FY23 NOAA New England Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program | NOAA NMFS GARFO 2023 2007744

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS GARFO 2023 2007744

The FY23 NOAA New England Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program is a competitive discretionary funding opportunity run by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), specifically the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The program supports environmental education in New England by funding locally relevant, hands-on learning projects for K-12 students that are grounded in real watershed issues and place-based experiences. The central approach is the use of Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs), which are structured, authentic learning experiences that connect classroom instruction with outdoor or field-based investigations and related action components so students can understand watershed systems in a practical, applied way.

For FY23, the announcement highlights projects that combine long-term, classroom-integrated MWEEs for students with professional development for teachers. In other words, NOAA is looking for efforts that do not treat field trips as stand-alone events, but instead weave watershed learning into sustained instruction over time and also build educators capacity to deliver that instruction effectively. While applicants may be located anywhere in the United States, proposed work must clearly serve students and teachers in the New England region, defined here as Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The intent is to strengthen watershed education within these states while allowing organizations outside the region to apply if they are well-positioned to implement programming there.

A major priority in this competition is expanding access and participation for marginalized communities in watershed education. The solicitation signals a strong interest in projects that intentionally partner with organizations and institutions that serve marginalized groups, including minority communities, and that can credibly reduce barriers to participation. This emphasis points applicants toward designing programs that are inclusive by default, not as an add-on, and that build authentic relationships with communities that have historically had fewer opportunities to engage in environmental and coastal learning experiences.

The opportunity also frames watershed education as a pathway to broader stewardship outcomes tied to NOAA missions. It notes that the MWEE framework can help learners understand how local watersheds connect to coastal and offshore Atlantic fisheries, protected species stewardship, and related ecosystem management issues. In addition, it encourages projects that incorporate climate change and resilience education and that help students and educators connect watershed science to climate impacts and climate solutions. This is essentially an invitation for applicants to link upstream and inland learning to downstream coastal conditions, including the way land and water use, runoff, habitat conditions, and climate stressors influence marine resources.

Funding is offered through grants and cooperative agreements under CFDA 11.008. Proposals may request up to $150,000 in total federal funding for a two-year project period, and the announcement anticipates making around five awards. The published award ceiling in the listing is $300,000, but the narrative specifies that typical requests should be up to $150,000 for the two-year period, so applicants would be expected to align budgets with that stated request level unless the full announcement provides a specific rationale for higher amounts. Applications were originally due February 15, 2023, and the opportunity is identified as NOAA NMFS GARFO 2023 2007744.

Finally, the notice makes clear that awards depend on the availability of annual federal appropriations. That means selection does not guarantee a specific funding level and funding may ultimately be constrained by what Congress appropriates. If funds were not available in FY2023, NOAA indicated it could carry over FY2023 applications for possible consideration in FY2024, as long as the proposals remain relevant to B-WET priorities. This funding contingency language is typical for federal programs and is meant to set expectations about timing and the possibility of delayed funding decisions.

• The Department of Commerce in the business and commerce, education, environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY23 NOAA New England 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 Dec 12, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 15, 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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NMFS GARFO 2023 2007744

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