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Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET)
Marine Science Institute
NOAA brings thousands of K-12 teachers and students around the country outside for hands-on environmental education opportunities as part of Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) projects. In fiscal year 2021, 182 new and continuing projects benefitted from a total of over $7 million in funding from the NOAA Office of Education’s B-WET program.
Environmental Science Center’s naturalists work virtually with students to conduct water quality testing on the Duwamish River in Seattle, WA. Students used the chat feature of Zoom to share their analyses of the tests. (Karli Rose, Environmental Science Center)
B-WET currently serves seven areas of the country: California, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England, and Pacific Northwest. Grantees were selected through a rigorous peer review process administered by a NOAA program office in their region. All B-WET applicants are encouraged to partner with local NOAA offices, and/or utilize local NOAA field sites and data where appropriate. Awards in the Great Lakes region are made possible by funds from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
2021 B-WET awards, by region, are:
California
| Recipient | Project | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Watershed Council | Watershed Rangers COVID-19 Response | Santa Cruz, CA | $61,591 |
| Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District | Students Understanding Peoples, Environments, and Resources | Rohnert Park, CA | $298,275 |
| Earth Team | Aqua Team - Sustainable Youth Watershed Internships | Richmond, CA | $47,159 |
| Explore Ecology | Flows to the Ocean Project | Santa Barbara, CA | $52,500 |
| Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy | Project WISE | San Francisco, CA | $38,380 |
| Greater Farallones Association | Engaging Coastal Communities in Kelp Forest Recovery | San Francisco, CA | $38,787 |
| Oxnard School District | The Islands Around Us | Oxnard, CA | $72,455 |
| Napa County Resource Conservation District | LandSmart Youth Stewards: Salmon to Sanctuary | Napa, CA | $60,000 |
| Save the Whales | From Soledad to the Ocean: Teaching Coastal Stewardship to South County Title 1 School Children | Seaside, CA | $49,853 |
| Strategic Energy Innovations | Discovering Watersheds through Experiential Learning | San Rafael, CA | $60,000 |
| Ventana Wildlife Society | MBNMS Watershed Exploration Program for Teens | Salinas, CA | $60,000 |
| Ventura Unified School District | Ventura River Action Network | Ventura, CA | $299,842 |
| Watsonville Wetlands Watch | Building Capacity in Environmental Literacy in the Pajaro Valley | Watsonville, CA | $60,000 |
Chesapeake Bay
| Recipient | Project | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake Audubon Society | Chesapeake Linked: People, Skies, Water, & Place | Easton, MD | $221,612 |
| City of Richmond (James River Park System) | The Richmond Environment | Richmond, VA | $149,437 |
| Friends of Rappahannock | Upper Rappahannock MWEE Program | Fredericksburg, VA | $409,271 |
| Howard County Conservancy | Climate kNOWledge: Student Research & Action to Reduce the Impacts of the Climate Emergency | Woodstock, MD | $387,332 |
| James River Association | It's All Connected: Together Three School Districts Investigate the James River | Richmond, VA | $450,000 |
| Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 | Expanding Capacity for Environmental Literacy at IU13 | Lancaster, PA | $346,024 |
| Let's Go 1-2-3 | Steps and Community Partnerships to Expand MWEE Education for Sixth Graders and the City of Lancaster | Philadelphia, PA | $90,000 |
| Living Classrooms - National Capital Region | Anacostia Watershed High School MWEE | Washington, DC | $449,485 |
| The Mariners' Museum | The Mariners' Environmental Co-op | Newport News, VA | $423,053 |
| Millersville University | Shared Waters: An Upstream- Downstream Collaborative | Millersville, PA | $396,318 |
| Prince William County Public Schools | A Community-Connected and Curriculum-Embedded Environmental Literacy Program | Manassas, VA | $369,378 |
| University of Delaware | Building District Capacity for Environmental Literacy and MWEEs in Delaware | Newark, DE | $259,088 |
Great Lakes
| Recipient | Project | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Michigan University | Stormwater Stewards: Creating Resilient Teacher Learning Communities to Support Youth-Led Action | Ypsilanti, MI | $80,000 |
| Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation District | Great Lakes Water Sources: A Multifaceted MWEE for Genesee County Students | Batavia, NY | $77,667 |
| Grand Valley Metropolitan Council | Blue Crew: Student Stewards of the Lower Grand River Watershed | Grand Rapids, MI | $79,533 |
| Lake Superior State University | Increasing Freshwater & Data Literacy Among High School Students Through Real-Time Stream Monitoring with MiWaterNet | Sault Ste. Marie, MI | $79,619 |
| Michigan Technological University | Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative: Expanding MWEEs for Rural Schools | Houghton, MI | $79,995 |
| Regional Science Consortium at Presque Isle Center | The Great Lakes WISE Program: Developing Environmental Leaders through "Watershed Immersive Stewardship Experiences" | Erie, PA | $80,000 |
| St. John Fisher College | Our Lakes, Streams, and Rivers: Online and Field-based Hybrid Teacher Training | Rochester, NY | $80,000 |
| University of Toledo | Maumee River Floating Laboratory on Watershed Science | Toledo, OH | $79,883 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Coastal Engineering Education: People, Place, and Practice | Madison, WI | $80,000 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Nibi gaa-gikinoo'amaage, Nibi gaa-bimaaji'iwemagak (Water will Teach, Water Will Give Life) | Madison, WI | $79,780 |
| Wisconsin Wildlife Federation | For the Birds — and People Too: Understanding Interdependence of Living Things in the Lake Michigan Watershed | Poynette, WI | $80,000 |
Gulf of Mexico
| Recipient | Project | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Gulf Coast University | Sustainable WATERS (Watershed Education for Resilience in Southwest Florida) | Fort Myers, FL | $149,886 |
| Galveston Bay Foundation | NOAA V-WET: Virtual Watershed Education and Training | Kemah, TX | $99,481 |
| Louisiana State University | Layers of Louisiana Natural History: Environmental Collections Detail Coastal Change | Baton Rouge, LA | $99,420 |
| St. Petersburg Innovation District | Elementary Scholars and Teachers Exploring the Watershed 2.0 | St. Petersburg, FL | $95,075 |
| University of New Orleans | Youth Watershed Action Project for a Resilient New Orleans | New Orleans, LA | $99,707 |
Hawaii
| Recipient | Project | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii | Aloha Aina Program for the Waianae Coast | Honolulu, HI | $150,000 |
| Hui o Hoohonua | Discovery and Stewardship in the Honouliuli Watershed | Ewa Beach, HI | $105,400 |
| Kakoo Oiwi | Hooulu Huliamahi Learning Community in the Heeia Ahupuaa | Kaneohe, HI | $149,075 |
| Learning Endeavors | Champions of Coastal Resilience: A Coastal Field Ecology Program for High Schools | Wailuku, HI | $62,000 |
| Malama Honua Public Charter School Foundation | Kindling Environmental Learning Education in the Waimanalo Watershed | Waimanalo, HI | $74,000 |
| Malama Kai Foundation | Ridge to Reef Ahupuaa: Watershed Education Program in South Kohala | Kamuela, HI | $149,974 |
| Malama Learning Center | Designing a Statewide Aina-Based Education Certification Program for Teachers and Students of Hawaii Nei | Honolulu, HI | $150,000 |
| Pacific American Foundation | NALU Studies Maui Alakai Opio | Kaneohe, HI | $150,000 |
| Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative Inc. | Future Foresters Mauka Makai Stewardship Program | Waikoloa, HI | $94,496 |
New England
| Recipient | Project | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cohasset Center for Student Coastal Research | Moving the MWEE to the Summer Months: Building a Bridge between School and Community to Support Year Round Authentic Watershed Investigations | Cohasset, MA | $288,176 |
| EdAdvance | Blue Science | Litchfield, CT | $300,000 |
| New England Science & Sailing Foundation | Ocean Experiential Learning Program | Stonington, CT | $225,000 |
| Project Oceanology | Outdoor Learning Alliance | Groton, CT | $296,902 |
Pacific Northwest
| Recipient | Project | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade Fisheries | Systemic and Inclusive Science Education: North Central Washington MWEEs and Teacher Empowerment | Wenatchee, WA | $99,485 |
| Discover Your Northwest (Cascade Head Biosphere Reserve) | Story of Life as Told by Water | Otis, OR | $59,559 |
| Lummi Indian Business Council | Lummi Nation Youth: Importance of Water Quality and Healthy Watersheds to the Lummi Schelangen (“Way of Life”) | Bellingham, WA | $62,169 |
| Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group | Central Washington Watershed Connections | White Salmon, WA | $100,000 |
| Nisqually River Foundation | Climate Literacy, Action, and Monitoring in South Sound | Olympia, WA | $99,793 |
| Vashon-Maury Island Nature Center | Hands On Science: Adaptive Teaching Strategies for Watershed Education During COVID | Vashon, WA | $84,137 |
Funding amounts listed above are full federal award amounts for all years of the award. In addition to the awards listed above, NOAA supported 122 continuing awards. For more details about B-WET awards, please visit the regional program websites.