NOAA’s Delaware Bay Watershed Education and Training grant program supports school district programs that provide hands-on outdoor education for students and teachers.
Grant opportunities opened Jan. 22, 2025, and the window closes April 18, 2025.
The grants are competitive and the award period is one to three years. Awards range from $25,000 to $75,000 annually for up to three years.
The competitive grant program helps deliver Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences for students in the Delaware Bay watershed in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. It encourages capacity building and partnership development for environmental education programs throughout the Delaware Bay watershed.
Delaware B-WET supports the development of programs that will reach all students in a given grade level across an entire school district to create systemic change. Successful projects advance the goals of the NOAA Education Strategic Plan. They provide hands-on environmental education about issues affecting the watershed for students as well as related professional development for teachers, administrators, and other educators who serve formal K-12 audiences. B-WET supports Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences, which are learner-centered experiences that focus on investigations into local environmental issues that lead to informed action and civic engagement. Learn more about past and current B-WET funded projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Application Process
Eligible applicants are K-through-12 public and independent schools and school systems, institutions of higher education, community-based and nonprofit organizations, state or local government agencies, interstate agencies and Indian tribal governments. For profit organizations, foreign organizations, and foreign public entities are not eligible to apply. However, for-profit and foreign organizations and foreign public entities may participate with an eligible applicant as a project partner. Likewise, federal agencies are not eligible to receive federal assistance under this announcement but may be project partners.
How to Apply
Applicants should apply through the www.Grants.gov website. A complete standard NOAA financial assistance application package should be submitted in accordance with the stated guidelines. Each application must include the application forms from the SF-424 form family.
Applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. These registrations include SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. The complete registration process for all three systems can take four to six weeks, so applicants should begin this activity as soon as possible.
When to Apply
Applications must be received by the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (904 S. Morris St., Oxford, MD 21601, attn: Bart Merrick) by the close of business (5 p.m.) or via www.Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 18, 2025. The time the application was provided to a delivery service must be documented with a receipt.
