Title,Recipient,Competition,"Fiscal Year","Award Number","Federal Funding","Principal Investigator",State,City,County,District,Lat/Long,"Grant Dates",Abstract,Partners "Building Environmental Resiliency Leaders (BERL)","University of Hawaii System / University of Hawaiʻi Maui College","2020: ELG for Community Resilience to Extreme Weather Events and Environmental Hazards",2020,NA20SEC0080011,"$449,991","Lui Hokoana",Hawaii,Kahului,Maui,HI02,"20.8901, -156.47944","2020-10-01T00:00:00 - 2024-09-30T00:00:00","Among the most geographically isolated islands in the world, Maui’s fragile environment is highly vulnerable to sudden (hurricanes, flooding) and prolonged (drought, ocean acidification, sea-level rise) environmental changes. The University of Hawaiʻi Maui College seeks to build an environmentally literate and resilient community equipped to address, manage, and mitigate the challenges associated with environmental events and hazards. Building Environmental Resiliency Leaders (BERL) has three main goals: 1) Develop environmental hazards modules specific to Hawai’i that can be integrated into high-school curriculum; 2) Strengthen students’ understanding of environmental hazards and build self-efficacy in being contributors towards community resilience; and 3) Create community awareness of and ability to prepare for environmental hazards. By partnering with all 10 Maui County public and private high schools, BERL seeks to empower 200 environmentally resilient high school youth leaders —including Native Hawaiian, underrepresented, and low-income students in grades 9 through 12— throughout the islands of Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lanaʻi. The BERL project will develop the Environmental Resiliency Youth Leaders certification program with curriculum to engage students in active learning through innovative Problem-based Learning (PBL) group projects where students select a research topic informed by climate resiliency educational modules and consult with community subject matter experts; including partners from the National Weather Service, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant, Maui Emergency Management Agency, Maui County energy Commissioner, and Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency. Specifically, curriculum will integrate and align: 1) Overview of environmental events & hazards: tropical cyclones/hurricanes, drought/fires, ocean acidification, and seal level rise/flooding ; 2) Local scenarios & experiential outdoor learning; 3) US Climate Resiliency Toolkit; and 4) Development of resiliency plan to work towards either a) utilizing school as resiliency hub site; or b) addressing long-term resiliency to prolonged environmental changes. As a culminating event, students will present their final projects and host workshops to the broader community at local or regional events with a potential reach of 90,000 annually over three project years. In addition, BERL will hold an annual Resiliency Awareness Day, reaching 1,000 students annually, to build community awareness and resources. Amidst the threat of COVID-19 and necessary safety measures, BERL is prepared to mobilize an online curriculum for students with online presentations and virtual events to reach the broader community. BERL aligns with NOAA’s mission to educate and motivate individuals to apply environmental science to increase stewardship and resilience to environmental hazards by creating a cadre of youth environmental resiliency leaders, trained educators, and broadly reaching over half of the Maui County population. The project employs a culturally relevant, place-based, and PBL approach where 40 teams of students engage in research projects to build environmental literacy at their high schools and the wider community. In alignment with NOAA's Education Strategic Plan (2015-2035), BERL seeks to “educate and inspire people to use Earth system science toward improving ecosystem stewardship and increasing resilience to environmental hazards.""","National Sea Grant College Program / University of Hawaii System / Hawaii Sea Grant, National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) / Hawaii Humpback Whale, The County of Maui / Emergency Management Agency, The County of Maui / Office of Economic Development / Energy Office, University of Hawaii at Manoa / Hawaii State 4-H Program, Hawaii Farmers Union United, Pacific Disaster Center, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Hawaii Department of Education / King Kekaulike High School, Hawaii Department of Education / Lahainaluna High School, Kamehameha Schools, Sustainable Pacific Consulting, Pa’ia Youth & Cultural Center / Maui Hero Project, Hokonui Maui, NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) / Pacific Region, University of Hawaiʻi Maui College / Upward Bound, Kauahea Inc. / Paeloko Learning Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa / East-West Center, Kihei Charter School, University of Hawaiʻi Maui College / Water Quality Lab, University of Hawaiʻi Maui College / Office of Extended Learning & Workforce Development, University of Hawaii at Manoa / Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), Kipahulu Ohana, Inc., Parley for the Oceans, Windward Community College, Stormwater Maui"