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NOAA Gulf of Mexico Bay Watershed Education and Training (Gulf B-WET) Program

Gulf B-WET promotes locally relevant, experiential learning via Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences for students & teachers.

Education |
Southeast

About

Image
Student with protective goggles conduct water quality tests with equipment on a table outside near the Pontchartrain Beach in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Lake Forest (New Orleans, LA) students measure dissolved oxygen at Pontchartrain Beach as part of the Pontchartrain Conservancy's Gulf of Mexico B-WET project.

Watch a short Gulf B-WET highlight video.

The Gulf B-WET program is an environmental education program that promotes place-based experiential learning for K–12 students and related professional development for teachers in the five Gulf states. Projects supported by this funding opportunity will develop and promote Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). The MWEE is a learner-centered framework that focuses on investigations into local environmental issues, leads to informed action, and increases environmental literacy. MWEEs are composed of multiple components that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom, and are designed to increase the environmental literacy of all participants by actively engaging students in building knowledge and meaning through hands-on experiences.

Gulf B-WET projects support the priority issues of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a partnership of the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, with the goal of significantly increasing regional collaboration to enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf B-WET Program is one of seven B-WET regional programs across the country including California, Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, Hawai'i, New England, Great Lakes and the Pacific Northwest. These seven programs make up the National NOAA B-WET Program.

FY24 Gulf B-WET Funding Opportunity

The NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office is now seeking applications to the FY24 Gulf of Mexico Bay-Watershed Education and Training (Gulf B-WET) competition. The FY24 Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found at Grants.gov under funding opportunity number: NOAA-NMFS-SE-2024-2008255, or at this direct link. 


Applicants should apply through Grants.gov. Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on February 5, 2024 to be considered for funding.

Informational webinars about the FY24 Gulf B-WET funding announcement will be held via Google Meet on the dates below. Slides that will be reviewed via these webinars can be found here.

  • Thursday, November 16, 2023 from 1-2 pm CT | 2-3 pm ET. Join here.
  • Wednesday, December 6, 2023 from 9-10 am CT | 10-11 am ET. Join here. 
 
In FY24, the Gulf B-WET funding opportunity includes the following priorities under which an application can be submitted:
  • Professional Development for Teachers related to Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences: supports high quality professional development for teachers allowing them to gain confidence in the value of MWEEs and strategies for conducting MWEEs with students ($100,000 ceiling per award covering a period of up to 24 months.) 
  • Exemplary Programs combining Teacher Professional Development with Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences for their students: supports professional development for teachers and teacher implementation of the MWEE with students such that students investigate environmental issues, identify actions to address those issues, and act as stewards for watersheds and related ocean and coastal ecosystems ($100,000 ceiling per award covering a period of up to 24 months.)
  • Systemic Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience Implementation: supports implementation of systemic MWEEs which reach the entire student population in one or more grades within a school district  ($150,000 ceiling per award covering a period of up to 24 months.) 
The Gulf B-WET funding announcement emphasizes our strong commitment to expanding the participation of marginalized communities in watershed education and is interested in projects that partner specifically with organizations and institutions that serve marginalized groups, particularly minority communities. It continues to suggest that the MWEE educational framework can contribute to one of the most pressing economic, social and environmental issues of today - climate change - by directly fostering climate knowledge and competencies to contribute to climate solutions.

For Applicants

For Grants Recipients

Application Process

Who Can Apply?

Eligible applicants are K-12 public and independent schools and school systems, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, state or local government agencies, interstate agencies, and Indian tribal governments. 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 any part of the five Gulf of Mexico states which are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and/or Florida.

How to Apply

The Notice of Funding Opportunity contains information needed to apply for a Gulf B-WET grant and includes information to assist applicants in aligning their project proposal to current program priorities. Applicants should read and follow the Notice of Funding Opportunity carefully.

Applicants should apply through Grants.gov. To use Grants.gov, applicant must first complete the registration process with Grants.gov. This process can take two, or more, weeks. Detailed information on how to register can be found at the Grants.gov. Note that applicants must also be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). Applicants should allow a minimum of thirty days to complete SAM registration.

When to Apply

Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on February 5, 2024.

Informational webinars about the FY 2024 Gulf of Mexico B-WET funding announcement will be held on:

  • November 16, 2023 from 1-2 pm CT | 2-3 pm ET Join here.
  • December 6, 2023 from 9-10 am CT or 10-11 am ET Join here.

Please join the webinars at the Google Meet Video call links listed for each.

Schedule

Fiscal Year 2024

Nov 8, 2023: Publication of Notice of Funding Opportunity

Feb 5, 2024: Closing date for applications

August 1, 2024: Earliest possible project start date

Need Help?

Amy Clark

Email: amy.clark@noaa.gov

Last updated by Southeast Regional Office on 11/16/2023