For Educators

If you are a teacher or youth program coordinator interested in a field trip, please fill out the Program Request Form (PDF) and fax or email it back to us.

LEJ offers free urban environmental education programs to more than 2,500 K-12 youth, with an emphasis on middle school- and high school-aged students. Programs are designed to be interdisciplinary and foster youth empowment. Teachers receive additional support in the form of technical workshops, service learning curricula, and guest presenters.

Students, teachers and community volunteers alike report that they complete our programs with a deeper understanding of the complex issues facing urban communities, and with a greater sense that they can be actively involved in improving the quality of life and environment of our city; many of the students participating in our projects have later become LEJ Youth Interns. In addition, we strongly promote the field of "the environment" as a viable career option for our students as a means to aid in diversifying the field, while providing new job opportunities for communities of color and low-income populations.

Classroom/service learning programs are available in wetlands restoration, native plant propagation, healthy foods, green building, and/or environmental health and justice.

LEJ's EcoCenter is hosting a year-long series of teacher trainings in partnership with the Exploratorium. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

THE NEW EDITION OF LEJ'S K-12 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CURRICULUM, "CALLING NATURE HOME," HAS BEEN PUBLISHED

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Additional Educator Resources:
Free GIS Software
A comprehensive collection of GIS programs and tools that is updated daily. Most are either freeware or open-source.

National Institute of Environmental Health Science Curriculum
The Environmental Health Science Education website provides educators, students and scientists with easy access to reliable tools, resources and classroom materials.

Scorecard
Get an in-depth pollution report for your county, covering air, water, chemicals, and more.

Organizations:
Crissy Field Center
Crissy Field Center offers programs to connect the diverse population of the Bay Area to urban environmental issues. Working in partnership with the National Park Service and Bay Area communities, the Center engages people with their environments to promote a more sustainable and environmentally just society. Crissy provides summer camp and school year educational programming.

Exploratorium Teacher Institute

TI offers a rich mix of hands-on activities based on Exploratorium exhibits, content-based discussions, classroom materials, Web-based teaching resources, and machine shop experiences.  TI offers summer institutes and district-wide in-service programs for both new and experienced teachers.

Facing History & Ourselves
Facing History engages students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry.

Marine Science Institute

Marine Science Institute (MSI) cultivates understanding of natural science through interdisciplinary educational activities that puts students in direct physical contact with local marine life. Lessons focus on aquatic animals and the ecosystem that supports them.

Stewardship and Environmental Education Collaborative of San Francisco
SEEC-SF offers integrated, accessible, place-based education programs that inspire San Francisco’s diverse school community to explore, appreciate, and care for nature in the City. By participating in SEEC-SF programs, students have opportunities to examine relationships between the natural and urban worlds and to contribute to San Francisco’s living natural history through habitat restoration, gardening projects, and other hands-on activities.

Teachers 4 Social Justice
Teachers 4 Social Justice is a grassroots non-profit teacher support and development organization. T4SJ organizes teachers and community-based educators and implements programs and projects that develop empowering learning environments, more equitable access to resources and power, and realizing a just and caring culture.