Fiscal Year 2021 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training Program | NOAA NMFS HCPO 2021 2006735

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2021 2006735

The Fiscal Year 2021 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training (Chesapeake B-WET) Program is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), administered through the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. The program supports K-12 environmental education across the Chesapeake Bay watershed by funding locally relevant, hands-on learning that connects students to real watershed issues in their own communities. Awards are made as cooperative agreements, meaning NOAA expects to have an active role in the project beyond simply providing funds. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 11.457, with an application closing date of March 1, 2021, and a maximum award amount (ceiling) of $150,000.

At the center of the program is the requirement to deliver Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). These are structured learning experiences that blend classroom instruction with outdoor fieldwork and are designed to be more than a one-time field trip. A typical MWEE sequence includes helping students define a local environmental issue or question, participating in an outdoor field experience to collect observations or data, analyzing and synthesizing what they learned to reach conclusions, and then taking some form of stewardship and civic action. The intent is to build both understanding and long-term stewardship by getting students to learn about the Bay and its connected rivers, streams, upland areas, and habitats through direct experience and problem-solving.

The program goal is to increase student and community understanding of the Chesapeake Bay system and encourage stewardship behaviors that support healthier local watersheds. Funded projects are expected to advance the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement's environmental literacy goal and align with the NOAA Education Strategic Plan. In practice, that means proposals should clearly show how the educational activities will improve environmental literacy outcomes (knowledge, skills, and actions) and how the work fits into broader regional efforts to strengthen watershed education.

Eligibility is broad but specific. Applicants may include K-12 public and independent schools and school systems, institutions of higher education, community-based organizations and nonprofits, state and local government agencies, interstate agencies, and Indian tribal governments. For-profit organizations and foreign organizations or foreign public entities cannot apply directly, but they may participate as partners if an eligible entity leads the proposal. Federal agencies also cannot receive funding under this announcement, though they may serve as project partners. A key limitation applies to school districts: only districts with more than 25% of their land area within the Chesapeake Bay watershed are eligible to apply, reflecting the program's focus on authentic, place-based watershed learning tied to the Chesapeake region.

NOAA also emphasizes broadening participation and encourages proposals that involve or benefit historically underserved communities and institutions. In particular, NOAA highlights interest in engagement with historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and institutions working in underserved areas. This emphasis signals that competitive projects should pay attention to access, inclusion, and equitable reach, ensuring that meaningful watershed learning opportunities extend to students and communities that have historically had fewer resources or fewer chances to participate in high-quality environmental education.

Overall, this grant opportunity is designed to build strong, locally grounded K-12 watershed education programs that combine rigorous learning with real-world relevance, outdoor investigation, and student-driven stewardship action, while strengthening regional environmental literacy and expanding participation across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2021 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.457.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-11-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-01. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2021 2006735

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: