Annual Summer Institute - Children's Environmental Literacy Foundation

Annual Summer Institutes

Energizing and Innovative Professional Learning for K-12 Educators

The 2022 Summer Institutes will inspire, educate, and reignite our collective commitment to educating for sustainability

This year’s CELF Summer Institutes focus on giving teachers space to reflect and re-energize together with peers. Teachers will explore concepts of sustainability that emphasize community well-being as the core to enabling meaningful learning for students. CELF supports teachers as they reframe and reflect upon their teaching practices to incorporate sustainability and civic engagement throughout the school year.  This approach ensures that our next generation is prepared with the systems-thinking mindset they’ll need to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.

CELF Summer Institutes

Each of the four regional and online institutes offer standards-aligned, credit-based programming, geared towards a national audience of K-12 educators. This collaborative learning experience harnesses the imagination and energy of our educator community to reinvigorate your 2022-2023 school year ahead.  

At CELF, we recognize that the disruption of the last two years – lost classroom hours, new demands on teachers, student frustration and grief – weighs heavily on educators of all types. When we ask “What does sustainability mean NOW?,” we look outward to environmental remediation, and inward to restoring self-worth and motivation.

Takeaways include:

Making it Happen for You!

Earn PD Credit

Depending on your state, or district, you can earn PD credits for completing the CELF Summer Institute. In-service credits are based on district policy.

Register with your Team of Colleagues!

Interactive, in-depth, and self-paced, CELF’s Institutes are designed for individual or school team participation that connect instructional practices to real-world applications and learning experiences.

If you join with a team, there is a discount on tuition. Please see the specific Summer Insitute Registration for more details.

Scholarships Available

CELF will be offering a limited number of full scholarships. Preference will be given to teachers applying from Title 1 schools and other needs-based applicants. CELF will contact you upon receipt of your application. APPLY TODAY!

Administrator Email Outreach

Use this letter template to communicate the value of this PD with your administration as a professional learning experience that will benefit not only you, but your school, district and community. Feel free to customize and use it to request approval to attend the Summer Institutes.

Summer Institute Registration

Summer Institute Registration Open

Virtual: Engaging Students
in Civic Science and Action

Location: Virtual
Dates: July 19-21, 26-28, 2022
Time: 1:00 – 3:30pm CT
/ 2:00 – 4:30pm ET

This 6-day (15 hours) online institute will introduce CELF’s Inquiry to Action Framework within the context of your classroom. Participants will learn the skills and knowledge to develop a project to engage student learning through inquiry, place and action. Pathways to topics such as water, biodiversity and air will be explored. Teachers will walk away with an Inquiry to Action project planner ready to implement in the fall.

Tuition: $300 ($250 group rate)
Scholarship Application Here

Download Flyer

Summer Institute Registration Open

Buffalo: Going for the Green:
Sustainable Schools Hosted
at Ken-Ton

Location: Kenmore Middle School, Kenmore, NY
Dates: July 6-7, 2022
Time:
8:00am – 3:30pm ET

This 2-day (14 hours) in-person institute will introduce Education for Sustainability within the context of your classroom and school. Join Buffalo-region school teachers and administrators to apply sustainability as a lens for learning to connect curriculum, culture and community. Participants will use CELF’s Big Ideas of Sustainability to enhance teaching practices and engage in transdisciplinary systems thinking.

Tuition: Kenmore-Tonawanda school district faculty and Buffalo-region educators are funded through the generous support of Linde PLC
(The first 30 to register are eligible for full scholarships)

Download Flyer

Summer Institute Registration Closed

Houston: Exploring Sustainability through Student-Driven Projects

Location: Lone Star College, Kingwood, TX
Dates: June 27-29, 2022
Time: 8:30am – 3:30pm CT


This 3-day (20 hours) in-person institute will introduce how to apply education for sustainability as a lens for learning in any subject; transdisciplinary teacher teams encouraged. Each educator will develop a Student Action Project that will address specific community environmental or justice problems. Participants will also use CELF’s Big Ideas of Sustainability framework to guide the integration of sustainability concepts into current teaching practices.

Tuition: $150 ($125 group rate)

Are you interested in programs and events in the Houston region? Contact Us

Summer Institute Registration Closed

Westchester: Sustaining Yourself and Your Community: What Sustainability Means Now

Location: Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY
Dates: DEFERRED


This 3-day (22.5 hours) in-person institute will introduce education for sustainability and connect it to solving real-world environmental and social justice issues in our schools and communities. Participants will reflect and apply CELF’s Big Ideas of Sustainability and Inquiry to Action frameworks to guide teaching practices and engage in community action.

Looking for an opportunity in the NY Tri-State Area? Check out our CELF in the Field event in Nyack, NY!

Past Keynotes & Guest Speakers

Susan Kaiser Greenland

Author/Teacher of Mindfulness for Children

Kate Raworth

Economist, Oxford University


Dr. Bertie Simmons

Author/K-12 Changemaker 

Karen Banda 

Environmental Justice Leader

 Tammie Lang Campbell

Founder, Honey Brown Hope Foundation

Shar-Day Campbell

Award-winning Communications Strategist

Lynne Cherry

Author/Founder of Young Voices for the Planet

Jaysa Hunter-Mellers

Youth Climate Activist 

 Jaime Gonzalez

Houston Healthy Cities

Dr. Maida Galvez

Mount Sinai PEHSU

Elizabeth Carlson

Tricon Energy

Luz Guel

Mount Sinai CEC

Tyler Knowlton

Plume Labs

David MacLean

Founder & President, McMac Cx

Eric Ascalon

Terracycle

Elizabeth Virgl

American Bird Conservancy

Nana Minta

Green Africa Youth Organization

Laurie Seeman

Strawtown Art & Garden Studio

Get Outside with After-School PD for Educators in NY & CTRegister today!
Scroll to Top