Subject: Environmental Education, K-12, Community Development, Safety
Deadline: Apr. 6, 2018
“The goal of this Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) is to support the education of K-12 students and the public so they are knowledgeable of the ways in which their community can become more resilient to extreme weather events and/or other environmental hazards, and become involved in achieving that resilience. Many U.S. communities are increasingly contending with issues related to preventing, withstanding, and recovering from disruptions caused by extreme weather and other environmental hazards. These hazards include but are not limited to severe storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, heavy precipitation events, persistent drought, heat waves, increased global temperatures, acidification of the ocean, and sea level rise. These extreme weather and climate events put stress on infrastructure, ecological systems, and the humans that live in the impacted places. U.S. communities can become more resilient to such events by exploring the hazards they face, assessing their specific vulnerabilities and risks, considering options, prioritizing and planning, and finally taking action. This process is typically performed by scientists and municipal planners, but in order for resilience to occur, other members of a community must have some understanding of the hazards they face and how to mitigate them, both at the individual and the community level.
Education projects focused on resilience enable and empower community members, including children and youth, to protect themselves and their communities from these hazards. Projects should build the environmental literacy necessary for communities to become more resilient to extreme weather and other environmental hazards they face. In order for communities to become more resilient, their members must have the ability to reason about the ways that human and natural systems function and interact; to understand the scientific process and uncertainty; to reason about the ways that people and places are connected to each other across time and space; and to weigh the potential impacts of their decisions systematically. Projects should leverage and incorporate relevant state and local hazard mitigation and/or adaptation plans and collaborate with institutions that are involved in efforts to develop or implement those plans. Projects may focus on a single type of environmental hazard or a range of hazards that may impact a community or communities. Projects will be based on the established scientific evidence about current and future natural hazards and stresses facing communities and should consider relevant socio-economic and ecological factors in the targeted geographic area(s). Projects should engage participants in active learning activities.”
Funder: Department of Commerce
Eligibility: “Eligible applicants for this funding opportunity are limited to institutions of higher education; K-12 public and independent schools and school systems, other nonprofits, including informal education institutions such as museums, zoos, and aquariums; state and local government agencies; and Indian tribal governments in the United States. For-profit organizations, foreign institutions, and individuals are not eligible to apply; however, for-profit organizations, foreign institutions, and individuals 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.”
Amount: $250,000 – $500,000
Contact: Link.
