Deadline: 10-Feb-23
The Department of Commerce is now offering grants through its Regional Environmental Literacy Capacity Building to support a project that will increase capacity for the field of environmental education at the regional, state, and local level.
This capacity building project will complement the existing B-WET portfolio of projects working at the school district level. Capacity building projects are not required to directly reach students and teachers, but should lay the foundation for MWEEs at the regional, state, and/or school district level.
The NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program is an environmental education program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning for students in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12). B-WET was established in 2002 in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and currently exists in seven regions: Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, New England, California, Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and Great Lakes.
Program Priorities
The B-WET project funded under this announcement will support the outcomes of the Environmental Literacy Goal of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement by increasing the capacity of all levels of the environmental literacy ecosystem from MWEE implementation with youth, to state networks and their leadership. The project should:
- Resource and expand the existing Mid-Atlantic Environmental Literacy Network, including regularly convening partners through regional workshops and conferences, increasing the number of and improving existing communication channels, supporting strategies for diversifying state networks, and recruiting new partners from sectors not traditionally engaged in environmental education.
- Convene the Education Workgroup and key partners through the biennial Environmental Literacy Forum and Summit, and workshops around other key priorities.
- Build the capacity of school districts and nonformal environmental education leaders to develop partnerships and programming to support systemic, equitable, and sustainable environmental literacy programs.
- Administer programming focused on increasing the number and quality of youth environmental education opportunities. -Requested funds under this priority may go toward other environmental literacy capacity building initiatives such as supporting MWEE evaluation and monitoring initiatives of NOAA, the Chesapeake Bay Program, or other pertinent efforts.
Funding Information
Under this announcement, NOAA anticipates that up to $250,000 may be available in FY 2023 to fund new applications, subject to appropriations. NOAA anticipates making one new award. Requests should not exceed $250,000 annually in Federal funds with a minimum request of $150,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants are K-through-12 public and independent schools and school systems, institutions of higher education, community-based and nonprofit organizations, state or local government agencies, interstate agencies, and Indian tribal governments. Forprofit organizations, foreign organizations, and foreign public entities are not eligible to apply; however, for-profit and foreign organizations and foreign public entities may participate with an eligible applicant as a project partner.
- The Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC/NOAA) is strongly committed to increasing the participation of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), i.e., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal colleges and universities, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian institutions, and institutions that work in underserved communities. The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) encourages proposals involving any of the above institutions.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=344111