Explore awards

Use the filter menu and interactive map to explore the past competitions offered and grants awarded through the Environmental Literacy Program.

To learn more about project findings and outcomes, view the summaries of our grantees’ summative evaluation reports.

Filter by Reset Filters

Engaging ESL Adult and Youth Learners in Technologically Facilitated Outdoor Experiential Learning to Improve Environmental, Ocean, Climate and English Literacy

College of Exploration offsite link · Potomac Falls, Virginia
Funding: $200,000
Year: 2010
Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) - Monroe County, Inc. and The College of Exploration are developing and implementing a pilot project to target traditionally under-represented ethnic groups who are limited English proficient-- many reading and writing in English at the grade 0 - grade 5.5 level.

Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) - Monroe County, Inc. and The College of Exploration are developing and implementing a pilot project to target traditionally under-represented ethnic groups who are limited English proficient-- many reading and writing in English at the grade 0 - grade 5.5 level. The project goals are for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) to use digital photo cameras, digital video cameras, waterproof underwater HD cameras and GPS technologies to geo-locate, explore, observe, record, display and tell stories in English both in words, photos and short HD video clip sequences. Stories will be about the exploration of places like the National Marine Sanctuaries and other areas of the country and coasts where there are scientific observation and monitoring opportunities created and supported by NOAA partners.

Award Number: NA10SEC0080018
Grant Dates: 10/01/2010 to 09/30/2012
PI: Peter Tuddenham
State: Virginia   County:   Loudoun District: VA10
Partners: Literacy Volunteers America of Monroe County · Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) · Florida Literacy Coalition (FLC) ·

Climate Strong—Building Tribal Youth Leadership for Climate Resiliency

Funding: $499,407
Year: 2018
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in partnership with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, 1854 Treaty Authority, University of Wisconsin Extension’s G-WOW program, and Lake Superior Estuarine Research Reserve are proud to provide the Climate Strong-Building Tribal Youth Leadership for Climate Resiliency program.

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in partnership with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, 1854 Treaty Authority, University of Wisconsin Extension’s G-WOW program, and Lake Superior Estuarine Research Reserve are proud to provide the Climate Strong-Building Tribal Youth Leadership for Climate Resiliency program. Our three-year project aims to increase the knowledge and readiness of middle to high school students to deal with the impacts of extreme weather and environmental hazards that face the Ojibwe Ceded Territories (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan) and build capacity for increased climate change community resiliency curriculum in the classroom. Climate change impacts everyone, but for indigenous peoples it threatens culturally significant traditions, such as wild rice harvesting, that relies on sustainable fish, plant, and wildlife resources. These resources are critical for subsistence, spiritual and cultural needs, and treaty rights. Culturally relevant, place-based education is an important tool to involve students, in particular, underrepresented students, in developing critical thinking skills to assess the issue of community resiliency to extreme weather events and engaging in action to help resolve it. In order to achieve our objectives, we will aim our educational efforts toward youth first, as well as reaching the communities we serve. Each year, six residential youth camps (18 total) will be hosted within the Ojibwe Ceded Territories. Each three-day camp will be focused on investigating issues of community resiliency, adaption, and mitigation associated with increasing extreme weather events as well as natural environmental hazards. Camps will use place-based, experiential lessons to teach resiliency issues demonstrated by climate change effects on Ojibwe culturally important natural resources. Our project will train formal and informal educators throughout the Ojibwe Ceded Territories on how to use indigenous climate curriculum using tribal traditional ecological knowledge and NOAA assets to investigate community climate resiliency issues. Using both teacher “train the trainer” workshops and our camps, this project will create a network of formal K-12 and informal educators trained to become leaders in providing culturally relevant climate resiliency outreach to students. We will increase community resiliency literacy through six community outreach events each year (18 total) that will highlight resiliency issues facing our region and the research being done on landscape and ecological vulnerabilities through NOAA and tribal assets. Our goals are increased community resiliency literacy and adaptation of stewardship behaviors that reduce climate change impacts and increases adaption and mitigation behaviors by our participants. These behaviors will help increase stewardship practices reducing extreme weather impacts affecting the sustainability of culturally relevant resources, thereby preserving important cultural, spiritual, subsistence, and treaty rights practices.

Award Number: NA18SEC0080009
Grant Dates: 10/01/2018 to 09/30/2022
PI: Courtney Kowalczak
State: Minnesota   County:   Carlton District: MN08
Partners: Bell Museum · National Sea Grant College Program / University of Minnesota (UM) / Minnesota Sea Grant · National Sea Grant College Program / University of Wisconsin / Wisconsin Sea Grant · National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Lake Superior · University of Wisconsin–Extension / Environmental Outreach · Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission · Fond du Lac Environmental Program · 1854 Treaty Authority · Climate Generation · University of Minnesota–Duluth · Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa ·

Connecting Tennessee to the World Ocean

Tennessee Aquarium offsite link · Chattanooga, Tennessee
Funding: $1,352,253
Year: 2009
Connecting Tennessee to the World Ocean is a three-year capacity building project of the Tennessee Aquarium and its partners, the Hamilton County Department of Education, Calvin Donaldson Environmental Science Academy, and NOAA’s National Weather Service. Expanded capacity, in turn, allows the institution to reach a broader audience with a message connecting Tennessee’s waterways to the world ocean. Primary project outcomes are increased ocean literacy and expanded ocean stewardship ethics in targeted Aquarium audiences.

Connecting Tennessee to the World Ocean is a three-year capacity building project of the Tennessee Aquarium and its partners, the Hamilton County Department of Education, Calvin Donaldson Environmental Science Academy, and NOAA’s National Weather Service. Expanded capacity, in turn, allows the institution to reach a broader audience with a message connecting Tennessee’s waterways to the world ocean. Primary project outcomes are increased ocean literacy and expanded ocean stewardship ethics in targeted Aquarium audiences. A series of specific activities focused on ocean literacy and global change make this possible, including expanding Aquarium classroom capacity by 60% to serve more students, expanded videoconferencing opportunities in partnership with NWS, free admission and programming for underrepresented students from across the region, expanded educational opportunities on the Aquarium’s website, updated interpretive panels focusing on global change, installation of a NOAA WeatherBug station, a civic engagement series, and professional development for Aquarium educators.

Award Number: NA09SEC4690041
Grant Dates: 10/01/2009 to 09/30/2012
PI: George Bartnik
State: Tennessee   County:   Hamilton District: TN03
Partners: Hamilton County Department of Education · Hamilton County School District / Calvin Donaldson Environmental Science Academy · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) Morristown, TN Weather Forecast Office · University of Tennessee at Chattanooga · Natural Encounters · National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) / Flower Garden Banks ·

U.S. Virgin Islands Storm Strong Program

Funding: $499,998
Year: 2018
Under leadership from the University of the Virgin Islands, the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service, and local, non-profit, long-term, 2017 storm recovery groups, this 5-year project will create the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Storm Strong Program. To date, minimal efforts have been made to engage the USVI community in hurricane education and preparation. As a result, USVI communities face significant, but often preventable, storm risks. This is the Territory’s first sustained, community-based, hurricane hazard preparedness, and community leadership building program.

Under leadership from the University of the Virgin Islands, the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service, and local, non-profit, long-term, 2017 storm recovery groups, this 5-year project will create the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Storm Strong Program. To date, minimal efforts have been made to engage the USVI community in hurricane education and preparation. As a result, USVI communities face significant, but often preventable, storm risks. This is the Territory’s first sustained, community-based, hurricane hazard preparedness, and community leadership building program. The USVI Storm Strong Program will engage underserved and underrepresented middle- and high-school youth and their families on all of the Territory’s main islands - St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix - in a program modelled after the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit framework. Youth and their families will: (1) explore the science and hazards associated with hurricanes, (2) assess their communities’ vulnerabilities and associated risks, (3) evaluate personal and community assets and options to increase resilience, (4) prioritize and plan for events occurring before, during, and after a storm, and (5) take action, in this case, through Community Transfer Projects, which will turn the information gained through the Program into local actions to increase individual and community resilience, sharing knowledge and actions with the broader USVI community and beyond. Through this training, ~400 USVI youth and their families will be empowered as environmental leaders and change agents within their communities and important insights will be learned as to how best to engage underrepresented and underserved groups in hazard preparedness. Creation of the USVI Storm Strong Program is timely, given the significant impacts resulting from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, two Category 5 hurricanes that devastated the USVI in September 2017. These storms provide a window of opportunity to bring together partners from federal, territorial, non-governmental, academic, and the private sector, to develop a strategic, cohesive, long-term, high-impact, community-based program to improve environmental literacy and extreme weather hazard preparedness in the Territory, goals that align with the mission of NOAA’s Office of Education.

Award Number: NA18SEC0080010
Grant Dates: 10/01/2018 to 09/30/2024
PI: Kristin Wilson Grimes
State: U.S. Virgin Islands   County:   Saint Thomas District: VI00
Partners: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) / Region II · Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) · NOAA OR&R's Marine Debris Program · U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Human Services · U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Natural Resources · University of the Virgin Islands / Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR) · University of the Virgin Islands / Marine Advisory Service (VIMAS) at St. Croix · University of the Virgin Islands / Office of the Provost · St. Croix Christian Church · St. John Community Foundation · St. Thomas Recovery Team · Catalyst Miami · The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands · University of the Virgin Islands / Center for Excellence in Leadership and Learning / Safety In Paradise · U.S. Virgin Islands Children's Museum · My Brother’s Workshop · St. Croix Environmental Association · Virgin Islands Conservation Society / Blue Flag · American Red Cross of the U.S. Virgin Islands ·

Advancing Climate Literacy through Investment in In-service and Pre-service Science Educators (ACLIPSE)

Western Washington University offsite link · Bellingham, Washington
Funding: $31,192
Year: 2014
The ACLIPSE project leveraged NOAA assets including the NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6–8: The Ocean–Atmosphere Connection and Climate Change, data from NOAA-supported ocean, estuarine and atmospheric observing networks, and NOAA-affiliated scientists.

The ACLIPSE project leveraged NOAA assets including the NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6–8: The Ocean–Atmosphere Connection and Climate Change, data from NOAA-supported ocean, estuarine and atmospheric observing networks, and NOAA-affiliated scientists. ACLIPSE developed strategies for incorporating real-time ocean observing data into climate and ocean science education; designed and implemented an undergraduate curriculum in climate science for pre-service (student) teachers at multiple universities (http://mare.lawrencehallofscience.org/college-courses/ACLIPSE); offered a variety of workshops for teachers and educators across the country and at National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs); and developed materials specifically designed to provide professional learning and instructional materials for middle and high school teachers to use with their students and other learners (http://mare.lawrencehallofscience.org/curriculum/climate-data-aclipse-a…). The professional learning workshops for local teachers and NERR Education Coordinators and research staff (i.e., System Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) Technicians) were located at five NERR sites representing different regions of the US, including the Pacific Northwest (Kachemak Bay NERR, Alaska and Padilla Bay NERR, WA), central West Coast (San Francisco NERR, CA), Southeast (GTM NERR, FL), and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (Jacques Cousteau NERR, NJ). Resources and instructional materials focused on climate and ocean acidification were provided to all participants for learning about and teaching these important and relevant content areas, and as the context for teaching about and applying current teaching and learning research. Emphasis was placed on helping the teacher audiences to becoming more expert on how to use NOAA monitoring data in the classroom in authentic and engaging ways to build teacher and student data skills. NERR educators and their local in-service teachers were provided with professional learning opportunities and a collection of activities providing online data, place-based, locally relevant observing data, NGSS teaching and learning pedagogy, and climate change topics. The project built capacity of formal and informal science educators by providing (1) opportunities to become knowledgeable about global environmental change and real-time data; (2) exposure to place-based connections with the ocean through technological observing systems; and (3) materials and expertise to apply their learning to teaching practice in a long-term, sustainable manner. ACLIPSE instructional materials are based on the principle that real-time environmental data is a valuable tool for providing students with opportunities for self-directed exploration of the natural world. Students engaging in these activities gain a deeper understanding of carbon cycling, ocean acidification, and other phenomena related to climate change. These activities were designed with the three-dimensional approach to teaching in mind (e.g. NGSS-designed), and also use a data literacy framework to build educators and their learners’ skills in using data visualizations. The materials for informal educators and grades 6-8 teachers can also be accessed from the NOAA Education site, Classroom- Ready Data Resources, Climate & Data ACLIPSE Activities at https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/data/classroom-ready. Partners in the project included Rutgers University, Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Florida State University, California State University East Bay, Louisiana State University, and multiple NERR sites and Education Coordinators across the country and their local secondary teachers.

Award Number: NA14SEC0080005
Grant Dates: 10/01/2014 to 06/01/2015
PI: Jude Apple
State: Washington   County:   Whatcom District: WA02
Partners: Lawrence Hall of Science ·

Advancing Climate Literacy through Investment in In-service and Pre-service Science Educators (ACLIPSE)

Western Washington University offsite link · Bellingham, Washington
Funding: $31,192
Year: 2014
This three-year project leverages NOAA assets including the NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6–8: The Ocean–Atmosphere Connection and Climate Change, data from NOAA-supported ocean, estuarine and atmospheric observing networks, and NOAA-affiliated scientists. The goal is to design and implement a complementary suite of materials, courses and workshops for university teacher educators to use with middle school in-service and preservice teachers.

This three-year project leverages NOAA assets including the NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6–8: The Ocean–Atmosphere Connection and Climate Change, data from NOAA-supported ocean, estuarine and atmospheric observing networks, and NOAA-affiliated scientists. The goal is to design and implement a complementary suite of materials, courses and workshops for university teacher educators to use with middle school in-service and preservice teachers. The project builds capacity of formal science educators by providing (1) opportunities to become knowledgeable about global environmental change and real-time data; (2) exposure to different climate knowledge systems through place-based connections with the ocean through technological and/or indigenous observing systems; and (3) materials and expertise to apply their learning to teaching practice in a long-term, sustainable manner. Educational partners in the project include Louisiana State University, Florida State University, California State University East Bay, and middle school teachers from Tribal communities in Washington state.

Award Number: NA14SEC0080005
Grant Dates: 10/01/2014 to 06/01/2015
PI: Jude Apple
State: Washington   County:   Whatcom District: WA02
Partners: Lawrence Hall of Science ·