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.
Environmental Service-Learning Project (ESLP)
The Great Lakes Science and Service Learning Initiative (GLSSLI) is a collaborative effort to take Earth Force's proven science-based service learning approach to scale in Michigan by institutionalizing the model within Michigan school districts. By working with the Michigan Community Service Commission's Learn & Serve program and the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative we are able to leverage statewide structures to make grants directly to school districts, support school districts as they institutionalize the programs and provide on-going professional development to educators. Scaling the GREEN model will deepen student understanding of science by working directly on the environmental problems facing their communities and develop the skills and personal commitment inherent in environmental literacy.
Global, Local, Coastal: Preparing The Next Generation for A Changing Planet
This project, “Global, Local, Coastal: Preparing the Next Generation for A Changing Planet," was led by Groundwork Hudson Valley in partnership with Sarah Lawrence College's Center for the Urban River, to integrate and expand the work of three award-winning environmental education centers in Yonkers, NY – The Science Barge, Ecohouse and the Center for the Urban River (CURB). Its primary objective was to prepare low-income students for the impact of a changing climate so that they can participate both personally and professionally in a world in which these issues are increasingly prevalent. It reached an audience that is not well served by traditional programs and is most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. Over the course of two years, the project served 544 high school youth from the Yonkers public school system through a new, integrated curriculum that presented these issues from multiple perspectives in an experiential learning format. Beyond its impact on students, the project has had a broader impact on people in our region who have visited the Science Barge, Ecohouse and CURB, which together receive close to 10,000 people each year. The new exhibits have reinforced key themes related to resiliency and adaptation and staff have integrated these concepts into their public tours. Beyond our region, the project has further impacted STEM educators across the country with access to the newly created "Global, Local, Coastal" curriculum and web application which is posted on Groundwork's website and accessible without charge. Other partners included NOAA’s Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and Center for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN), and Yonkers Public Schools. The project has been carried out in a community that has been severely affected by extreme weather in the last decade, including three hurricanes. Outcomes have helped to create “an informed society to anticipate and respond to climate and its impacts” and served to support NOAA’s goal of a developing a “Weather-Ready Nation” and “Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies.”
Connecting Tennessee to the World Ocean
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.
Recharge the Rain: Community Resilience through STEM Education
Arizonans face environmental hazards from extreme heat, drought, and flooding. Watershed Management Group and partner Arizona Project WET’s “Recharge the Rain” project addressed these threats by building environmental literacy among 4-12th grade teachers, students, and the public. The project centered on educator professional training and hands-on water harvesting skills. Participants moved through a continuum from awareness to knowledge gain, to conceptual understanding, and ultimately to action. Utilizing data and experts from NOAA assets, we strengthened the capacity of residents to be resilient to our local climate threats. This 4.5 year project 1) developed and immersed 14,452 students in STEAM curriculum incorporating water harvesting that increases understanding of earth systems, engineering design, and weather; 2) applied systems thinking to train 52 teachers and 191 community volunteers in water harvesting practices and citizen-science data collection; 3) involved 8,289 Tucson community members in water harvesting principles; 4) implemented 21 teacher/student-led water harvesting projects at schools; and 5) celebrated our community work with student artwork. RtR became a call for action and an inspiration for change and adaptation to extreme weather conditions in the urban environments of the Sonoran Desert putting Tucson at the core of understanding climate, adaptation, and community.
Preparing Agents of Change for Tomorrow (PACT): Building Youth Confidence and Capacity for Climate Resilient Futures in Appalachia
Communities in WV are acutely vulnerable to flooding and are woefully unprepared for their current climate reality, let alone for a future where rainfall and floods are more frequent and intense. Meeting the challenge of building equitable and resilient communities in marginalized and under-resourced areas like West Virginia requires a transformative approach to learning, knowledge production, and action - an approach where communities build skills, confidence, and capacity to assess vulnerabilities, create resilience plans, and participate in planning and decision making. To meet this need, West Virginia University (WVU), WVU Extension, and the WV State Resiliency Office will be engaging with high school-aged youth, their teachers, and communities through the Preparing Agents of Change for Tomorrow (PACT): Building Youth Confidence and Capacity for Climate Resilient Futures in Appalachia project. This three-year project informed by NOAA’s Community Resilience Theory of Change and Climate Resilience Toolkit will cultivate the next generation of problem solvers through a dynamic social and active learning curriculum focused on the fundamentals of disaster and resilience literacy and community resilience planning that is theoretically grounded in intergenerational learning - the transfer of knowledge, attitudes, and behavior from children to parents - where youth can foster collective concern, behavior, and action amongst themselves, their parents, and communities. By increasing the participation of youth in community resilience planning and decision-making, PACT will not only cultivate the next generation of community leaders, problem solvers, and decision-makers but also draw critical attention to much needed community preparedness critical to creating a safer, healthier, more hopeful, and equitable future in West Virginia. The specific objective of PACT is to create a data-driven, evidence-based education and planning program that 1. Guides youth, teachers, families, and communities through a spectrum of disaster and resilience literacy and household preparedness activities, 2. Mentors youth through the process of community flood resilience planning and plan development, and 3. Develops a network of youth resilience ambassadors that participate in resilience planning throughout the state while positively impacting their communities. Through three levels of engagement, PACT will 1. Engage with 35 classrooms and 875 youth across five of West Virginia’s most flood-prone counties through a school enrichment program that provides disaster and resilience literacy lessons and activities; 2. Host three Youth Resilience Ambassador camps that will train 175 youth on assessing community vulnerability and developing community resilience plans; and 3. Host three Youth Resilience Leadership Summits with 140 youth that will present their resilience plans and engage with peers, community, professionals, and elected decision makers. Furthermore, PACT will submit annually updated Youth Resilience Ambassador community resilience plans to the WV State Resiliency Office. Through the PACT project, we anticipate youth driving action in their communities to reduce flood vulnerability and strengthen resilience through participation, becoming the agents of change needed to move the region through an uncertain 21st century.