ASSOCIATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND OUTDOOR EDUCATION

Our efforts are focused in the following areas:
CONNECT - We convene program providers to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive network of skilled practitioners.
EDUCATE - We provide learning opportunities that are aligned with best practices and content relevant for our field.
ADVANCE - We promote high-quality environmental education among the varied programs across the state and advocate for all young people to experience meaningful learning opportunities outdoors.

Our current organizational objectives include:
--Expand AEOE’s organizational capacity to implement its mission and address future opportunities and challenges.
--Pursue strategic outreach efforts to reach a wider audience to better represent and serve the diversity of programs and practitioners across the state
--Elevate the importance of environmental and outdoor education in California

Our current strategic plan (FY21-23) lays out the specific steps we will take in order to achieve our strategic objectives. They include:

Objective 1: Expand AEOE’s organizational capacity to implement its mission and address future opportunities and challenges.
--Strategy 1.1 Tighten and streamline AEOE’s messaging.
--Strategy 1.2 Recruit qualified candidates for the board with backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge that will further AEOE’s goals and strategies.
--Strategy 1.3 Strengthen AEOE’s ability to expand the organization’s footprint through increased and diverse revenue streams.

Objective 2: Pursue strategic outreach efforts to reach a wider audience to better represent and serve the diversity of programs and practitioners across the state
--Strategy 2.1 Expand AEOE’s membership base and outreach efforts.
--Strategy 2.2 Develop and expand the breadth of AEOE’s program offerings.
--Strategy 2.3 Cultivate existing partnerships (e.g. CEEF, COSA, CEEIN) and establish new ones that will support the implementation of AEOE’s mission.
--Strategy 2.4 Develop and implement practices and policies in support of our commitment to equity and inclusion in AEOE's programs, outreach efforts, leadership, and organizational culture

Objective 3: Elevate the importance of environmental and outdoor education in California
--Strategy 3.1 Advocate for environmental education in the outdoors as a necessary component of PreK-12 education.
--Strategy 3.2 Establish a statewide certification program to professionalize the field and build a uniform foundation in effectively teaching about the environment in California.

We have an active, motivated and engaged staff and board, and a large membership base who care deeply about our mission. Additionally, we are establishing diverse revenue streams for increased financial sustainability.

We are currently in the third quarter of the second year of our strategic plan. So far, we have:
--Created a new website (aeoe.org)
--Increased our social media presence
--Launched the inaugural pilot of California's Environmental Educator Certification Program, with double the number of participants we were expecting; we are currently in the second year of the program, with an increase of 13% in the number of enrolled participants over our first year
--Established virtual workshops to replace our in-person events and reach a broader range of participants
--Collected board demographics for two consecutive years and are in the process of determining demographic categories that we intend to collect for our membership base