On Tuesday, 20 San Luis Obispo County educators attended a teacher training to learn how to implement climate change curriculum into their lesson plans. The curriculum is based on 16 lessons covering greenhouse gas emissions, energy, waste and transportation.

Teachers receive the initial training, climate toolkit, access to ongoing support, assistance from a college intern and a stipend after teaching the lessons.

The program has been made possible through a partnership between the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District, the San Luis Obispo County Department of Planning and Building, the Clarence E. Heller Foundation, and Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI). Since spring 2010, the county’s teachers have been teaching lessons on climate change in their classrooms. 

The Climate Protection Curriculum training is part of the APCD’s board initiative adopted in 2005 to better inform the public on issues related to greenhouse gas emissions and provide resources for individual actions that can make a difference.

Upon completion of this workshop, more than 30 local teachers will have participated in this training opportunity and are geared to implement these resources into their ongoing curriculum. SEI, a nonprofit organization based in the Bay Area, has trained more than 100 teachers across the state in this curriculum.

Teachers for grades K-12 who are interested in attending can contact Gary Arcemont with the Air Pollution Control District at (805) 781-5743.