NOAA is offering the Gulf of Mexico B-WET Grant to advance K-12 watershed education and environmental stewardship.

The National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office (Southeast Regional Office) is seeking proposals under the Gulf of Mexico Bay Watershed Education and Training (Gulf of Mexico B-WET) Program: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/grant/noaa-gulf-mexico-bay-watershed-education-and-training-gulf-b-wet-program.

The goal of Gulf of Mexico B-WET is to increase understanding and stewardship of the Gulf of Mexico watershed and its local population, geography, culture, and natural, financial, and human resources. To accomplish this, Gulf of Mexico B-WET funds locally relevant, authentic experiential learning for K-12 audiences through Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) in Gulf of Mexico states.

The Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) is a learner-centered framework that focuses on investigations into local environmental issues and leads to informed action. 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. In these experiences, the core ideas and practices of multiple disciplines are applied to make sense of the relationships between the natural world and society. MWEEs help connect students with their local environment and equip them to make decisions and take actions that contribute to stronger, sustainable, and equitable communities.

The FY22 Gulf of Mexico B-WET funding announcement focuses on the following priority areas: 1) Professional Development for Teachers related to Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences, 2) Exemplary Programs combining Teacher Professional Development with Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences for their students, 3) Systemic Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience Implementation, and 4) Capacity Building for Expanded Statewide K-12 Environmental Literacy Initiatives.

Additionally, this year, the Gulf of Mexico 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 recognize the significant impact COVID-19 has had on the ability of environmental education providers to engage with schools and is committed to responding to the immediate needs of this pandemic and supporting critical institutions that provide meaningful experiences for youth at all levels. And, it suggests 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.