2023 Award Winners

Rob Wade | Plumas County Office of Education

Plumas County of Education, Quincy, CA

CEEF awarded Rob Wade, Science and Outdoor Education Coordinator for the Plumas County Office of Education, the Excellence in Environmental Education Award on June 22 in Rancho Cordova. The award was presented during the State Science Communities of Practice meeting. Rob oversees three EE programs for the Plumas USD and works with many community partners to support these programs, including the Feather River Land Trust, the Plumas Corporation, and the US Forest Service. Each year, Rob coordinates professional learning for all of the teachers in Plumas County and provides school and field site support for teachers as they take their students outdoors. He has developed a unique approach to EE that he calls “Outdoor Core”, using the local environment as a context for implementing the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.

Three people standing together, with the person in the middle holding a plaque or award. They are smiling and dressed in semi-formal attire against a plain light-colored background.

Ten Strands President, Will Parish, and the CEEF’s Anne Stephens present the Excellence in Environmental Education Award to Rob Wade at the State Science Communities of Practice meeting in Rancho Cordova.

Creating bridges between EE and the K-12 classrooms on a daily basis can be a challenge. Rob is a master at using EE pedagogy strategies to make learning engaging and relevant. He has the full support of administrators and community members and has helped an entire generation of students develop their “mountain kid” identity as stewards of the headwaters of the Feather River.

Rob says “I am in fact proud of what two decades of constant effort and a held vision have led to. Proud of every student loving where they live and caring for their Feather River homeland. Proud of all of the teachers who slowly but surely have come to use our outdoor locale to teach. Proud of the private and public community partners who have chosen to support this place-based ambition. This is a long journey and we are all on it. I am proud that what we have created can last like the land itself, in perpetuity.”

Rob has also developed the 6th Grade Watershed “Plumas to the Pacific” Program, where every 6th grader in the district takes a 5-day field trip from the headwaters to the Feather River, tracing it through the Delta and out through the Golden Gate.

Group of six people, smiling and holding an award plaque, standing indoors with digital screens in the background.

Celeste Royer presented the CEEF Excellence in EE Award to the entire BEETLES Team at their annual Advisory Committee meeting. (l to r: Celeste Royer, Lynn Barakos, Emilie Lygren, Kevin Beals, Jedda Foreman, and Craig Strang)

Three people are standing outdoors. The person in the center is holding a plaque. They are all wearing jackets and hats. The person on the right has a medal around their neck. The background is a brown building wall.

Celeste Royer presented the CEEF Excellence in Environmental Education Award to Kevin Beals and Emilie Lygren at the Annual Assocuation for Environmental & Outdoor Education Conference in La Honda, CA.

Program Overview

The mission of the California Environmental Education Foundation is to inspire young people to understand and care for the environment through the support of innovative environmental education programs and partnerships.  

Each year, CEEF provides a monetary award to recognize one California student, educator, and administrator for their distinguished service and dedication in the form of projects, programs, or initiatives which advance excellence in environmental education.