By: Elizabeth Harbaugh, Vice President of Lyra

In 2024, Lyra was honored to receive [Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE)’s] Advancing Environmental Literacy Award—a meaningful recognition from a network that has long championed environmental education in every classroom and community. The award not only affirmed our work on the Seal of Climate Literacy, but also strengthened our connections with CAEE’s statewide community of educators, leaders, and learners committed to environmental literacy and climate action.

Just one year later, the Seal has become more than a concept—it’s now a policy, a practice, and a powerful tool for empowering students to understand and address climate change.

A Vision Realized: From Local Innovation to State Law

The Seal of Climate Literacy was born from local innovation. Built through partnerships with students, educators, and community leaders—including many from the CAEE network—the Seal provides a meaningful credential that recognizes student climate knowledge, critical thinking, and civic engagement.

With the passage of Senate Bill 24-014 in May 2024, the Seal became an official diploma endorsement in Colorado. Unlike many policies, the Seal was designed from the ground up with community voice and flexibility. It is voluntary and locally led, allowing school districts and charters to define how students meet its requirements in ways that reflect their values and opportunities.

First-Year Milestones: A Statewide Movement Takes Root

In its first full year as state law, the Seal was conferred to 423 students across 14 Local Education Providers (LEPs)—from large urban systems like Denver Public Schools to rural districts like Lake County and South Routt. Each implemented the Seal differently, but all embraced the opportunity to elevate student-led climate and environmental learning.

Highlights include:

• Durango School District 9-R became the first in the state to award the Seal, just days after the bill was signed.
• Boulder Valley School District implemented the most rigorous Seal standards, requiring students to connect at least five learning experiences to their final climate action project.
• Denver Public Schools awarded the Seal to 171 students, the most in the state, through a centralized implementation model.
• The STEAD School, a charter school focused on agriculture, embedded the Seal into every senior’s learning pathway.
• Lake County School District aligned dual-enrollment courses with the Seal through a partnership with Colorado Mountain College.

These stories demonstrate the power of local adaptation and deep student engagement—hallmarks of both Lyra and CAEE’s approach to environmental and outdoor learning.

Youth Voice at the Center: The Colorado Youth Climate Summit

The Colorado Youth Climate Summit, co-hosted by Lyra and Wild Rose Education in May 2025, and supported by CAEE partners, marked a pivotal moment in the inaugural year of the Seal of Climate Literacy. Bringing together over 70 students and educators from across Colorado, the Summit created a vibrant space for youth to showcase climate action projects, engage in solution-focused policy workshops, and strengthen their sense of agency as climate leaders. Participants represented a wide range of geographic, cultural, and educational backgrounds, reflecting the Seal’s commitment to equity and inclusivity in climate education.

The Summit emphasized the power of connection between youth from diverse communities—from rural mountain towns to urban school districts—fostering a shared vision for climate resilience and justice. Through collaborative sessions, students exchanged ideas on local sustainability challenges, learned from peer-led initiatives, and built lasting relationships with one another. Educators also gained practical tools to support student-led climate learning in their classrooms, contributing to the growing network of schools implementing the Seal across the state.

By centering youth voice, the Summit affirmed the critical role of young people in shaping Colorado’s climate future. It also provided valuable feedback that will inform the continued development of the Seal, ensuring it remains student-driven, community-relevant, and aligned with emerging opportunities in climate careers and civic engagement. The event served as both a celebration of youth climate action and a launchpad for deeper collaboration between schools, partners, and policymakers committed to advancing climate literacy in Colorado.

Real Projects, Real Impact

The Seal is more than a diploma stamp—it’s a framework for real-world learning. 
Projects completed this year include:

• Water quality research and bilingual data-sharing with River Watch of Colorado
• Hydroponic agriculture projects to reduce carbon emissions from food transport
• Student-led initiatives in wildfire mitigation, waste reduction, and sustainable fashion
• Community-centered action, including exhibitions, advocacy campaigns, and schoolwide sustainability efforts

These projects reflect CAEE’s vision of place-based, experiential, and impactful environmental education—brought to life by students across Colorado.

A Community Effort, A Shared Future

The Seal of Climate Literacy would not be possible without the support of the CAEE community—from the educators piloting projects, to the students advocating for change, to the network members sharing best practices and offering encouragement every step of the way.

Thank you for being part of this story—and this movement.

To bring the Seal to your district or learn more, visit www.sealofclimateliteracy.org.

About the Author, Elizabeth Harbaugh

Elizabeth is an experienced community builder, leader, and educator, with almost a decade of experience working in Colorado's education system. She is currently the Vice President of Lyra Colorado, where she leads efforts to expand climate education in rural Colorado by cultivating collaboration, supporting policy, and developing green pathways for youth. Elizabeth grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where she developed a deep love for the outdoors, community service, and youth engagement. After graduating from the University of Puget Sound, Elizabeth moved to Colorado as a bilingual fifth grade educator in Denver Public Schools. In 2017 she attained a Master's in Critical Pedagogy from the University of Colorado, Denver, focusing on breaking down systems of oppression in public education systems. Her experience in the classroom has cultivated a deep commitment to educational equity and a drive to create transformative opportunities for students from all backgrounds. She brings this classroom experience to Lyra, with the goal of supporting youth to build a more environmentally, socially, and economically resilient Colorado. Outside of her role with Lyra, Elizabeth loves adventuring in the outdoors, writing or reading a compelling story, and experimenting in the kitchen.