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.

DataStreme Ocean: AMS/NOAA Teacher Enhancement

Funding: $990,000
Year: 2005
This project provides for the continued development of a national cadre of precollege teachers competent in ocean and coastal environmental science content and appropriate pedagogy who serve as Ocean Education Resource Teachers and leaders in their local areas and home states. In recognition of the vital role of teachers in promoting environmental literacy, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) proposes the ongoing offering and continual development of its in-service precollege teacher enhancement course entitled DataStreme Ocean (see https://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/ds-ocean/home.html).

This project provides for the continued development of a national cadre of precollege teachers competent in ocean and coastal environmental science content and appropriate pedagogy who serve as Ocean Education Resource Teachers and leaders in their local areas and home states. In recognition of the vital role of teachers in promoting environmental literacy, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) proposes the ongoing offering and continual development of its in-service precollege teacher enhancement course entitled DataStreme Ocean (see https://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/ds-ocean/home.html). The semester-long, three-credit hour graduate course will be offered at up to 25 sites nationally via three-member Local Implementation Teams (LITs). About 75 specially trained precollege teachers, college/university professors, and scientists serve on LITs. Project institutional partners include NOAA and the State University of New York at Brockport. DataStreme Ocean is partially delivered online and focuses on investigations of the ocean and coastal environment emphasizing the use of the most current NOAA data available on the Internet. Offered fall and spring semesters, 400 teachers will be trained during the 2005-06 school year. As part of their training, participants develop Plans of Action outlining their roles as Ocean Education Resource Teachers in their schools.

Award Number: NA05SEC4691005
Grant Dates: 10/01/2005 to 08/31/2007
PI: Ira Geer
State: Massachusetts   County:   Suffolk District: MA08
Partners: State University of New York at Brockport ·

AMS/NOAA Cooperative Program for Earth System Education (CPESE)

Funding: $1,857,200
Year: 2012
The Cooperative Program for Earth System Education (CPESE) – with assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Brockport – is a major collaboration between the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and NOAA that advances NOAA’s mission of Science, Service, and Stewardship by sharing knowledge and information about weather, climate, and the ocean.

The Cooperative Program for Earth System Education (CPESE) – with assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Brockport – is a major collaboration between the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and NOAA that advances NOAA’s mission of Science, Service, and Stewardship by sharing knowledge and information about weather, climate, and the ocean. CPESE facilitates national offering of the DataStreme Atmosphere and DataStreme Ocean courses and supports Project ATMOSPHERE leadership training workshops at the National Weather Service Training Center (Kansas City) for in-service K-12 educators. Over five years, about 3,000 teacher participants will earn graduate credits through a partnership with SUNY at Brockport and become confident Earth science educators capable of implementing engaging, pedagogically appropriate activities in their classrooms. These educators are expected to impact more than 30,000 additional educators and one million K-12 students. In addition to the professional development for in-service K-12 educators, CPESE enables the AMS to design curricula for introductory college-level Earth science courses, which help prepare pre-service educators. CPESE is built on a shared vision that highly trained educators are key to an environmentally and geo-scientifically literate public.

Competition: 2012: AMS Datastreme Program
Award Number: NA12SEC0080020
Grant Dates: 10/01/2012 to 09/30/2017
PI: Wendy Abshire
State: Massachusetts   County:   Suffolk District: MA08
Partners: State University of New York at Brockport · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) · NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) · NOAA Office of Education · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) Mount Holly, NJ Weather Forecast Office · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) Grand Rapids, MI Forecast Office · Pennsylvania Western University (PennWest) ·

Building Ocean Awareness Together (BOAT)

Monterey Bay Aquarium offsite link · Monterey, California
Funding: $390,249
Year: 2012
A consortium of Alaska SeaLife Center, Florida Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium with their partner National Association for Interpretation will increase the effectiveness of informal science educators (ISE) to promote public understanding of three complex topics that impact the ocean (oil spills, ocean acidification, and energy literacy) and encourage stewardship of ocean and coastal resources. This project will have a direct impact on 252 interpreters in and around Alaska, California, and Florida through 12 weeklong trainings.

A consortium of Alaska SeaLife Center, Florida Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium with their partner National Association for Interpretation will increase the effectiveness of informal science educators (ISE) to promote public understanding of three complex topics that impact the ocean (oil spills, ocean acidification, and energy literacy) and encourage stewardship of ocean and coastal resources. This project will have a direct impact on 252 interpreters in and around Alaska, California, and Florida through 12 weeklong trainings. Groups of interpreters will develop, assemble and produce online training toolkits, all of which will be widely disseminated to the ISE community. Each toolkit will utilize NOAA multimedia content, data visualization products, expertise and other relevant resources. Project participants – who interact with a diverse mix of local, regional, national and international visitors (including underserved local populations) – will provide enhanced training content for their colleagues through professional trainings, presentations, and online networks.

Award Number: NA12SEC0080025
Grant Dates: 10/01/2012 to 03/31/2015
PI: Cynthia Vernon
State: California   County:   Monterey District: CA19
Partners: Aquarium of the Pacific · California Academy of Sciences · New England Aquarium Corporation / New England Aquarium (NEAq) · Seward Association for the Advancement of Marine Science / Alaska SeaLife Center · Florida Aquarium · California State University at Monterey Bay · Association of Zoos and Aquariums · Fresno Chaffee Zoo · National Association for Interpretation (NAI) · U.S. National Park Service · Aquarium of the Bay · University of Alaska (UA-Fairbanks) · NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) / Pacific Islands · NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) · NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) · National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) / Channel Islands · NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries · Woodland Park Zoo · National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) / Florida Keys · NOAA Habitat Conservation · Prince William Sound Science Center (PWSSC) · NOAA Research Lab / Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory · Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI) · Seymour Marine Discovery Center · Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium · U.S. National Wildlife Refuge / Don Edwards San Francisco Bay · Brookfield Zoo · California State Parks / Point Lobos State Natural Reserve · U.S. National Parks / Golden Gate · Central Coast Aquarium · National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) / Monterey Bay · National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Elkhorn Slough · Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History · Monterey Bay Whale Watch (MB-WW) · Coyote Hills Regional Park · Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council ·

National Model Earth Science Lab Course

Funding: $497,029
Year: 2005
A collaboration of five key states, an array of scientists and educators, and an experienced science curriculum team will develop and establish a National Model Earth Science Lab Course, providing standards and exemplary activities that will reach hundreds of thousands of students annually. The team will create a lab handbook with guidelines and exemplary activities in Earth system science and environmental literacy. All materials will be published on the web and available for free to teachers and students.

A collaboration of five key states, an array of scientists and educators, and an experienced science curriculum team will develop and establish a National Model Earth Science Lab Course, providing standards and exemplary activities that will reach hundreds of thousands of students annually. The team will create a lab handbook with guidelines and exemplary activities in Earth system science and environmental literacy. All materials will be published on the web and available for free to teachers and students. The initial set of four exemplary labs will engage students in field experiences, classroom experiments and active use of data and computer visualizations dealing with oceans, atmosphere and other NOAA domains. These hands-on learning experiences will help students develop environmental literacy, build deep understandings of Earth as a system, and apply scientific thinking, problem-solving and data analysis. The participating states view this as filling a crucial gap in the approval and implementation of Earth science as a standard high school lab science. This project builds on planning done in a series of projects: National Conference on the Revolution in Earth Science Education, State Alliances for Earth Science Education, and Planning Grant for Earth System Science as a High School Lab Science. This National Model responds directly to essential needs expressed by the states. The labs will comply with national and state standards for Earth science and meet requirements for a true lab science course. This project is bold and ambitious, but also essential for states striving to strengthen their high school Earth science offerings, and it is a practical response to NOAA's need to infuse its resources into the fabric of public Earth science education.

Award Number: NA05SEC4691004
Grant Dates: 09/01/2005 to 08/31/2008
PI: Daniel Barstow
State: Massachusetts   County:   Middlesex District: MA05
Partners: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt · Science Education Resource Center (SERC) / Carleton College · Texas Education Agency · Massachusetts Association of Science Supervisors · New York City (NYC) Department of Education (DOE) · U.S. Geological Survey Headquarters ·