NEWS

 At CE4IL, we're on a mission to empower ALL educators to teach about climate change, justice, and action.  We are partnering with the non-profit Subject to Climate  to create an Illinois Climate Education resource hub (more details in News Tab).   The hub will provide free materials for teachers to use.    

The first meeting of the IL Climated Education Hub Advisory Committee was attended by over 20 climate leaders from across Illinois.   In the meeting we discussed the hub set up and garnered feedback from different perspectives.   Next step is to start to collect and tag resources.   

See our take action tab to see how you can get involved! 

 The end of year giving campaign for creating the Illinois Climate Education Hub, in conjunction with Subject to Climate, raised $7,325.   Thank you to all our supporters.  A special shout out to Lázaro Law Group, LLC and The Fogelson Family Foundation for their generous donations.

We still need to raise further funding to make the hub a reality and are looking for donors and sponsors.   Ways you can help:

• donate via this  link.  
• share the link with your friends, family and climate networks
•  contact us  if you have potential funding partners you can introduce us to.  

To empower teachers and educators to teach about climate change, we are partnering with the non-profit  Subject to Climate  to create an Illinois Climate Education resource hub with teaching materials aligned with state standards and across all grades and subjects.   (Subject to Climate have already done this for many other states: New Jersey, Oregon, Wisconsin, Maine and New York with Connecticut and California hubs coming soon).    

Watch the webinar recording and find out how you can help:  

• Recording
• Slides
• Sign up to help create an IL Climate Education Hub 

 As of August 12th, 2024, the Climate Education bill HB 4895 has officially been signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker. This landmark legislation mandates that starting in 2026, all public schools in Illinois will integrate climate change education in their curricula. The passage of this law marks a significant victory for advocates, educators, and youth, who have shown that their voices will be heard. 

 The Youth Advisory Board was established to ensure that the opinions of youth, who will be most affected by climate change and legislation regarding Climate Education, are central to our efforts. This platform provides students with a dedicated space where they can easily share their ideas and experiences, empowering them to actively contribute to shaping the future of Climate Education. 

Climate Education bill (HB 4895), filed by Rep Yang-Rohr in conjunction with Naperville High School students has passed both the House and the Senate and is on its way to the Governor's desk to be signed.   Thank you to everyone for your support and helping us to achieve this first step in the journey to climate education for all students in Illinois!

Students Lewis, Abhinav and Katie together with Rachel recently presented about Climate Education at the Science of the South Conference - a gathering of science teachers from throughout Southern Illinois.   We talked about the need for climate education and some of the barriers that teachers face. Thank you Science in the South for hosting us and for your support of Climate Education.  

 Students Danica and Katie together with Rachel recently presented about Climate Education at the Environmental Educators Association Illinois (EEAI) conference (CE4IL Presentation at EEAI Conference ). We were able to meet environmental educators from throughout Illinois. We had a great discussion about Climate Education and identified ways to work together. Thank you EEAI for hosting us and for your support of Climate Education.  

 Check out Jack Ververis’ article in The Daily Northwestern, which details Climate Education for Illinois founder Helen von den Steinen’s personal journey to supporting statewide climate education and Illinois Representative Kim de Buclet’s ongoing efforts to embed climate education into K-12 curriculums across Illinois.

Read the article here. 

 New York recently became the latest state to introduce a Climate Education bill—to gain insights on how to advance similar efforts, CE4IL engaged in a follow-up discussion with Harriet Shugarman, also known as “Climate Mama,” a key advocate behind the New York bill. We received some excellent tips that will help us strengthen our approach to climate legislation.

For more details on New York’s Climate Education bill, you can check out the full article here! 

In December, It’s Our Future brought six Chicago-area high school students to the United Nations Climate Conference, COP28, in Dubai. These students actively contributed to the conference by organizing and participating in several impactful panels focused on climate education, including one titled “Climate Literacy as Climate Justice.” Climate education emerged as a central theme at COP28, recognized as the most effective strategy for combating climate change and alleviating youth eco-anxiety. Working with other youth leaders from around the world, they intend to drive the movement for universal climate education.

Read more about one of the Chicago-area activists in this article published by the Chicago Tribune.