NOAA Gulf of Mexico NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program | NOAA NMFS SE 2019 2005805

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS SE 2019 2005805

The NOAA Gulf of Mexico Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program is a competitive grant opportunity run through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Regional Office within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its core purpose is to strengthen environmental education across the Gulf of Mexico region by supporting hands-on, place-based learning for K-12 students. The program is designed around locally relevant, experiential instruction that helps students understand their own watersheds, how land and water systems connect, and how human choices affect coastal and marine environments.

Funded projects are expected to deliver Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs), which generally means students do more than learn concepts in a classroom. They participate in structured learning that includes outdoor or field-based investigation, the use of real environmental data or observations, and opportunities to analyze findings and communicate results. Alongside student experiences, the program also supports professional development for teachers so that educators can build skills, confidence, and curricula that sustain watershed education beyond the life of a single grant. In practice, proposals typically blend student learning, teacher training, and partnerships with local organizations that can provide access to field sites, scientific expertise, or community-based environmental work.

The opportunity is tied to NOAA priorities in both ecosystem health and public engagement. Specifically, it aligns with NOAA's long-term goal of maintaining healthy oceans by sustaining marine fisheries, habitats, and biodiversity within productive ecosystems, and it supports NOAA's broader objective of building an engaged and educated public capable of making scientifically informed environmental decisions. In other words, the program is not only about education for its own sake; it is framed as a way to develop future stewards and informed community members who can participate thoughtfully in decisions that affect coastal and marine resources in the Gulf.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity that may be issued as either a grant or a cooperative agreement, depending on the level of anticipated federal involvement during the project. The listed CFDA number is 11.008. The posted award ceiling is $100,000, and the program anticipated making about seven awards under this specific announcement. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with the expectation that applicants review the detailed eligibility language in the full announcement (the note indicates additional clarification is provided in an "Additional Information on Eligibility" section). The original posting shows a creation date of August 31, 2018 and an original closing date of November 2, 2018, which situates this particular notice as a time-bound funding round within the ongoing Gulf of Mexico B-WET program.

Overall, the Gulf of Mexico B-WET Program funds projects that connect Gulf communities, schools, and educators to real-world watershed and coastal issues through authentic student investigations and teacher support, while reinforcing regional environmental education priorities and NOAA's mission to protect marine ecosystems and strengthen public understanding of environmental science.

• The Department of Commerce in the employment, labor and training, environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NOAA Gulf of Mexico NOAA 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 Aug 31, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 02, 2018. (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 $100,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NMFS SE 2019 2005805

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