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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Environmental Literacy for Alaskan Climate Stewards (ELACS)

Funding: $499,888
Year: 2018
The Environmental Literacy for Alaska Climate Stewards (ELACS) project served 84 K-12 educators and 1,080 Alaskan students in predominantly Alaska Native coastal villages. The project provided opportunities to build understandings of how climate change impacts local environments, increase overall climate literacy, and contribute to community resilience. Participants were primarily from the Chugach School District and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, both located in the southcentral region of Alaska.

The Environmental Literacy for Alaska Climate Stewards (ELACS) project served 84 K-12 educators and 1,080 Alaskan students in predominantly Alaska Native coastal villages. The project provided opportunities to build understandings of how climate change impacts local environments, increase overall climate literacy, and contribute to community resilience. Participants were primarily from the Chugach School District and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, both located in the southcentral region of Alaska. Students and teachers in the Aleutian Region School District, Nome City Schools, and the North Slope Borough School District (southwestern, northwestern, and northern Alaska, respectively) participated to a lesser extent in novel learning experiences made available through collaborative partnerships that emerged during the grant period. The project focused on three areas: teacher professional development, classroom instruction, and community engagement. Professional development included training in project-based learning and co-teaching/coaching sessions with master teachers. Classroom instruction engaged students in meaningful, innovative, place-based, project-based learning, and citizen-science activities focused on site and community needs. Students monitored their local environments, built or otherwise used ocean observation systems, collected data, and represented their new knowledge through presentations and art. Significant outcomes included student work on the relationship between phytoplankton and salmon conservation in Chenega Bay, a Living History Project that engaged community members and elders with traditional ecological knowledge in Tatitlek, and engagement in weather and environmental monitoring plans for the community of Whittier (potentially threatened by tsunamis generated by unstable slopes in a nearby fjord). Students shared active research regarding impacts and available resources. ELACS aligned with and supported NOAA’s educational mission by helping the target populations understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts. This project promoted students’ environmental stewardship and a deeper understanding of a changing environment at both local and global levels. Throughout the four-year project, students and teachers worked with scientists and experts in education, climate change, and marine science using project-based learning approaches and educational technology. A notable (but not exhaustive) list of partners included researchers from NOAA’s Kasitsna Bay Laboratory, the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and the International Arctic Research Center (both at the University of Alaska Fairbanks), the Polar Science Center (University of Washington), Ground Truth Trekking, and the Center for Alaska Coastal Studies. Educational consultants included STEMisEd, Teknikio, NexMap, Build-A-Buoy, and EcoArt Expeditions. Corporate and non-profit partners included WeatherFlow, Inc., Batelle, Inc., Cook Inlet Tribal Council, and Alaska Science Teachers Association.

Award Number: NA18SEC0080011
Grant Dates: 10/01/2018 to 05/31/2022
PI: Douglas Penn
State: Alaska   County:   Anchorage Borough District: AK00
Partners: University of Alaska (UA-Fairbanks) / College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences · National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) / Alaska · National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) Kachemak Bay · University of Alaska (UA-Fairbanks) / International Arctic Research Center · Washington College / Center for Environment & Society · NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) / Kasitsna Bay Laboratory · U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System / AOOS · Kenai Peninsula Borough School District · Chugachmiut · City of Whittier · Tatitlek Village Ira Council · Chenega Bay IRA Council · U.S. National Ice Center · Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies · Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council · Battelle, Inc. · University of Washington (UW) / Polar Science Center · Weather Flow · Teknikio · Ground Truth Trekking · Cook Inlet Tribal Council · Alaska Science Teachers Association · Alaska Conservation Foundation · STEMisED · NextMap ·

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 ·

Hurricanes and Climate Change: Local Impacts and Global Systems

Funding: $500,921
Year: 2010
The Miami Science Museum, in collaboration with Ideum and the Institute for Learning Innovation, is designing and developing an interactive multi-user exhibit that allows visitors to explore the global dimensions and local impacts of climate change. The exhibit will raise public understanding about the underlying science, the human causes, and the potential impacts of climate change by combining the attraction of a 4-foot spherical display with a user-controlled interface that lets visitors control the sphere and choose from a range of global and local content they wish to explore.

The Miami Science Museum, in collaboration with Ideum and the Institute for Learning Innovation, is designing and developing an interactive multi-user exhibit that allows visitors to explore the global dimensions and local impacts of climate change. The exhibit will raise public understanding about the underlying science, the human causes, and the potential impacts of climate change by combining the attraction of a 4-foot spherical display with a user-controlled interface that lets visitors control the sphere and choose from a range of global and local content they wish to explore. A particular focus is on climate-related impacts on coastal communities, including the dangers posed by rising sea level and the possibility of more intense hurricanes. The project emphasizes engagement of diverse, multigenerational audiences through development of an interface that is fully bilingual and that promotes social interaction. The open-source learning module will be adaptable by other museums, to explore climate impacts specific to their region.

Award Number: NA10SEC0080024
Grant Dates: 10/01/2010 to 12/30/2012
PI: Jennifer Santer
State: Florida   County:   Miami-Dade District: FL27
Partners: Institute for Learning Innovation · Ideum · University of Miami / Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) ·

Science on a Sphere and Flood Forums: Education to Action

Nurture Nature Center offsite link · Easton, Pennsylvania
Funding: $341,274
Year: 2010
The Nurture Nature Center (NNC) in Easton, PA, a joint project of the multi-state Nurture Nature Foundation and NNC, Inc., will install a Science on a Sphere and develop a new SOS module about climate and flooding. Working with the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, PA, and science advisers from NOAA and research universities, NNC will use existing SOS datasets, as well as new data formats, to create a docent-guided program that explains the connections between climate patterns and flooding.

The Nurture Nature Center (NNC) in Easton, PA, a joint project of the multi-state Nurture Nature Foundation and NNC, Inc., will install a Science on a Sphere and develop a new SOS module about climate and flooding. Working with the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, PA, and science advisers from NOAA and research universities, NNC will use existing SOS datasets, as well as new data formats, to create a docent-guided program that explains the connections between climate patterns and flooding. The Flood Forums: Education to Action program will engage audiences in deliberative forum programming to promote public understanding of the atmospheric, oceanic, and other climatic factors affecting flooding in some regional communities. Project deliverables include a program on climate change and flooding for SOS users; the same program calibrated for Magic Planet users; Forum models on issues related to climate change and flooding; project and evaluation reports; and training materials for SOS network members and other informal educators.

Award Number: NA10SEC0080020
Grant Dates: 10/01/2010 to 07/31/2013
PI: Catherine Brandes
State: Pennsylvania   County:   Northampton District: PA07
Partners: Maryland Science Center · Da Vinci Science Center · Lehigh University · NOAA Regional Climate Center / Northeast Regional Climate Center ·

CREATE Resilience: Community Resilience through Education, Art, Technology, and Engagement

Nurture Nature Center offsite link · Easton, Pennsylvania
Funding: $429,420
Year: 2018
CREATE Resilience: Community Resilience through Education, Art, Technology and Engagement, is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between youth and community to 1) improve environmental hazards literacy, and 2) increase engagement in resiliency actions by youth and adult residents in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. CREATE Resilience is designed to increase community knowledge about weather and climate science, risks from local hazards, and strategies for hazard mitigation, while co-creating a vision for community resilience.

CREATE Resilience: Community Resilience through Education, Art, Technology and Engagement, is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between youth and community to 1) improve environmental hazards literacy, and 2) increase engagement in resiliency actions by youth and adult residents in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. CREATE Resilience is designed to increase community knowledge about weather and climate science, risks from local hazards, and strategies for hazard mitigation, while co-creating a vision for community resilience. Developed by Nurture Nature Center (NNC) in Easton, PA, the four-year project will work with local, state and federal partners in three hazard-prone communities in the Lehigh Valley (Easton, Bangor and Wilson areas). Hazards, particularly weather-related hazards including flooding, have had major impacts in these communities historically and recently, causing extensive damage to property and disruption to community services. Damaging river flooding along the Delaware River in 2004, 2005 and 2006 highlighted major planning and safety challenges for many municipalities in the area with high flood risk, and a recently updated regional Hazard Mitigation plan highlighted other hazards – as well as the need for public education about hazards and mitigation. CREATE Resilience’s advisory board will work with NNC to bring education and engagement events to teach the science of these hazards, as well the household and community-level strategies and tools available for resilience. Partners include the National Weather Service (NWS) Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center and Mt. Holly, NJ Weather Forecast Office, and Weather Prediction Center, as well as LV Planning Commission, Northampton County Emergency Management Agency, LV Community Foundation, Lafayette College, and FEMA Region 3 Mitigation Division. In years 1 and 2, the project will form CREATE Youth Ambassador teams, in which student interns from area high schools will meet NWS meteorologists, engage in community storytelling events, develop local hazard and resilience tours, and learn from climate and other scientists about hazards and strategies for resilience. Ambassadors will also develop and lead programming for community residents. Simultaneously, residents will participate in active-learning education events, dialogue forums, arts-based activities, technology-based programs using NOAA assets, and hands-on preparedness activities. Each community will build a collective understanding of local hazards and mitigation strategies, and co-create a vision for resilience, represented in traveling visual artist-designed murals in the third year of the project. This education and shared vision will build community support for planning and resilience and help households in making better preparedness decisions. Dissemination through Science on a Sphere® and guidebooks will share the replicable model with other organizations and communities, extending the reach of the project. Close cooperation with NWS offices helps the project meet key goals of NOAA’s Education Strategic Plan, related to safety/preparedness and a science-informed society. Through public events and print materials, the project will showcase and interpret NOAA-related science and data with area residents, while creating collaborative learning opportunities for youth and community to interact with NOAA scientists. CREATE Resilience also engages youth and adults in preparing for hazards, and in multi-generational learning to improve community awareness and involvement in preparedness and mitigation.

Award Number: NA18SEC0080005
Grant Dates: 10/01/2018 to 09/30/2023
PI: Rachel Carr
State: Pennsylvania   County:   Northampton District: PA07
Partners: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center · City University of New York (CUNY) / Hunter College · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) / National Centers for Environmental Prediction · NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) · Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN) · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) Mount Holly, NJ Weather Forecast Office · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) State College, Pennsylvania Forecast Office · Lehigh Valley Community Foundation · Lafayette College / Civil and Environmental Engineering · Easton Area School District · Wilson Area School District · Northampton County Emergency Management Services · Lehigh Valley Planning Commission · Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency · NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) / Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center (RFC) · Bangor Area School District · American Society of Civil Engineers / Lehigh Valley Section · Northampton County Conservation District · Northampton County Parks & Recreation Division · City of Easton · Martins-Jacoby Watershed Association · Borough of Wilson · PAZA, Tree of Life · Williams Township Municipal Building ·

Applying Social Research to Build Environmental Literacy and Public Engagement in Protecting Ocean Resources

Ocean Foundation / The Ocean Project offsite link · Washington, District of Columbia
Funding: $1,117,002
Year: 2010
This project will expand and enhance an initiative that offers zoos, aquariums, and science museums the market research they need to engage and motivate the public on issues related to the ocean and climate change. The three-year project will measure changes in public awareness and action on ocean and climate-related issues.

This project will expand and enhance an initiative that offers zoos, aquariums, and science museums the market research they need to engage and motivate the public on issues related to the ocean and climate change. The three-year project will measure changes in public awareness and action on ocean and climate-related issues. It will integrate these research findings into recommendations offered to staff working at zoos, aquariums, and science museums as well as to the ocean conservation community and provide professional development for staff members at these institutions in order to support and shape public outreach efforts that connect climate change, the ocean and individual actions, especially among our nation's youth.

Competition: 2010: NOAA Broad Agency Announcement for FY 2010—2011
Award Number: NA10SEC0080029
Grant Dates: 10/01/2010 to 09/30/2013
PI: William Mott
State: District of Columbia   County:   District of Columbia District: DC00
Partners: Aquarium of the Pacific · North Carolina Aquarium Society / North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher · California Academy of Sciences · Exploratorium · Monterey Bay Aquarium · National Aquarium / National Aquarium In Baltimore (NAIB) · New England Aquarium Corporation / New England Aquarium (NEAq) · Science Museum of Minnesota · Sea Research Foundation / Mystic Aquarium · Seattle Aquarium · John G. Shedd Aquarium / Shedd Aquarium · Tennessee Aquarium · Florida Aquarium · Pacific Science Center · Association of Zoos and Aquariums · Detroit Zoological Society · Fresno Chaffee Zoo · Gladys Porter Zoo · Texas State Aquarium · Aquarium of the Bay · Lincoln Park Zoo · Oregon Coast Aquarium · Virginia Aquarium · Utah's Hogle Zoo · Philadelphia Zoo · Woodland Park Zoo · Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum · Georgia Aquarium · New York Aquarium · Cabrillo Marine Aquarium · Disney’s Animal Kingdom · San Antonio Zoological Society · YouthMuse · Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) · Brevard Zoo · Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium · Chicago Botanic Garden ·