Join us for a two-part workshop on how to practice community engagement in a way that centers the concerns and experiences of black and brown people and roots environmental education efforts in the community’s interests, issues and capacities.

Due to current social distancing requirements, this workshop is being offered as a combination of independent online work and required group virtual meetings to equal roughly 6-hours of time. We will be using Moodle for independent work and Zoom for the virtual meetings (video and call-in options). 

Session 1: Getting to Know the Community Engagement Guidelines for Excellence

Independent work posted on Moodle on Tuesday, September 29th (due by Session 1 Virtual Meeting)

Session 1 Virtual Meeting: Tuesday, October 6th, 11:00 a.m. -12:30 pm. EST
Led by Katie Navin and Lisa Eadens, Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education

The Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education is a series of materials to help educators elevate their practice and programs to meet national standards for high-quality environmental education (EE). As the newest publication, the Community Engagement: Guidelines for Excellence centers on community wellness and is designed to help environmental educators create inclusive environments that support effective partnerships and collaborations.

In part 1 of this workshop, we will walk through the Community Engagement Guidelines to:

• Help you better define the communities in which you work or want to work
• Reflect on your personal, organizational, and community capacities for engagement
• Explore strategies for rooting your environmental education efforts in the community’s interests, issues, and capacities

Session 2: Lessons and Stories from the Field: Bringing a Strong Equity Lens to Community Engagement

Independent work posted on Moodle (due by Session 2 Virtual Meeting)

Session 2 Virtual Meeting: Thursday, October 8th, 11:00 a.m. -12:30 p.m. EST
Led by Adam Brock, Regenerate Change and Maria Talero, Climate Courage LLC

While the Community Engagement Guidelines acknowledge the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion and cultural competence, there is an awareness that a deeper reckoning is needed and the Guidelines only offer a starting point. In part 2 of this workshop, we’ll listen to stories from local black, brown and indigenous environmental educators that pinpoint what’s needed to fully embrace social justice in the context of community engagement. Participants will gain a concrete understanding of how to practice community engagement in a way that centers the concerns and experiences of black and brown people as well as specific tools for more effectively positioning your EE work to advance the struggle against systemic oppression and injustice.

Register at https://caee.org/civicrm/event/info?id=366&reset=1.