although the regime shift to renewables is now an accelerating inevitability, it’s going to take relentless political action. To beat the clock, we also need to override the doom loop of delay and propaganda the desperate fossil fuel industry will keep pushing.

Meanwhile, the unprecedented movements of the past decade for liberation, justice and multicultural democracy are swelling to challenge the right-wing populist and neo-fascist forces underwritten by cynical plutocratic elites. “Make feudalism great again” is proving to be a marketing challenge. Something’s gotta give.

At the core is a crisis of democracy: a radical disconnect between the world people want and the world corporations and their client governments have hijacked. The climate crisis and the inequality crisis are the same crisis. Our separation from nature and our separation from each other are the same dis-integration. The choice is clear: nihilism or regeneration. Shattering or wholeness.

For over three decades, the Bioneers Conference has served as a trellis on which this visionary movement of movements has grown and grown together around authentic “solve-the-whole problem” solutions.

Especially in these darkest of times, we come together to regenerate and celebrate. We invite you to join forces with the Bioneers community of leadership in this time when we’re all called upon to be leaders.

The conference consists of keynote speakers, panel sessions, and creative gatherings throughout UC Berkeley’s Campus and Downtown Berkeley.

Bay Nature: 2023 Local Hero Awards

Join fellow nature-lovers and Bay Area environmental leaders at the 13th annual Bay Nature Local Hero Awards. This event will take place in person at the David Brower Center in Berkeley on March 26th from 2-5 pm.

The Awards celebration and Bay Nature annual fundraiser will be held in the Brower Center’s beautiful auditorium, followed by an outdoor reception on the terrace.

  • Doors open at 1:30 for registration and an opportunity to enjoy a wonderful new art exhibit in the Brower Center gallery.
  • Doors to the auditorium open at 2:00 and the program starts at 2:15. You’ll hear from each of the heroes about their work and personal path and be able to support Bay Nature at a short but rousing Fund-A-Need.
  • Program concludes at 3:30 for a catered reception of passed hors d’oeuvres. Wine and beer will be served. The event will end at 5 pm.
  • Be ready for plenty of fun! Pre-event activities to be announced at a later date.

Early bird tickets are $125 and available until February 23rd. Regular tickets are $175. Auditorium seating at the Brower Center is limited, so we encourage you to register now.

If you missed the fall announcement, this year’s extraordinary local heroes, selected from 75 nominations, are:

  • Community Hero: Omar Gallardo, New Audiences Manager, LandPaths
  • Environmental Educator: Blanca Olivia Hernández, Director of Programs & Partnerships, YES Nature to Neighborhoods
  • Young Leader: Alexii Sigona, Youth Group Leader, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band
  • Conservation Action: Stuart B. (Stu) Weiss, Chief scientist & Founder, Creekside Center for Earth Observation

For more information about:

  • Brower Center Covid protocols click here.
  • Bay Nature’s 2023 Local Heroes click here.
  • The David Brower Center, a nonprofit space with an environmental mission, containing office space, an art gallery, conference facilities, and 178-seat theater click here.

ChangeScale Spring Convening: Livable Wages in Environmental Education

Please join ChangeScale and Environmental Education Education Funders Collaborative (EEFC) for a co-sponsored event to discuss the importance of livable wages and high-quality jobs in the Bay Area environmental education field.

We have heard from our community that Environmental Education (EE) is experiencing massive staffing challenges. We understand that job quality is critical to staffing, and staffing is critical to program quality and youth outcomes. And we recognize that funders play a role in supporting the field to move toward quality jobs. Hear from two incredible funders about their perspectives and ways they are moving towards and centering equity in their grant making.

Guest speakers:

  • Emily Garvie, EEFC
  • Amelia Vigil, Justice Outside

Lunch will be provided.

After lunch, we will engage in a fun Bioblitz outside in Mitchell Park using iNaturalist to support the kickoff of the Bay Area Urban Species Search, a project of Together Bay Area and California Academy of Sciences. Sharing your iNaturalist observations will help us better understand how these species are using and benefiting from the urban environment and will allow us to highlight how the urban San Francisco Bay Area contributes to regional conservation. This will be lead by Olivia VanDamme, Community Science Coordinator for the Center for Biodiversity and Community Science at California Academy of Sciences. Learn more about this project here!

Urban Grant Program

Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority 

The Open Space Authority helps connect people to the outdoors in their own neighborhoods through nearby parks, trails, urban community gardens, and environmental education programs. The Authority has two active grant programs that provide funds for urban projects.

Eligible Applicants:

  • Public Agencies
  • Schools and School Districts
  • 501C3 Nonprofits

This competitive grant program, funded by Measure Q and Measure T, addresses the needs of urban communities, including areas that currently have limited access to preserves and parks. The grant program aims to fund projects that will improve the quality of life for urban residents.

Inside Out! International Conference

Children & Nature Network

When children spend time outdoors, they are healthier, happier and more successful in school. But over the past few generations, childhood has moved indoors, disconnected from the natural world.

The Inside-Out International Conference and year-round Leadership Series events bring children and nature leaders together for networking, workshops, special events and our world-class conference.

Let’s turn the trend of an indoor childhood back out to the benefits of nature.

The upcoming Inside-Out International Conference & Leadership Series is June 12th – 15th, 2023 in Colorado.

LGBTQ Outdoor Summit

Dedicated to the representation and inclusion of the LGBTQ Community OUTside.

The mission of the LGBTQ Outdoor Summit is to cultivate connections, build community and inspire leaders from across the outdoor industry and beyond to create more accessible and affirming ways for the LGBTQ community to get OUTside.

OUT There Adventures and Pride Outside are dedicated to providing relevant, inclusive opportunities outdoors for the LGBTQ community. The LGBTQ Outdoor Summits are a chance to come together with representatives of the outdoor industry, conservation community, environmental education, and more to discuss the state of the LGBTQ community and the outdoors and look for opportunities to work together to support equity and social justice outside.