View this presentation to learn more about NOAA, NOAA Planet Stewards (NPS), and how to apply for stewardship project funding up to $5000. The dates in this video are no longer applicable, but the overall content is still valid. Correct dates for submitting an application and being informed of application status are noted on this page and in the project application. View full presentation details.
Begin planning your project by considering an environmental issue that relates to one of our program’s focus areas:
The funding application will ask you to explain how the issue relates to your community and to connect your local issue within a broader (regional, global) context.
Once you’ve identified an environmental issue, think about how you can address it by engaging the resources of your school, organization, and community, and how you would measure your project’s success. A successful project will make a substantive, measurable impact on the environmental issue you’ve identified. The impact of a Planet Stewards funded project must be quantitatively measured (e.g., acres of habitat protected or restored, tons of carbon sequestered). Educational/learning outcomes should be a part of, but not the primary measurement of the project’s success.
The next step is to formulate a strategy to address your chosen environmental issue. Look at the materials on the Focus Area Resources page. These can be very helpful at this stage. Projects do not need to be original in scope and may replicate previously funded projects. But, each project should deal with an environmental challenge local to the educator submitting an application.
Research or demonstration activities may be included, but should not be the main activity for the project. The projects’ primary outcome(s) should focus on hands-on environmental stewardship with quantitative/measurable results.
Finally, begin to pull together a budget and gather support from necessary stakeholders (e.g., school administrators, organizational managers, partnering educators).
NOAA Planet Stewards Project Applications are submitted via a Google Form. Because this form does not allow you to save your work and return, or to edit your application once it is submitted, we STRONGLY RECOMMEND you prepare your answers in another document and then copy and paste into the online application form.
The deadline for applications and all supporting materials is midnight (Pacific Time), June 1, 2025. Applicants will be contacted regarding the status of their submission no later than July 31, 2025. If approved, educators shall use the funds to carry out their project during the 2025/2026 academic year (August through June).
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