The Environmental Education Council for the Californias (EECC)

On a sunny Saturday morning, in the middle of spring, an otherwise cold and bleak meeting room warms up with the presence of a group of friends; colleagues that all work for the same purpose, the improvement of the environment in their communities. This group of people, who seem to know each other from a while back, is part of the Environmental Education Council for the Californias (EECC).

The EECC is a binational network of environmental research, policy, outreach, advocacy, and grassroots organizations. Their mission is to advance a culture of sustainability in the region by addressing the environmental, economic, and social access issues surrounding environmental education in the Californias and focusing on increasing environmental awareness and understanding and the subsequent behaviors leading to responsible action for the environment.

“Throughout the years the EECC has been made up of an extraordinary group of some of the border region's most dedicated and inspirational individuals. All of the EECC's successes are due to this amazing group of people, and I have felt privileged to be a part of this organization.”

Kama Dean, ProPeninsula

Daniel Durazo, current administrative coordinator of the EECC defines the council as a “a forum (of the few in the region) where teachers and other environmental educators can express their interests, share their projects and events, and discuss their concerns.”

The Council was created in 1998 from the Environmental Education Blueprint of the Californias. The Blueprint was born out of the intense desire and frustration of the people of the Tijuana/San Diego border region to resolve serious issues of habitat loss, environmental degradation, and the deteriorating quality of life in the region. The Blueprint proposed three major tasks, one of which was to establish a specialized organization in the region that would direct its efforts toward educating different audiences about these issues.

Through the opportunity provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Border Liaison Office, and the continued support and dedication of a number of border institutions, a collection of community-based organizations which included, individuals, industry, government, and nongovernmental organizations met in 1998 to develop the CouncilIn 1999, the first EECC steering committee was elected, and binational meetings took place in each country. In 2000, the Council received a $15,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and awarded mini-grants to regional projects. In 2001, the Council received additional support from the EPA’s TEEM effort, which promotes environmental education capacity building along the border. From 2003 to 2005 the Council took on the role of Environmental Education Task Force for EPA’s Border 2012 program, and was subsequently awarded a grant to continue the mini-grant program throughout the region.

These and other projects have kept the Council enormously active in the Californias region. The Council’s mini grants program has funded important programs. Some examples include a multimedia slide show on the natural history of Bahia de Los Angeles, and the distribution of copies to the region’s schools and museums; an environmental and occupational health training program for women working in maquiladoras, with a comprehensive curriculum which covers human, labor, and gender rights, class and gender identity, economic and political analysis, occupational safety and hygiene, and Mexican labor legislation; and an environmental education program on marine mammals and their strandings in Ensenada.

Communication efforts by the Council include an online bilingual website, as well as a fully researchable bilingual database hosted by EE Link since 2002 which evolved into the recently launched Border-Wide EE Coalition portal.

Capacity building efforts by the council include a binational tour conducted in 2003 which followed the stream flow of the Río Alamar from its emergence from the Otay Mountains in Mexico, through the highly urbanized setting of Tijuana to its two principal outfalls in the United States (the International Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Tijuana Estuary).

In 2002 the EECC started planning a comprehensive field binder for educators of the California-Baja California Border Region. The goal was to generate an effective tool kit that would help environmental educators who wanted to teach about the border region’s unique environment through real-world, hands-on experience. The binders were presented to educators in Punta Banda, Ensenada in Baja California on October 1st of 2005. A PDF version is available online at http://www.eecc.net/binders/index.php.

The EECC draws its expertise from environmental education professionals throughout the region whose work is based on recent, high-quality scientific inquiry into the region's environmental challenges. Professionals from a wide array of EE and conservation organizations, government agencies and research institutions from both sides of the border compose the steering committee.

Lindsey Peavey, from ProPeninsula and a member of the EECC steering committee, believes that “cooperative environmental education is not only the best way to inspire behavioral change, it’s the only way. Our environment knows no borders, and therefore it is imperative that our environmental education efforts do not either. The EECC is at the forefront of cross-border collaboration for effective environmental education, and it is a privilege to work with the inclusive network of dedicated, knowledgeable, and conscientious people leading this effort."

Some examples of member groups in the EECC include:
•    Aquatic Adventures
•    Asociación de Biólogos Egresados de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, A.C.
•    California Integrated Waste Management Board
•    California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network
•    Chula Vista Nature Center
•    Environmental Education Exchange
•    International Council of Monuments and Sites
•    ProPeninsula
•    Proyecto Bio-regional de Educación Ambiental
•    Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental A.C.
•    San Diego Natural History Museum
•    San Diego State University -Southwest Consortium for Env. Research and Policy
•    Secretaria de Medio Amiente Y Recursos Naturales
•    The Nature Conservancy, San Diego
•    Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
•    University of California San Diego, Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies
•    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency San Diego Border Office

Anne Marie Tipton, steering committee Co-Chair from the United States, would like the council to continue to build the capacity of the members to improve the quality of all of their programs and services. Daniel Durazo considers it important for EECC to get involved in projects that lead to action in Environmental Education and considers that EECC events have strengthened the network of individuals and groups working in the region.

The EECC holds quarterly meetings open to the general public, with the purpose of sharing information and empowering EE organizations and projects throughout the region. Future plans for the council include periodical events such as the EECC Binational Environmental Education Fair to be held on the October 28th, 2006 in the city of Tijuana, BC Mexico. If you’d like more information on this and other future events, contact Daniel Durazo at daniel@propeninsula.org.