Coastal Commission Programs and Resources | Recommended Streaming Videos | California Environmental Education Interagency Network | California Environmental Education Events Calendar
Contact the Coastal Commission's Public Education Program at coast4u@coastal.ca.gov
Coastal Art and Poetry Contest
The California Coastal Commission invites all California students in grades
K-12 to participate in the Coastal Art & Poetry Contest. The deadline to submit
entries is at the end of January.
Climate Storytelling Contest
The Coastal Commission invites California middle and high school students to present a podcast, photo essay,
or short narrative essay in response to a question relating to climate change. The entry deadline for this
contest is at the end of May.
California Coastal Voices
California Coastal Voices is a free,
project-based learning guide and online toolkit for middle and high school teachers. Consisting
of six units, or "projects," that introduce students to coastal conflicts, challenges, and
scientific and policy issues, the emphasis is on problem solving and communication. This
learning guide was designed to address California's Next Generation Science, Common Core, and
History-Social Science standards. Download teacher resources and student activities and access
slideshows, videos, articles, and much more.
Schoolyard Cleanup Program
Want your students to participate in Coastal Cleanup Day but can't get them out on a field
trip to a beach or local waterway? Want to show them that environmentally responsible behavior
can begin at their school and in their own neighborhood? Interested in a real world data collection
and problem-solving experience that takes place right on school grounds and supports your Next
Generation Science Standards? You can organize a Schoolyard
Cleanup any time of year and accomplish all of these goals.
Environmental Justice Resources for Educators and Students
Learn about the concept and history of environmental justice, and access
videos and classroom lessons for middle and high school students.
At-Home Learning Resources
Find a wide variety of lessons and activities that work well at home, appropriate for
teachers and parents of students kindergarten through high school.
King Tides Project and Sea Level Rise
The California King Tides Project offers many opportunities
for students and teachers in science and humanities. Get ideas on how to incorporate this project into
your classes and also find sea level rise education resources on the
King Tides Resources for Educators page.
WHALE TAIL® Grants Program
Schools (as well as nonprofits, tribes, and other government entities) are eligible to apply to the
WHALE TAIL® Grants Program for
funding to support coastal and marine education projects. We strongly encourage projects that engage
communities that have historically received fewer opportunities for coastal and marine education and stewardship.
You may request up to $50,000 and applications are accepted once a year in the fall.
Build Personal Fishing Line Containers
Student groups can help keep fishing line out of our environment by taking part in the
Stow It Don't Throw It program. Students collect used
tennis ball (or similar) packaging and construct personal fishing line canisters that
help people keep their used line contained until they can get it to a recycling station
or dispose of it safely in the garbage. Our Clean Boating Program will distribute the
containers you construct or your students can take them directly to fishing piers, marinas, or boating supply
stores to get them into the hands of people who need them.
Personal Trash Choices Activity
This group activity for youth or adults asks participants
to think about and to argue for how they relate to trash items in their lives.
Plastic Properties Investigation
This demonstration or small group activity has students
investigating the phenomenon of a plastic bottle in water. Does it float? Does it sink? What
are the implications of its properties?
Gallery of Sand
View magnified photos of sand from more than 25 beaches, which can be used
to support sand-related lessons in Waves, Wetlands, and Watersheds or as phenomena to launch
other student work.
Measuring a Blue Whale in the Schoolyard
Blue whales are the largest animals known to have lived on earth, and they can be seen right off
the coast of California! Just how big are they? Could a blue whale fit in your schoolyard?
This schoolyard activity offers three methods of increasing complexity
for comparing length and height of large objects.
Learn about Oil Spills and Marine Debris.
Waves, Wetlands, and Watersheds Science Activity Guide
Waves, Wetlands, and Watersheds
is a classroom and community activity guide, published in 2007,
that addresses issues such as endangered species, marine debris, coastal
geology, water use, and much more. With groups of lessons for each grade 3
through 8 and Community Action lessons adaptable for all ages up to
and beyond 12th grade.
Our Wetlands, Our World High School Activity Guide
Our Wetlands, Our World provides information and activities to help high school
students learn about the importance of wetlands and to become involved in the
restoration of these valuable, unique environments. The focus of this
2004 guide is on Upper Newport Bay in Orange County, however, most of the content is
applicable to other locations.
Educator's Guide to Beach Cleanups
This Educator's Guide provides specific tips for teachers,
parents, and youth group leaders who plan to do a cleanup with their students, whether for
Coastal Cleanup Day, the Adopt-A-Beach
Program, or independently, at a beach, shoreline, or inland location. It includes practical strategies,
links to lessons and internet resources to enrich the experience, and more.
The California Environmental Education Interagency Network (CEEIN) is a state government
consortium of environmental educators representing various state agencies and departments.
Learn about CEEIN and the many environmental education resources available from the State
of California and its partners, and access a statewide calendar of environmental education
events and opportunties.
Topics:
Community engagement and coastal management | Climate change |
Environmental Justice and redlining | Marine and coastal biodiversity, and general ocean info |
Marine debris | Ocean acidification
