ENDORSE

You can become a member of the coalition by endorsing CalSOL as an individual and/or on behalf of your organization (if you have the authority to do so) by clicking the button below. If your organization requires a board resolution to endorse the effort, a template is available by clicking here.

Click Here To Endorse

A Better Future Begins Outdoors

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Jennifer Long, PhD

Education & Outreach Coordinator

Jennifer Long is the Education & Outreach Coordinator for UCI’s Center for Environmental Biology (CEB). CEB works with partners across Orange County to conduct research related to ecological restoration and to translating science through K-12, after-school, and public outreach programs. She received her Ph.D. in Education from University of California, Irvine in 2015. Her research centers on science learning in informal environments, including science centers, after-school programs, and educational media. More specifically, this work focuses on the effectiveness of designed environments in helping people learn about the natural world.

Greg Koch

Co-Founder of Stone World Bistro & Gardens

“The goals that CalSOL aspires to are ones that I personally believe in. I am well aware that countless studies have shown that meaningful connection to nature in youth increases our connection to all things, creating better ability to interact and learn going forward.”

Richard Louv

American nonfiction author and journalist

“In my book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, I wrote: ‘An environment-based education movement—at all levels of education—will help students realize that school isn’t supposed to be a polite form of incarceration, but a portal to the wider world.’ The California Statewide Outdoor Learning (CalSOL) movement can open this portal, not just for the well being of our children’s health and minds, but for the health of our planet. California has the opportunity to be bold and lead the world.”

Frances Lang

Executive Director of Ocean Connectors

“I’ve endorsed CalSOL because outdoor education is a formative part of everyone’s childhood. K-12 public schools should receive funding for outdoor education because experiences in nature are essential to cultivating a future generation of educated, inspired citizens who care about the health of our environment.”

Rob Machado

Australian-born American Professional Surfer and Environmental Activist

"The Rob Machado Foundation endorses the CalSOL campaign because California's oceans are never going to be clean unless our children get outdoors and experience firsthand why the environment matters."

Jack O'Connell

26th California Superintendent of Public Instruction

"As a former California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, throughout my service as a California State Assemblymember and Senator, and my experience as a teacher, education has always been my top priority. CalSOL's goal for outdoor education would enrich the learning experience for all of California's school children."

Krystle Miller

STEM Teacher on Special Assignment

"Multiple grade levels of students at the Escondido Union School District are experiencing the benefits of outdoor education as they receive nature-based programming from one year to the next, offered by a local conservation consortium. These opportunities are instrumental in promoting science and STEM learning in an engaging manner. Ensuring that all students in any given grade have equitable access to these environmental experiences is essential. I endorse CalSOL because I want what our students are experiencing to be scaled up so that all K-12 students across California can flourish from outdoor learning."

SUPPORTERS