Empowering, Engaging, and a Joy to Teach
Seeds to Solutions™ is a set of free instructional resources on climate change and environmental justice for grades K–12. Developed in response to teacher and community demand, the lessons empower students to address California-specific environmental challenges, from food waste to water use to wildfire management. Students’ real-world questions drive the lessons, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving. Age-appropriate, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed, Seeds to Solutions prepares students to be environmentally literate, engaged community members.
Why Seeds to Solutions?
- Includes everything needed to teach the topic and guide student investigations
- Aligns with California standards and Environmental Principles and Concepts
- Transforms classroom learning into discussions that go beyond school
- Empowers students to explore environmental solutions with confidence
Browse Units by Grade Level
What Teachers Are Saying
“When you’re out in the workforce, you’re trying to solve problems that don’t have a clear, immediate answer. So doing stuff like this helps give students practice.”
“I am so amazed and impressed by the depth of resources that you embedded in the teacher guide. This is really well put together.”
“This is engaging because it uses real data about the state students live in and shows changes within their lifetime, like the rise of warehouses and trucking during the pandemic.”
“For my students who may not engage with abstract concepts, the real-life relevance of turning waste into soil for growing plants offers a clear, meaningful goal that they can understand and feel proud to participate in.”
Who We Are
Seeds to Solutions was developed through a unique and diverse partnership of community organizations, experts in climate science and traditional ecological knowledge, educators, youth leaders, and curriculum-development specialists.
Instructional Model
Seeds to Solutions uses the Storyline Instructional Model. Students do sense-making as they work together to explore questions their class has decided to investigate. This sparks students’ curiosity and teaches them how to think, not what to think.
Thank You to Our Funders
Seeds to Solutions was developed using funds provided by the California Department of Education through Assembly Bill 130, Chapter 44, Statutes of 2021 Section 151(a). Additional support was provided by the Cisco Foundation, First Republic Bank Foundation, S.H. Cowell Foundation, and Ten Strands for the development of these materials.
