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.

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Raindrop: An Innovative Educational Tool for River Awareness

Butler University offsite link · Indianapolis, Indiana
Funding: $259,770
Year: 2010
This project will create a new educational tool for river awareness in the United States through a mobile device application called Raindrop. Raindrop traces the flow of water from the user's home location to a downstream watershed location. Raindrop is part of a larger installation named FLOW (Can You See the River?), which joins the cognitive power of science with the affective power of the arts by creating virtual and physical spaces for river awareness in the White River watershed in Indianapolis, IN.

This project will create a new educational tool for river awareness in the United States through a mobile device application called Raindrop. Raindrop traces the flow of water from the user's home location to a downstream watershed location. Raindrop is part of a larger installation named FLOW (Can You See the River?), which joins the cognitive power of science with the affective power of the arts by creating virtual and physical spaces for river awareness in the White River watershed in Indianapolis, IN. In addition to the flow path, Raindrop functionality includes watershed context and physical marker mapping, flow path water quality indicators, utilization of NOAA weather feeds and alerts, weather and climate comparisons, storm event size implications, and guidance on watershed restoration actions. Artist-designed physical markers are strategically located in the watershed to direct the virtual user to physical areas of interest.

Award Number: NA10SEC0080027
Grant Dates: 10/01/2010 to 09/30/2013
PI: Timothy Carter
State: Indiana   County:   Marion District: IN07
Partners: Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) · IUPUI's Center for Earth & Environmental Science (CEES) · IUPUI's Indianapolis Mapping and Geographic Infrastructure System (IMAGIS) · Marian University · City as a Living Laboratory · Office of the Mayor of Indianapolis · Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art · Purdue University / Indiana State Climate Office (Iclimate) · Project School · U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) / Indiana Water Science Center · White River Alliance · Williams Creek Consulting ·

CoCoRaHS: The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network

Colorado State University offsite link · Fort Collins, Colorado
Funding: $585,005
Year: 2006
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) involves thousands of people of all ages in the observation and study of weather, climate and water resources. In CoCoRaHS, citizens of all ages help measure and report rain, hail and snow from their own homes, schools and businesses. These data are then efficiently collected via the internet, archived in a national database, and made immediately available to participants, scientists and the general public showing the fascinating patterns of precipitation from each passing storm (see http://www.cocorahs.org).

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) involves thousands of people of all ages in the observation and study of weather, climate and water resources. In CoCoRaHS, citizens of all ages help measure and report rain, hail and snow from their own homes, schools and businesses. These data are then efficiently collected via the internet, archived in a national database, and made immediately available to participants, scientists and the general public showing the fascinating patterns of precipitation from each passing storm (see http://www.cocorahs.org). The measurement of precipitation and the patterns, variations and impacts that result, open the door to creative study of our environment. It is the "lowest common denominator" of hydroclimatic exploration. In this project, data from the CoCoRaHS citizen science network will be shared with and utilized by NOAA partners to help monitor drought, to help detect local severe storms, to alert local authorities to developing flash flood situations, to provide "ground truth" for NOAA and NASA remote sensing technologies, and to provide verification for both local and national weather and climate forecast products.

Award Number: NA06SEC4690004
Grant Dates: 10/01/2006 to 09/30/2010
PI: Nolan Doesken
State: Colorado   County:   Larimer District: CO02
Partners: American Meteorological Society (AMS) ·

Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)

Colorado State University offsite link · Fort Collins, Colorado
Funding: $1,252,392
Year: 2010
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is a citizen science program where thousands of volunteers across the country measure and report the amount of precipitation that falls each day in their own neighborhood. In the next three years CoCoRaHS will use strategies from the “Citizen Science Toolkit” and align activities to the “Essential Principles to Climate Science” to engage thousands more participants in collecting, reporting and exploring precipitation. Evapotranspiration measurements will be added to teach and demonstrate the hydrologic cycle in action.

The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is a citizen science program where thousands of volunteers across the country measure and report the amount of precipitation that falls each day in their own neighborhood. In the next three years CoCoRaHS will use strategies from the “Citizen Science Toolkit” and align activities to the “Essential Principles to Climate Science” to engage thousands more participants in collecting, reporting and exploring precipitation. Evapotranspiration measurements will be added to teach and demonstrate the hydrologic cycle in action. Through strong NOAA partnerships with the National Weather Service, the National Climatic Data Center, the Earth Systems Research Lab and the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center, precipitation data quality and accessibility for professional users will be enhanced. The CoCoRaHS network will be constructing training, data entry and visualization tools utilizing Web 2.0 concepts, cyberlearning tools and hand-held device applications with a goal of increasing participation and expanding the volunteer network into broader, younger, more diverse audiences.

Award Number: NA10SEC0080012
Grant Dates: 10/01/2010 to 09/30/2015
PI: Chris Kummerow
State: Colorado   County:   Larimer District: CO02
Partners: Denver Museum of Nature and Science · Birch Aquarium at Scripps · Cornell University / Cornell Lab of Ornithology · Oregon State University / PRISM Climate Group · Colorado Division of Water Resources, State Engineers Office · University of South Carolina (USC) / Department of Geography · National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) · NOAA National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center · NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) / National Centers for Environmental Prediction · National Avalanche Center · U.S. Department of Agriculture Headquarters · Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) ·

Sound Resilience-Get on Board!

Funding: $484,955
Year: 2016
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is located at the mouth of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound. Its mission is to inspire people to appreciate and protect the Sound and the global environment. As global climate change increases, extreme storms and sea levels continue to rise and a growing percentage of the 23 million people living within 50 miles of the Sound are directly affected by severe weather events, providing a timely opportunity to educate students, teachers, and the public about community resilience.

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is located at the mouth of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound. Its mission is to inspire people to appreciate and protect the Sound and the global environment. As global climate change increases, extreme storms and sea levels continue to rise and a growing percentage of the 23 million people living within 50 miles of the Sound are directly affected by severe weather events, providing a timely opportunity to educate students, teachers, and the public about community resilience. From 2017-2020, the Aquarium developed and delivered an innovative three-session climate resilience education program to more than 2,000 middle and high school students in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The Sound Resilience student experience began in the classroom, where students learned about the impacts of hurricanes and coastal storms on their communities and used a hands-on “beach in a box” to model the effectiveness of built structures like seawalls and natural resilience features including salt marshes and oyster reefs. Then, during a two-hour research cruise on the Aquarium’s hybrid-electric research vessel, Spirit of the Sound, students collaborated to map their home coastlines from the water: identifying vulnerable locations from apartment buildings to power plants, as well as the existing resilience structures protecting their coast. On the vessel they also stepped into the role of climate scientists, conducting real-time weather and water sampling, including collecting and examining photosynthetic plankton that absorb carbon and help to slow down the effects of climate change. The third program session, back in the classroom, sent students on a design and decision-making journey, in which they compared their collaboratively created resilience map with flood-risk maps of their hometown, then worked together to identify gaps in resilience infrastructure and design a resilience plan for their community. As a result of Sound Resilience – Get on Board!, there were significant gains in students’ understanding of resilience science and their own sense of agency in creating a resilient future for their communities. Participants also reported deeper understanding of, and connection to, the Sound’s coastal ecosystems, which serve to buffer storm waves, sequester carbon, and protect communities from extreme weather and climate change. The Aquarium also developed and delivered a teacher professional development workshop focusing on effective and standards-aligned methods of teaching climate change, resilience, and environmental justice issues. Finally, an interactive experience was created for guests in one of the Aquarium’s most highly trafficked spaces. It includes a series of twenty-foot map projections of Long Island Sound showing present and future vulnerabilities and resilience methods, as well as a touch-screen kiosk where guests can interact with NOAA resources showing the risks that floods and sea level rise pose to their home communities. Although the grant period has ended, the resources created thanks to NOAA’s Environmental Literacy Program will live on. The guest experience on the Aquarium floor will continue for the foreseeable future and the student programs—in-person as well as virtual—and teacher workshops will remain available within the Aquarium’s program catalog.

Award Number: NA16SEC0080005
Grant Dates: 10/01/2016 to 09/30/2020
PI: Thomas Naiman
State: Connecticut   County:   Fairfield District: CT04
Partners: NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) · National Sea Grant College Program / University of Connecticut · University of Connecticut / Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) · Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WestCOG) · Stamford Public Schools · Bridgeport Public Schools · City of Bridgeport · Norwalk Fire Department · City of Stamford · Fairfield Fire Department · Norwalk River Watershed Initiative (NRWI) · National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) / Northeast Fisheries Science Center · Norwalk Public Schools · State of Connecticut / Department of Economic and Community Development ·