Location: Various Los Angeles County locations

Sponsored By: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Southern California Gas Company; Las Virgenes Municipal Water District; Water, Energy, and Education Alliance; Valley Water; and the Water Replenishment District.

Registration: Space is limited! Please click here to register as soon as possible or contact Dean Gilbert if you have additional questions. 

Description: The California Environmental Education Foundation (CEEF) invites educators who teach students in grades 4-12 at schools in Los Angeles and Orange Counties to apply to the 2025 CEEF Teacher Institute, “Best Practices of Environmental Education and Stewardship.”  Priority registration will be given to teachers from the greater LA/Orange County areas with 2+ years of instructional experience and/or apply with 2 or more teachers from the same campus.

During the 2025 institute teachers will participate in research-based environmental education activities and receive up-to-date information from industry and government experts in energy and water.

Through a partnership with the Water Education Foundation and the Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado division, CEEF will provide each teacher with newly published Project WET ‘Water in Earth Systems’ activity guides and engage the participants in hands-on activities that focus on current “hot topics” requested by both teachers and institute sponsors. 

The teachers will engage in best practices in environmental education and stewardship, work and collaborate in grade-level cohorts, gain valuable knowledge in water and energy education, and facilitate their students’ efforts in creating transformative stewardship projects. 

The institute will convene in four sessions, beginning in July and ending in October. Information will be presented in-person on three Saturdays (July 19, September 6, and October 25) and remotely on Saturday, September 20.  

Features of the CEEF Teacher Institute

• Experience best practices in learner-centered pedagogy and NGSS science practices taught by a university pedagogy expert.
• Learn about home-grown environmental stewardship practices from experts at Metropolitan Water District, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the Water Replenishment District.
• Receive up-to-date information from scientists and engineering managers on environmental hot topics such as water quality and conservation; water recycling and local supply sources; energy efficiency; renewable energy; electric vehicles; and ecological relationships between water and energy. Each topic area will include discussions about climate change connections.
• Receive professional follow-up help throughout the institute from the expert science and environmental education consultant EDU Consulting LLC to identify high quality EE resources and to provide coaching on your students’ environmental stewardship projects.

Upon completing all requirements of the Institute, CEEF offers a $500 teacher stipend and a nature journaling, kit, as well as an opportunity to purchase up to three (3) CEUs from UC Davis.