Fiscal Year 2023 Regional Environmental Literacy Capacity Building | NOAA NMFS HCPO 2023 2007600

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2023 2007600

The Fiscal Year 2023 Regional Environmental Literacy Capacity Building opportunity is a discretionary federal grant offered by the U.S. Department of Commerce through NOAA under the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training program (Chesapeake B-WET). It is set up as a cooperative agreement, which generally means the funder expects to be more actively involved than in a standard grant, often through collaboration, technical input, and coordination during the project period. The central purpose is to strengthen environmental literacy across the Chesapeake Bay watershed by expanding the reach, quality, and consistency of hands-on, locally relevant K-12 environmental learning.

At the heart of this opportunity is the concept of Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). These are authentic, experiential learning experiences that typically move beyond classroom-only instruction and connect students to real environmental issues in their communities, often through outdoor investigations, data collection, stewardship, and reflection. The funding is not focused simply on one-off field trips or isolated lessons. Instead, it supports efforts that build the systems, partnerships, and professional capacity needed to make MWEEs a sustained part of how school districts deliver education, especially across multiple schools, grades, or districts.

This particular announcement emphasizes regional capacity building rather than direct district-level program delivery. The stated priority, Regional Environmental Literacy Capacity Building, is aimed at increasing the capacity of statewide networks and the people and organizations that help those networks function effectively. That includes network leadership and "network weavers" (the coordinators and connectors who align partners, share best practices, and help programs operate as a coherent system). It also includes partners and the broader environmental education community that supports schools, such as nonprofits, higher education institutions, informal education providers, and other organizations that contribute expertise, training, and program infrastructure. The overall goal is to develop and scale systemic MWEEs within school districts by improving the support structures around them, so that best practices can be replicated and sustained across states and throughout the region.

The opportunity is designed to advance two major policy frameworks: the environmental literacy goal of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and the NOAA Education Strategic Plan. In practical terms, that translates into building durable capacity for hands-on environmental education and spreading approaches that have been shown to work. Projects funded under this priority are expected to help the region move toward stronger, more coordinated environmental education programming, with an emphasis on consistency, quality, and long-term adoption rather than temporary or isolated activities.

The funding opportunity number is NOAA NMFS HCPO 2023 2007600, and the CFDA (assistance listing) number is 11.457. The announcement was created on November 2, 2022, with an original closing date of February 10, 2023. The maximum award amount listed (award ceiling) is $250,000, and NOAA anticipated making one award under this specific announcement. The activity areas connected to the funding include environment, natural resources, science and technology, research and development, and related areas, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of watershed education and environmental literacy work.

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the full notice under an "Additional Information on Eligibility" section. In many NOAA education opportunities, this category can include a range of entities such as nonprofits, institutions of higher education, state or local governments, tribal governments, and other mission-aligned organizations, but the exact eligible applicant types would need to be confirmed in the full announcement language.

Finally, it is important that this notice distinguishes itself from another Chesapeake B-WET funding track. NOAA notes that a separate B-WET announcement focused on School District Programming is available on Grants.gov. In other words, applicants should match their proposal to the correct pathway: this Regional Environmental Literacy Capacity Building opportunity is meant for efforts that strengthen statewide and regional systems supporting MWEEs, rather than proposals primarily focused on delivering MWEEs directly within a single district as the main objective.

• The Department of Commerce in the business and commerce, environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2023 Regional Environmental Literacy Capacity Building" 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 Nov 02, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 10, 2023. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2023 2007600

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