OpportunityTitle: 2024 NOAA Great Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Eligible applicants are: K-12 public and independent schools and school systems; institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations; regional, state, or local government  agencies; interstate agencies; and Indian tribal governments. For-profit organizations, foreign organizations, and foreign public entities are not eligible to apply; however, for profit and foreign organizations and foreign public entities may participate as a project partner with an eligible applicant. Additional guidance on sub-recipient partners can be found at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.331. Likewise, Federal agencies are not allowed to receive funds under this announcement, but may serve as collaborative  project partners and may contribute services in kind.  Applicants may be physically located in any U.S. state; however, education projects must target teachers and/or students located in the Great Lakes region. For the purposes of this solicitation, the Great Lakes region is defined as counties in the Great Lakes watershed in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.  Consideration will be given to applicants who show prior experience in working in the Great Lakes region or who show prior experience with the environmental issues of the region.
Description: Every year, the NOAA B-WET program supports environmental education programs for thousands of students and teachers. These programs engage youth in meaningful watershed educational experiences (MWEEs) that provide memorable hands-on, experiential learning that are not typically available within traditional classrooms. It also plays a significant role in providing professional development to classroom teachers nationwide that increases their content knowledge, skills, and pedagogical expertise. Lastly, it supports the expansion of environmental literacy in a systemic manner throughout the region, including providing support for state-level capacity building. The K-12 education system is a well-positioned venue for instilling comprehensive knowledge, skills, competencies, and resilience around the most pressing economic, social and environmental issue of today: climate change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, https://www.ipcc.ch/) and National Climate Assessment (NCA, 2018, https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/), communities in the U.S. are experiencing changes in climate that are resulting in severe storms, flooding, hurricanes, extended drought, change in ocean chemistry and sea level rise, presenting growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth. Currently, educational institutions, researchers and policy makers are calling for climate change education that goes beyond knowledge acquisition and formal classroom teaching to efforts that reach audiences of all demographics and incorporate the social, political, economic, and justice elements of climate change. Education has the power to help students develop meaningful personal connections to climate solutions, a sense of personal agency and empowerment, and ultimately impact their behaviors and decision-making in relation to climate change (Kwauk, 2021, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/unleashing-the-creativity-of-teachers-and-students-tocombat-climate-change-an-opportunity-for-global-leadership/; K12 Climate Action Commission, 2021, https://www.thisisplaneted.org/blog/climate-action-plan-2021). The MWEE educational framework can directly foster climate knowledge, skills, and competencies to address climate change, climate impacts, and the opportunities to contribute to climate solutions in their own communities. Therefore, the B-WET program strongly encourages the purposeful incorporation of education about climate change into programming.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: E-Mail
GrantorContactText: Sarah Waters &lt;br/&gt;Great Lakes B-WET Program Coordinator &lt;br/&gt;Phone: (989) 312-3520 &lt;br/&gt;sarah.a.waters@noaa.gov