Fiscal Year 2023 NOAA Gulf of Mexico Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program | NOAA NMFS SE 2023 2007673

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS SE 2023 2007673

The Fiscal Year 2023 NOAA Gulf of Mexico Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program is a competitive funding opportunity run by the Department of Commerce through NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Regional Office. It supports environmental education projects across the Gulf of Mexico region that connect K-12 students to their local watersheds through hands-on, place-based learning, while also strengthening teacher skills through high-quality professional development. The program is designed to help communities grow new and innovative watershed education efforts and to build lasting partnerships among schools, nonprofits, agencies, and other organizations involved in environmental literacy.

At the center of this opportunity is NOAA's Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) model, a learner-centered approach where students investigate real local environmental issues and then use what they learn to take informed action. A strong MWEE blends learning in classrooms with outdoor field experiences and uses hands-on investigation to build environmental literacy. These projects are expected to help students connect scientific concepts to the relationship between natural systems and society, so participants do not just learn facts about watersheds but also develop the skills to make decisions and contribute to healthier, more resilient, and more equitable communities. The opportunity also notes that MWEE-based education can be a practical pathway for building climate knowledge and competencies, tying watershed learning directly to climate impacts and climate solutions.

NOAA highlights four main priority areas for proposed projects. The first is professional development for teachers that specifically prepares educators to design and deliver MWEEs. The second is exemplary programs that combine teacher professional development with student MWEEs, meaning proposals can integrate both educator training and direct student experiences into one cohesive effort. The third priority is systemic MWEE implementation, which generally points to approaches that embed MWEEs more broadly across schools, districts, or networks rather than running isolated experiences. The fourth priority is capacity building for expanded statewide K-12 environmental literacy initiatives, supporting work that strengthens infrastructure, coordination, or long-term capability for watershed education at a larger scale.

A major emphasis of this funding announcement is expanding participation by marginalized communities in watershed education. NOAA signals clear interest in proposals that intentionally partner with organizations and institutions serving marginalized groups, particularly minority communities, and that remove barriers to participation in environmental learning. The announcement also recognizes the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19, especially for education providers that rely on in-person and outdoor experiences, and it encourages proposals that respond to immediate pandemic-related needs while still delivering meaningful learning opportunities for youth.

From an administrative standpoint, awards are expected to be made as grants and/or cooperative agreements, and the opportunity is categorized under discretionary funding. The program is listed under CFDA 11.008. NOAA anticipated making around four awards, with an award ceiling of $150,000 per award. The funding opportunity number is NOAA NMFS SE 2023 2007673 (2007673). The opportunity opened on November 3, 2022, and the original application deadline was January 27, 2023. Eligibility is described broadly as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full notice, which typically means applicants may include a range of organizations such as nonprofits, educational institutions, local entities, and other partners as specified in the complete eligibility section of the announcement.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at strengthening environmental literacy in the Gulf region by funding projects that deliver well-designed, locally relevant watershed investigations and action projects for students, paired with the training and partnerships needed to sustain that work over time. Competitive proposals are likely to be those that demonstrate strong MWEE design, clear community and school partnerships, measurable benefits for teachers and students, and intentional strategies to include underserved and marginalized communities while addressing real-world challenges like climate change and COVID-19 related constraints on educational programming.

• 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 NOAA Gulf of Mexico Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.008.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 03, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 27, 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 $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NMFS SE 2023 2007673

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