Title,Recipient,Competition,"Fiscal Year","Award Number","Federal Funding","Principal Investigator",State,City,County,District,Lat/Long,"Grant Dates",Abstract,Partners "Increasing Sea-Level Rise Resilience in the Northern Gulf of Mexico","Program for Local Adaptation to Climate Effects: Sea-Level Rise (PLACE: SLR)","2020: ELG for Community Resilience to Extreme Weather Events and Environmental Hazards",2020,NA20SEC0080010,"$449,076","Eric Sparks",Mississippi,Biloxi,Harrison,MS04,"30.44197, -88.94366","2021-07-01T00:00:00 - 2024-09-30T00:00:00","Sea-level rise (SLR) will disproportionately affect the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM; coastal Mississippi, Alabama, and northwest Florida) due to a confluence of socioeconomic challenges (e.g., vulnerable industry, low per capita income, low level of educational attainment, etc.), higher than average rates of SLR, and low-lying topography. Resilience of nGOM social, economic, and cultural resources in the face of SLR requires an informed and engaged constituency and leadership that understands their risks, SLR adaptation options, and the civic processes required for action. Multiple formal and informal needs assessments have identified specific educational and informational gaps that act as barriers to SLR action in nGOM coastal communities. To address the SLR resilience barriers identified by nGOM stakeholders and decision-makers, the project team will implement a comprehensive and diverse education program that engages multiple sectors within coastal communities including youth, educators, municipal officials, concerned citizens, and non-participants (i.e., those who have not yet been engaged in dialogue around SLR resilience). The goal of the project is science and civics literate constituencies in the northern Gulf of Mexico that can actively support cultures, economies, and ecosystems that are resilient to SLR. This goal will be achieved by developing an inclusive SLR education program that spans ages, locations, and demographics. There are three categories of project activities targeting different community sectors: 1) educator workshops encouraging application of an existing SLR curriculum for high school students; 2) Community Connection Dialogues that connect community leaders working on SLR with engaged constituents to inform and empower future action; and 3) pop-in immersive SLR experiences at “every day” locations (e.g., baseball games, art walks) to reach those without the means/motivation to engage in SLR resilience. The SLR curriculum, Community Connection Dialogues, and Pop-Ins are three parts of a whole that work to bring community members at all levels of understanding and engagement into the conversation and direct them towards the next step in their pathway to SLR community resilience. This work is being led by Mississippi State University in partnership with the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama School of Mathematics and Science, Gulf of Mexico Alliance, and the University of South Alabama. Collaborators from across the region will include the Mississippi State University Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, the five Gulf National Estuarine Research Reserves, Audubon Nature Institute, 350 Pensacola, League of Women Voters of Mobile, EEECHO, Ocean Springs Environmental Committee, UF/IFAS, Perdido & Pensacola Bays Estuary Program, Better Growth Mobile, Cities of Ocean Springs, MS and Pensacola, FL, Counties of Jackson, MS and Santa Rosa, FL, and the GoM Climate and Resilience Community of Practice.","Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL), National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Rookery Bay, National Sea Grant College Program / Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Apalachicola, National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Grand Bay, National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Mission-Aransas, National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Weeks Bay, 350 Pensacola, Better Growth Mobile, Inc., Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate and Health Organization (EEECHO), League of Women Voters (LWV) of Mobile, Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, Escambia County / Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program, University of Florida / IFAS / Extension Escambia County, Jackson County / Utility Authority, City of Ocean Springs, City of Pensacola, Santa Rosa County / Board of County Commissioners, Audubon Nature Institute, Friends of Rookery Bay, University of South Alabama, Alabama School of Math And Science, University of Florida / IFAS / Extension Santa Rosa County, University of Florida / IFAS / Extension Dixie County, University of Florida / IFAS / Extension Levy County, City of Mobile / Chief Resilience Officer, South Florida Water Management District" "Building a Green Texas: Activating a New Generation of Sustainability Leaders","EcoRise Youth Innovations","2020: ELG for Community Resilience to Extreme Weather Events and Environmental Hazards",2020,NA20SEC0080017,"$450,000","Abby Randall",Texas,Austin,Travis,TX35,"30.26704, -97.69246","2020-10-01T00:00:00 - 2024-08-31T00:00:00","Climate change disproportionately impacts low-income and otherwise marginalized communities that typically have the fewest resources to adapt. Furthermore, the very communities that feel the effects of climate change most acutely have been historically underrepresented in the fields of sustainability and green building. The Building a Green Texas (BGT) project helps address these concerns by giving high school students opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to tackle challenges posed by climate change. In the process, students gain valuable green career skills and credentials and become part of a green building school-to-job pipeline that will help contribute to a more diverse workforce. Texas-based nonprofit EcoRise, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Texas Marine Science Institute/National Estuarine Reserve System of NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management will lead this robust, three-year project beginning in Central Texas in Year 1 and expanding into Houston and Texas Gulf Coast communities in Year 2. Through school-year field experiences and paid summer internships, students in the program will use established scientific evidence, citizen science, and an understanding of location-specific socioeconomic and ecological factors to explore current and future extreme weather phenomena and other environmental hazards facing their communities. They will gain real-world learning experiences and career exposure by directly engaging with scientists, civic leaders, green building professionals, and NOAA data and staff. As students help design community-based green building projects, they will consider scientific uncertainty, cultural knowledge, and social equity, in the real-world context of improving community resilience.","NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO), The University of Texas at Austin / Marine Science Institute, National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Mission-Aransas, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Austin / School of Architecture, City of Austin / Office of Sustainability, City of Austin / Equity Office, City of Austin / Austin Energy, Austin Independent School District, BLGY Architecture, Go Austin/Vamos Austin (GAVA), City of Houston / Office of Sustainability, Harris County Department of Education, U.S. Green Building Council / Texas Chapter, CAPA Strategies, The University of Texas at Austin / Office of Sustainability, Gensler, Pease Park Conservancy, Fruitful Commons, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), NV5, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Clean Air Force of Central Texas, Equidad ATX, Inc., Galveston's Own Farmers Market, Grow Dat Youth Farm, Waterloo Greenway"