THE NOAA BAY WATERSHED EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM (B-WET) SHANNON SPRAGUE ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY MANAGER B-WET PROGRAM MANAGER CHESAPEAKE BAY NOAA CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE Presentation to Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature September 16, 2010

What is NOAA B-WET? Federal environmental education grant program that promotes locally relevant, experiential STEM learning for K-12 students $9.7M Nationally ($3.5M in Chesapeake) Administered locally to support state, and regional EE efforts Chesapeake Bay Executive Order State environmental literacy priorities FY 2011 Priority Areas Integrated MWEEs Capacity Building Integration of Data and Technology Systemic MWEE Implementation 2

B-WET Supports Maryland EE $9M+ through 69 awards to MD since 2002 ($1.4M in 2010) NOAA Environmental Science Training Center opening to deliver continuing science education for EE providers Funded organizations include: Maryland State Dept of Education Maryland Dept of Natural Resources Chesapeake Bay Foundation Maryland Public Television University of MD Center for Environmental Science Frederick County Public Schools Anne Arundel County Public Schools 3

FY 2011 NOAA Environmental Literacy Grants Supports K-12 inquiry-based Earth System Science learning and stewardship – interest in climate literacy FY 2011 Focus Service learning for K-12 students PD for pre- and in-service teachers, and PD providers Priority Areas Innovative Proof-of-concept projects (1-2 yrs; $200,000 to $500,000) Full-scale Implementation (3-5 yrs; $500,001 to $1,500,000) ELG focuses on K-12 formal education every other year! 4

Model Program: Audubon GreenKids Description: School environmental resources, teacher training, lass visits from naturalists, and student field experiences at nature sanctuaries and local waterways Grantee: Audubon Naturalist Society School division: Montgomery County Jointly funded by NOAA and CBT What makes it a model program? Reaching all elementary schools in MCPS Memorandum of Understanding between MCPS and Audubon Plan for systemic implementation in a large school division – expand via identifiable MCPS clusters 5

Model Program: Eastern Shore Initiative Description: EE coordinator works with each environmental science supervisor to develop and implement grade-level wide EE program Grantee: MSDE 9 eastern shore school divisions What makes it a model program? Builds partnerships between local EE providers and LEAs Provides critical support for planning and implementing MWEEs 6

Model Program: Carroll County Outdoor School Description: Developing, piloting and implementing a K-12 Environmental Literacy Course of Study Carroll CountyGrantee: Carroll County Schools What makes it a model program: Comprehensive strategy Managed by school division 7

Chesapeake Bay Executive Order Foster a dramatic increase in the number of citizen stewards – of every age – who support and carryout local conservation and restoration Action: Initiate robust elementary and secondary environmental literacy initiative Outdoor student environmental education Professional development, tools and resources for educators Environmentally responsible grounds and operations Green Jobs (tentative addition) Why should I care?: Potential for increased funding and federal programming to support regional, state, and local environmental literacy efforts 8

Shannon Sprague Environmental Literacy Manager Contact Information 9