The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program announced the availability of up to $475,000 to implement environmental education projects in the following two priority areas: 1) Meaningful Outdoor Experience, and 2) Professional Development in the area of Environmental Education for Teachers. The announced funding represents a federally supported environmental education grant program focused solely on the Monterey Bay. NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Funding is available to (K-12) public and independent schools and school systems, institutions of higher education, commercial and nonprofit organizations, state or local government agencies, and Indian tribal governments. The deadline for applications is March 29, 2004.

The B-WET Program was established in 2002 to improve the understanding of environmental stewardship of students and teachers through education. Recognizing that an educated community is the key to understanding and sustaining the nation’s ocean and coastal environments, NOAA has developed B-WET Programs in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Monterey Bay watershed and the Hawaiian Islands. Following are a few examples of previously funded B-WET projects:

Carmel Unified School District
$ $49,090 - Middle school students will collect data and monitor the Carmel River to assess the health of the river and watershed.

Monterey High School
$ $9,861 - High school students will conduct water quality sampling and intertidal monitoring, conduct statistical analysis on the data, write research papers on the results, and present their findings at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Symposium.

Foundation for California State University Monterey Bay - Camp SEA Lab
$ $47,046 - Underserved students will be offered field-based ocean science experiences that include scientific investigations, kayaking and introductions to marine and science careers.

An application package and information is available on the NOAA B-WET Web site: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/bwet/.

NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) seeks to increase the
public awareness of America’s maritime heritage by conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration and educational programs. Today, 13 national marine sanctuaries encompass more than 18,000 square miles of America’s ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources.

NOAA National Ocean Service manages the NMSP and is dedicated to exploring, understanding, conserving and restoring the nation’s coasts and oceans. The National Ocean Service balances environmental protection with economic prosperity in fulfilling its mission of promoting safe navigation, supporting coastal communities, sustaining coastal habitats and mitigating coastal hazards.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through research to better understand weather and climate-related events and to manage wisely the nation’s coastal and marine resources.

On the Web:
NOAA - http://www.noaa.gov
NOAA National Ocean Service - https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary - http://montereybay.noaa.gov