NOAA-NOS-OCM-2020-2006197 Full Announcement.pdf

2020 NOAA Hawaii Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 3

A. Program Objective 3 B. Program Priorities 12 C. Program Authority 17

II. Award Information 17 A. Funding Availability 17 B. Project/Award Period 18 C. Type of Funding Instrument 18

III. Eligibility Information 18 A. Eligible Applicants 18 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 19 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 19

IV. Application and Submission Information 19 A. Address to Request Application Package 19 B. Content and Form of Application 19 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 34 D. Submission Dates and Times 34 E. Intergovernmental Review 36 F. Funding Restrictions 36 G. Other Submission Requirements 36

V. Application Review Information 37 A. Evaluation Criteria 37 B. Review and Selection Process 39 C. Selection Factors 40 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 41

VI. Award Administration Information 41 A. Award Notices 42 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 42 C. Reporting 45

VII. Agency Contacts 46 VIII. Other Information 46

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 48

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: 2020 NOAA Hawaii Bay Watershed Education and Training (B- WET) Program

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2020-2006197

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.473, Office for Coastal Management

Dates: Full proposals must be received by 6:59 pm Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST) on December 12, 2019.

Two informational webinars with the program officer will occur on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm and Tuesday, November 05, 2019 from 2:30 to 3:30 pm HST.

Webinar links and related teleconference information will be sent to interested applicants who sign-up for an information session at https://forms.gle/BQDXtmc9jRQgtAcg7

Funding Opportunity Description: The NOAA Hawaii Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program is a federal funding opportunity that meets NOAA's mission of science, service and stewardship. The Hawaii B-WET program supports a vision of a future where societies and ecosystems are healthy and resilient in the face of sudden or prolonged change. The purpose for this financial assistance is to support our communities by developing a well-informed citizenry involved in decision-making that positively impacts our coastal, marine, and watershed ecosystems in the State of Hawaii. This is a competitive opportunity for grants to assist in the development of new programs, encourage innovative partnerships among environmental education programs, and support geographically targeted programs to advance environmental education efforts that complement national and state school requirements. The Hawaii B-WET program plays a foundational role as an environmental education program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning in the K-12 environment on priority topics such as understanding ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences, community resilience to hazards, and place-based environmental management. Funded projects provide meaningful watershed educational experiences for students, professional development for teachers, service-learning opportunities for students, and support regional education and environmental priorities. More information about the B-WET program is online at https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/bwet.

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

The NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program was established in 2002 to create environmentally literate students and teachers through education.

Recognizing that an informed community is the key to sustaining the Nation's watershed, coastal and ocean environments, NOAA has developed B-WET Programs in seven regions:

California, Chesapeake Bay, Hawai`i, Gulf of Mexico, New England, Pacific Northwest, and Great Lakes. The Hawaii B-WET program is administered by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management - Pacific Islands based in Honolulu on behalf of the NOAA Office of Education and in partnership with the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in Hawaii.

The goal of the Hawaii B-WET program is to support K-12 environmental literacy programs that provide students with Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) in Hawaii’s ahupuaa and related professional development for in-service teachers, administrators, or other educators serving K-12 students. Individuals that have been educated about Earth's processes, community resilience to hazards, and long-term environmental trends can become effective problem solvers and future community leaders and decision-makers charged with managing Hawaii's limited island resources. Experiential learning techniques, such as those supported by the B-WET Program, have been shown to increase interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), thus contributing to NOAA's obligations under the America COMPETES Act (33 USC 893a).

The Hawaiian Islands are an excellent resource for environmental education and provide a multitude of "hands-on" laboratories where students can see, touch, and learn about the Earth processes and the dynamic interactions of different ecosystems within an ahupuaa, as well as potential hazards that may impact a community. The islands' complex, diverse, and unique ecosystems can be brought to life in the classroom through Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs).

The MWEE is the backbone of all B-WET funded projects. All projects, regardless of the priority, must incorporate the MWEE in order to be successful. The definition of the MWEE that follows was created by the NOAA B-WET National Program and is used by all seven B- WET regions throughout the country.

1. Defining the NOAA Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience

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Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences are multi-stage activities that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom, and aim to increase the environmental literacy of all participants. Teachers should support students to investigate topics both locally and globally that are of interest to them, learn they have control over the outcome of environmental issues, identify actions available to address these issues, and understand the value of those actions.

a. MWEEs for Students

Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences for students should be learner centered and focused on questions, problems, and issues to be investigated through collecting, analyzing and sharing data; learning protocols; exploring models; and examining natural phenomena.

These activities, grounded in best practices and the context of the local community and culture, help increase student interest, motivation, and attitudes toward learning, and achieve environmental stewardship. As a result of the MWEE activities, students should have an understanding of basic watershed concepts as well as the interaction between natural systems (e.g. wildlife, plants, and water cycle) and social systems (e.g. communities, transportation systems, and schools), highlighting the connection between human activity and environmental conditions. MWEEs consist of multiple components as defined below.

i. Issue definition and background research Students focus on an environmental question, problem, or issue requiring background research and investigation. They learn more about the issue through classroom instruction, the collection of data, conducting experiments, talking to experts, and reviewing credible publications. This process should be age appropriate with practices growing in complexity and sophistication across the grades, starting with educator guided investigation and progressing to student-led inquiry.

ii. Outdoor field activities Students participate in multiple outdoor field activities sufficient to collect the data or make observations required for answering the research questions and informing student actions, or as part of the issue definition and background research. Students should be actively involved in planning the investigation, taking measurements, or constructing the project within appropriate safety guidelines, with teachers providing instruction on methods and procedures, data collection protocols, and proper use of equipment as needed. These activities can take place off-site and/or on the school grounds.

iii. Stewardship action projects Students participate in an age appropriate project during which they take action to address

Notice of Federal Funding Page 4 of 48 environmental issues at the personal or societal level. Participants in B-WET MWEE activities should understand they have control over the outcome of environmental issues, be encouraged to identify actions to address these issues and understand the value of those actions. Examples of stewardship activities include:

Watershed Restoration or Protection (e.g., create schoolyard habitat, planting trees or grasses, invasive species removal, community cleanup, stormwater management)

Everyday Choices (e.g., reduce/reuse/recycle/upcycle, composting, energy conservation, water conservation)

Community Engagement (e.g., presentations, social media, event-organizing, messaging at community events/fairs/festivals, mentoring, PSAs, flyers, posters)

Civic Action (e.g., town meetings, voting, writing elected officials/decision makers, meeting with elected officials to learn about policy aspects of watershed monitoring and habitat restoration)

iv. Synthesis and conclusions Students analyze and evaluate the results of projects and investigations. Students synthesize and communicate results and conclusions to an external audience such as other classrooms, schools, parents, or the community (e.g., through presentations at local conferences, developing websites, in-school service days, community presentations or other public forums and other venues for outreach). External communication may also include the creation of new songs, dances, and other forms of expression that are consistent with the community culture, such as native Hawaiian oral and artistic traditions.

b. Support for MWEEs with Students

In addition to the components identified above, NOAA recommends that the following elements are in place to fully support successful MWEE implementation with students.

i. Teacher participation for the duration of the MWEE While external partners are entirely appropriate to support MWEEs, teachers should support the experience in the classroom and in the field. Teachers are in the best position to help students make connections and draw on past lessons, serve as environmental role models, and enhance students overall outdoor education experience and should be involved in all components of the experiences detailed above. To support them in this role, teachers should have appropriate knowledge of environmental issues and watershed concepts, skill in

Notice of Federal Funding Page 5 of 48 connecting these issues to their curriculum, and competency in environmental education pedagogy, including the ability and confidence to teach outdoor lessons and to lead students in critical thinking about environmental issues.

ii. Integration with classroom curriculum Experiences should be integrated into what is occurring in the classroom, and can provide authentic, age appropriate, engaging multi-disciplinary content to address academic standards. Specifically, elements of science and social studies standards related to questioning and investigation, evidence-based analysis and interpretation, model and theory building, knowledge of environmental processes and systems, skill for understanding and addressing environmental issues, and personal and civic responsibility align well with MWEEs. Non-school activities may enrich traditional classroom curriculum when needed, though this need should be documented and supported by local education agencies.

iii. Use of local context for learning The local community and environment should be viewed as a primary resource for student MWEEs. Place-based education promotes learning that is rooted in the unique history, environment, culture, economy, literature, and art of a students’ schoolyard, neighborhood, town or community, and thus offering students and teachers the opportunity to explore how individual and collective decisions impact their immediate surroundings. Once a firm connection to their local environment is made, students are better positioned to expand their thinking to recognize the far-reaching implications of the decisions they make to the larger national and global environment.

iv. Experiences are a set of activities over time The MWEE includes the full duration leading up to and following the outdoor field experiences. Each component should involve a significant investment of instructional time, incorporate time for reflection, and include all students. Experiences such as tours, simulations, demonstrations, or nature walks may be instructionally useful, but alone do not constitute an entire meaningful watershed educational experience as defined here.

v. Includes NOAA assets, including personnel and resources NOAA has a wealth of applicable products and services as well as a cadre of scientific and professional experts that can heighten the impact of environmental instruction both in the classroom and in the field. Additionally, environmental professionals can serve as important role models for career choices and stewardship. For more on NOAA assets for education please see:

https://www.noaa.gov/education https://coast.noaa.gov/nerrs/education/

Notice of Federal Funding Page 6 of 48 https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/ https://www.legislative.noaa.gov/NIYS/NIYSHI.pdf

c. Teacher Professional Development for Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences

Teachers should be skilled in using environmental education and MWEEs to address multiple subjects’ curriculum standards and local education agency initiatives. In order to gain and maintain environmental education competencies, teachers need access to sustained, high quality professional development that includes ongoing support and feedback. Teachers should gain confidence in the value of MWEEs and strategies for conducting them so that they will conduct MWEEs after the B-WET supported program has ended. Specifically, the following elements are recommended for professional development to support teachers implementing MWEEs:

i. Increases teachers’ knowledge and awareness of environmental issues Teachers must have an adequate level of content knowledge for their MWEE topic area specific to their grade level and discipline, including an understanding of basic watershed concepts and the human connection to the watershed. Recognizing that environmental issues often include different perspectives and opinions, teachers must also have a deep understanding of the facts related to environmental issues along with an understanding of the various stakeholder values. In addition, teachers who demonstrate environmentally responsible attitudes and behaviors may be role models for their students and increase their ability to guide students in actions to address complex environmental issues.

ii. Models environmental education pedagogy Facilitators/trainers should utilize the same techniques and experiences in trainings that teachers are expected to use with their students, such as hands-on, place-based, outdoor field experiences and environmental issue investigation and action.

iii. Allows for adequate instructional time Professional Development trainings should be multi-day, occurring consecutively or over the course of several months. Trainings should include ample opportunity for teachers to reflect on their own teaching practices and planning for how to use knowledge and skills gained from professional development in the classroom.

iv. Provides ongoing teacher support and appropriate incentives Even in cases where teachers participate in robust multi-day trainings, such as summer or weekend courses, it is still essential that professional development providers have a structure in place for on-going teacher support and enrichment. This can take the form of follow up

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 48 meetings, creating web-based forums for communication and feedback, establishing mentor teachers who can serve as points of contact, or including teams of teachers from one particular school. Continuing education credits and stipends can be used to encourage participation in on-going professional development opportunities. Outreach and training opportunities for school administrators may help increase high-level support for both environmental education and continuing teacher professional development for teachers.

v. Meets jurisdictional guidelines for effective teacher professional development Each jurisdiction has established guidance and recommendations germane to all forms of teacher professional development. When possible, professional development opportunities in environmental education should adhere to these general guidelines set forth by local education agencies.

d. Additional required components

i. Direct connection to the ahupuaa Experiences should demonstrate to participants that local actions within an ahupuaa can impact the greater environment and ultimately, stewardship and long-term community sustainability. Projects should encourage participants to be actively involved in stewardship behaviors and decisions that conserve, restore, and protect natural and cultural resources within the ahupuaa. Projects can focus on a specific environment within an ahupuaa (including marine environments), but applicants should demonstrate how the focus area fits within the greater ahupuaa concept.

ii. Experiences for all students/teachers The Hawaii B-WET program is strongly committed to expanding the knowledge and participation of low income, underrepresented and underserved student population in environmental education. It is crucial for all citizens to have an understanding of and connection with their own environment, therefore all students should be provided an outdoor experience regardless of where they live or go to school. The Hawaii B-WET Program anticipates that a substantial portion of the target audience served by funded projects will represent communities that are underrepresented or underserved.

iii. NOAA special interest area NOAA has identified three special interest areas as a focus of the Hawaii B-WET program.

I. NOAA designated place-based management areas, II. Community resilience to hazards, and III. Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric sciences. More information on each special interest area is provided below. Projects that address one or more NOAA special interest areas are particularly encouraged because they specifically capitalize on a NOAA supported

Notice of Federal Funding Page 8 of 48 educational program, restoration project, or national education interests.

I. NOAA designated priority place-based management areas NOAA has identified several unique environments in Hawaii as special places for place-based management. Projects should be based on, or integrally connected to, conservation at one of the following locations: Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary; Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument; Heeia National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR); Hawaii Sentinel Site Program locations; Hawaii Habitat Blueprint focus area, or West Maui or South Kohala Coral Priority Areas.

II. Community resilience to hazards Hawaii residents are susceptible to impacts from sea- level rise, extended droughts, extreme weather events, coastal erosion, landslides, ocean acidification hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis that pose serious threats to local communities, economic well-being, public health, natural resources and environments. Understanding the balance between long-term resource management and land-use planning also affords opportunities to learn about the impact of past hazards on a community's sustainability. Building awareness of potential vulnerabilities to hazards and increasing the ability to prepare for, withstand, respond to and recover from such events provides students and teachers opportunities to enhance the resilience of their own community and increases the capacity for long-term sustainability.

III. Earth, ocean, and atmospheric sciences Experiences should encourage and inspire student and teacher participants to engage in exploring and investigating Earth's dynamic processes. Projects should reflect a multi-disciplinary approach in the study of NOAA related sciences and the interaction of different ecosystems within an island ahupuaa, as well as long-term trends in average environmental conditions to support appropriate resource management, long-term sustainability, and local economies in both water-based and terrestrial-based activities.

iv. Partnerships Project proposals should include partnerships with Hawaii-based communities, schools, and/or school systems that will directly benefit from or contribute to the project. Signed letters of collaboration from each partner shall be submitted with the application package to demonstrate the level of commitment and involvement. Projects based on a NOAA designated focus area should include a letter of collaboration from a NOAA office or lead site manager associated with the location.

v. Academic standards The State of Hawaii has adopted the Next Generation Science Standards and the Hawaii

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Common Core standards as the benchmarks of quality and excellence in education. The Hawaii State Department of Education also has a department-wide framework to develop the skills, behaviors, and dispositions that are reminiscent of Hawaii’s unique context, and to honor the qualities and values of the indigenous language and culture of Hawaii called Na Hopena Ao. In addition, the ocean literacy principles (http://oceanliteracy.wp2.coexploration.org/), climate literacy principles (www.climate.gov/teaching/essential-principles-climate-literacy/essential-principles-climate-literacy), and energy literacy principles (www.energy.gov/eere/education/energy-literacy-essential-principles-energy-education) present guidelines on information individuals and communities should know to have a better understanding of these earth systems.

Applications should indicate how the project will align with one or more of these benchmarks of education.

2. Definitions: The terms used throughout this announcement are thus defined:

a. Ahupuaa: A division of land, coast, and ocean where culturally-based knowledge and practices are used to manage the resources therein. The ahupuaa includes connections and interactions between the lewa (sky), honua (earth), and moana (ocean). It is a traditional Hawaiian relationship between humans and their environment that provides a culturally-based management tool to balance environmental, social, and economic development needs.

This unique relationship was premised on the need to care for the earth and its terrestrial, marine, atmospheric, and spiritual resources. Within the ahupuaa, human interactions and the use of resources were strictly managed through orally communicated laws of the land passed from generation to generation. Although this was practiced traditionally in ancient Hawaiian culture, the knowledge is still applied to today's contemporary society affording opportunities to integrate both traditional and modern methods of resource management.

b. Citizen science: Scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists where the public participates in the scientific research.

c. Climate science: The term for sciences related to any of the studies that deal with the long-term average of conditions in the atmosphere, ocean, ice sheets, and sea ice described by statistics, such as means and extremes.

d. Community Resilience: The capacity of communities to prevent, prepare for, withstand, respond to, and recover from the effects of natural or other hazards in order to support their long-term sustainability. Resilient communities are well informed of their vulnerability to hazards and are able to comprehend the potential environmental, social, and economic impacts on their community. Examples of hazards include tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, Notice of Federal Funding Page 10 of 48 earthquakes, extreme weather events, erosion, landslides, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, extended droughts, pollution, sewage, and effects of land use in the ahupuaa.

e. Earth systems science: The term for sciences related to any of the studies that deal with the Earth or with one or more of its parts. Many scientists use the Earth systems science approach which treats the entire Earth as a system. Earth sciences include but are not limited to: meteorology, climatology, atmospheric chemistry, geology, geodesy, geophysics, soil science, oceanography, hydrology, marine biology, glaciology, and marine, coastal, and atmospheric sciences.

f. Habitat Blueprint focus area: Forward-looking framework which outlines how NOAA thinks and acts strategically across programs and with partner organizations to address the growing challenge of coastal and marine habitat loss and degradation. NOAA improves habitat conditions which support fisheries, coastal and marine life, and provide economic, cultural, and environmental benefits. More information about Habitat Blueprint is at https://www.habitatblueprint.noaa.gov.

g. Hawaii: The islands of Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, Kahoolawe, Niihau, and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

h. Kupuna: Native Hawaiian word for elder or grandparent.

i. Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEE): Details in section I.A.1 of this announcement and at www.noaa.gov/office-education/bwet-mwee.pdf

j. Service learning: A teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

k. Stewardship: Behaviors and decisions that conserve, restore, and protect natural and cultural resources.

l. Students: Kindergarten through high school (K-12).

m. Teachers/educators: Formal educators for kindergarten through high school and informal educators for all audiences.

n. Watershed: Land area from which water drains toward a common watercourse in a natural basin. For the Hawaii B-WET program, projects should incorporate the ahupuaa concept.

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o. Sentinel Site Program: The Hawaiian Islands Sentinel Site Cooperative is a compilation of sites that includes Midway and French Frigate Shoals in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), and Kona Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Cooperative contains some of the most productive and unique ecological sites in US waters, and is widely recognized as one of the most valuable ecological locations in the world. For more information about the Sentinel Site Program, go to the website at http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/sentinelsites/hawaii.html.

B. Program Priorities

Native Hawaiians were recognized for their integrated and sustainable resource management practices and their ability to instill environmental, cultural, and spiritual values from generation to generation. The Hawaiian culture is recognized for keen observations of Earth's processes and applying that knowledge to create sustainable practices that supported a population of nearly one million Hawaiians prior to western contact. The practice of ahupuaa management evolved in Hawaii as a result of the interrelationship of people and their environment. The island perspective regards humans as connected to nature as a part of their environment, not as a separate entity. This unique relationship was premised on the need to care for the Earth and its terrestrial, marine, atmospheric, and spiritual resources, and provides a powerful study and management mechanism to integrate earth sciences and community resilience to hazards in our contemporary land-use planning and decision-making processes.

Modern ahupuaa management focuses on knowledge of Earth's processes, fostering stewardship of the land and sea, and understanding the interconnectedness of the health of our environment to the resilience of our communities. It provides opportunities to promote community-based efforts with localized knowledge to take an active part in decisions about the management of the ahupuaa to balance the use of environmental resources with social and economic needs. In applying the ahupuaa concept, communities can begin to assess the resilience of their surrounding environment by having a more in-depth understanding of Earth's processes to arrive at sustainable land and natural resource management goals.

The Hawaii B-WET program provides a venue for students and teachers to incorporate traditional and modern ahupuaa management practices into meaningful science-based learning experiences. The islands' ahupuaa provide a genuine and locally relevant opportunity for engaging in MWEEs while advancing student learning skills and problem-solving abilities through the introduction of culturally- based knowledge and practices with the general school curriculum.

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All B-WET projects under this funding announcement should support the direct implementation of the MWEE, applying the Hawaii perspective. All proposals should follow the MWEE guidance and additional required components to be successful. In addition a proposal must address one of the following priorities (and corresponding details that follow):

PRIORITY 1: MWEEs for students PRIORITY 2: Teacher professional development for MWEEs PRIORITY 3: MWEEs that support the integration of nature, culture, and science PRIORITY 4: New Applicants

NOTE: The numbers associated with the priorities are for reference and are not a ranking of importance. A proposal may address multiple priorities, however, applicants must identify which priority is the primary focus of their proposal.

1. PRIORITY 1: MWEEs for students

The NOAA Hawaii B-WET program seeks proposals for projects that provide opportunities for K-12 students to participate in meaningful science-based outdoor experiences that empower students’ learning. Projects submitted under this priority should be learner-centered and focused on questions, problems, and issues to be investigated through:

collecting, analyzing, and sharing data; learning protocols; exploring models; and examining natural phenomena. These activities, grounded in best practices and the context of the ahupuaa, help increase student interest, motivation, and attitudes toward learning, and achieve environmental stewardship. As a result of the MWEEs, students should have an understanding of basic watershed concepts, as well as the interaction between natural systems and social systems, highlighting the connection between human activity and environmental conditions.

Proposals submitted under this area should address the NOAA MWEE and note the following elements:

a. Project-oriented, hands-on, and investigative: Experiences should be focused around questions, problems, and issues that are investigated through data collection, observation, interviews, and hands-on activities (i.e., the scientific method). Experiences should encourage observation, motivate critical thinking, develop problem-solving skills, and instill confidence in students.

b. Sustained activity: Experiences are not meant to be tours, gallery visits, demonstrations, Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 48 nature walks, or one-off field trips. Meaningful experiences are sustained activities that include four key aspects: 1) issue definition and background research, 2) multiple outdoor activities, 3) stewardship action projects, and 4) external sharing of synthesis and conclusions of the experience. Outdoor activities can take place off-site and/or on school grounds. The total duration of the MWEE should involve a significant investment of instructional time, including time leading up to and following outdoor experiences, and at least 5 hours of outdoor student activity time.

c. Integral to the instructional program: Experiences should be clearly part of what is occurring concurrently in the classroom, and aligned with relevant and current academic content and performance standards appropriate for the public, private, independent and charter school systems. Projects occurring outside of the traditional school setting should articulate how they complement what is occurring in the classroom.

d. Integrated learning: Experiences should make appropriate connections between multiple subject areas and reflect an integrated approach to learning. Experiences should also integrate knowledge of the ahupuaa that is known by local community members such as kupuna.

2. PRIORITY 2: Teacher professional development for MWEEs

The Hawaii B-WET program seeks proposals for projects that provide teachers opportunities for professional development in implementing MWEEs. Educators should ultimately provide MWEEs for their students by weaving together classroom and field activities, within the context of their instructional coursework and current critical issues that impact the Islands.

Systematic, long-term education programs and professional development opportunities will reinforce an educator's ability to teach, inspire, and lead young people toward thoughtful stewardship of our natural and cultural resources as well as develop the next generation of decision-makers.

Based on educational research findings and preliminary evidence from the B-WET national evaluation system, the B-WET program recommends that professional development include more than 30 hours of professional development time, of which more than 10 hours should be spent outdoors. Multi-day training may occur consecutively or over several months.

These targets are expected to support teacher change and increase the likelihood that teachers will implement MWEEs.

Proposals submitted under this area should address the NOAA MWEE and note the following elements:

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a. Increase teachers’ knowledge and awareness of environmental issues: Professional development opportunities should increase teacher environmental knowledge of their ahupuaa specific to their grade level and discipline. Environmental issues often include different perspectives and opinions, therefore professional development should help teachers develop a deep understanding of the facts related to environmental issues along with an understanding of the various stakeholder values so that they can objectively advise students on all sides of an issue.

b. Understanding a Meaningful Science-based Outdoor Experience. Professional development opportunities should be designed so that teachers understand what a meaningful science-based outdoor experience is and why this type of pedagogy is important.

Where appropriate, professional development should include tools for teachers to implement MWEEs on their school grounds. Resources exist to support the effective hands-on implementation of MWEEs and the development and continued use of integrated, sustainable indoor and outdoor environmental learning projects that provide substantial benefit to both students and the school environment. Please see the School Grounds for Learning resources available at: http://baybackpack.com/schoolyard_projects/about

c. Ongoing teacher support: Even in cases where teachers participate in robust multi-day trainings, such as a summer or weekend courses, it is still essential that professional development providers have a structure in place for ongoing teacher support and enrichment (e.g., follow up meetings, creating web-based forums, establishing mentor teachers who can serve as points of contact, or including teams of teachers from one particular school).

Continuing education credits and stipends can be used to encourage participation in ongoing professional development opportunities. Outreach and training opportunities for school administrators may help increase high-level support for both environmental education and continuing teacher professional development for teachers.

3. PRIORITY 3: MWEEs that support the integration of nature, culture, and science

The 1,350 mile stretch of islands, atolls, seamounts, banks, and shoals of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands support an incredible diversity of coral, fish, birds, marine mammals, and other flora and fauna, many of which are unique to the Hawaiian Island chain. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are the backbone of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM), a natural and cultural treasure unlike any other on Earth. The PMNM offers a glimpse back in time to when the lands and waters throughout Hawaii were healthy and teeming with life. These still-wild ecosystems contain powerful lessons for those of us in the main Hawaiian Islands who are witnessing the decline of our finite island resources.

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They teach us the importance of caring for the natural world on which our lives and livelihoods depend, and they give us a living model to guide local restoration efforts.

The area that makes up PMNM has a long tradition as a sacred place, and a history of more modern protections worth celebrating. In 2020 and 2021, PMNM will celebrate several anniversaries, including the 10 year anniversary as a natural and cultural World Heritage Site and the 20 year anniversary of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, the protection designation that preceded the PMNM. The following year, 2021, will be the 15 year anniversary of designation as a Marine National Monument, and the 5 year anniversary of the Monument Expansion. To coincide with these anniversaries, the Hawaii B-WET program is interested in MWEE projects that use examples of integrating nature, culture, and science from PMNM as an inspiration to help participants make connections to local issues.

Priority 3 projects can be either student or teacher professional development focused MWEEs and should use lessons from PMNM and apply them in a local context. Many environmental issues facing our island community can find inspiration from PMNM’s integration of nature, culture, and science. Some example projects include comparing local environments to locations in PMNM, STEM projects designed to study PMNM that are tested on the main islands, projects that build cultural connections between PMNM and the main Hawaiian Islands, projects that help participants experience PMNM, or projects that support stewardship in their community using PMNM as a guide. Projects that propose to take participants to PMNM will likely be awarded as cooperative agreements.

Proposals submitted under this area should address the NOAA MWEE and note the following elements:

Malama – To take care of, to serve and to honor, to protect. Projects should have a strong stewardship component that supports PMNM, or a location closer to home.

Laulima – Collaborative. PMNM is managed through the coordination of interagency partners; projects should incorporate relevant partners and engage the community in the proposed project.

Kuleana – Responsibility and trust. Projects should strengthen students’ sense of responsibility and support student voice by providing students with ownership and leadership opportunities at all stages of the project.

Imi ike – Search for knowledge. Participants should investigate the root cause of the issue

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 48 identified and gain a deep understanding of all sides and aspects, both from a cultural perspective as well as from a western science perspective.

Nana i ke kumu - Look to the source. Projects should encourage participants to seek answers from kupuna as well as from nature itself to learn from the forests, streams, ocean, and related life.

4. PRIORITY 4: New Applicants

The Hawaii B-WET program is actively promoting proposals from new applicants. New applicants are defined as eligible applicants who have never been the primary recipient of a NOAA B-WET award. All projects focusing on this priority area must still deliver MWEEs as defined in this announcement outlined in PRIORITY 1, 2, OR 3. Applicants submitting under PRIORITY 4 should submit under one of the following priorities:

PRIORITY 4.1: New applicant providing MWEEs for students PRIORITY 4.2: New applicant providing teacher professional development for MWEEs PRIORITY 4.3: New applicant proving MWEEs that support the integration of nature, culture, and science

C. Program Authority

15 USC 1540 Cooperative Agreements; 33 USC 893a (a) America COMPETES Act; 16 USC 1442 National Marine Sanctuaries Act

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Grant awards are dependent on the availability of Federal funding as provided in enacted Appropriations Acts. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is being released prior to final appropriations due to review and award process time frames. Based on previous appropriations, total anticipated funding for all awards is approximately $1,000,000 and is subject to the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 funding. Multiple awards are anticipated from this announcement. The anticipated number of awards ranges from five (5) to fifteen

(15) and will be adjusted based on available funding. Historically, the average award amount has been approximately $120,000. The minimum federal assistance request is $25,000 and maximum request is $150,000 for the entire proposed project period of up to 24 months.

Applications requesting federal support from NOAA of more than $150,000 will not be considered for review or funding. Projects up to 24 months may be funded in full or in

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 48 increments, where incremental funding within the approved award period is expected but not required, does not require further competition, and is subject to NOAA’s discretion. A recipient of a previous award seeking to continue an existing project beyond the approved award period of up to 24 months must submit a new application and compete with other applications.

Publication of this announcement does not obligate NOAA to establish any specific partnership or to obligate available funds for partnership activities. There is no guarantee that funds will be available to make awards for this funding opportunity or that any proposal will be selected for funding. If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, it does so at its own risk of not being selected or of these costs not being included in a subsequent award. NOAA or the DOC are not responsible for proposal preparation costs. In addition, NOAA and DOC will not be responsible for any incurred project costs if this program fails to receive funding.

B. Project/Award Period

The performance period for FY 2020 funded projects cannot exceed 24 months. The start date on proposals shall be no earlier than August 1, 2020, or the first day of any proceeding month after August 1, 2020, but no later than January 1, 2021.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

The funding instrument for these awards may be grants or cooperative agreements.

Federal cooperative agreements are different from traditional grants in that they allow for 'substantial federal involvement' in the planning and implementation of funded projects.

Substantial involvement on the part of NOAA may include the collaboration and participation of NOAA program officers, other NOAA staff in project development, planning and implementation; technical monitoring of award activities; and coordination of funded projects with other NOAA-funded efforts as needed. Substantial involvement will be described in a condition included in a funded award. An applicant may also propose in its project that a NOAA Office serve as a partner in a cooperative agreement. If so, applicants should clearly articulate the proposed roles and responsibilities of NOAA in the application.

Successful applicants will formalize the specific roles of the federal agency during the negotiation process. NOAA will address any negotiations on NOAA staff roles in any project through the substantial involvement award term.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

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Eligible funding applicants are K-12 public and independent schools and school systems, institutions of higher education, commercial and nonprofit organizations, state or local government agencies, and Indian tribal governments conducting projects in Hawaii (Islands of Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, Kahoolawe, Niihau, and/or the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands). Individual applicants and Federal agencies are not eligible.

Existing recipients selected during the FY 2018 (NOAA-NOS-OCM-2018-2005344) and FY 2019 (NOAA-NOS-OCM-2019-2005858) Hawaii B-WET competitions are eligible to apply as competitive renewal projects and are required to re-apply to receive consideration for further funding.

Federal agencies and employees are not allowed to receive funds under this announcement but may serve as collaborative project partners and may contribute services in kind. Federal agencies and employees’ ‘in-kind services’ cannot be considered as part of an applicant’s match on shared costs. If an applicant proposes a federal agencies as a collaborator, applicants should provide detail on the expected level of federal engagement in the application. Examples might include, but are not limited to partnership services; serving in a review capacity; or participating in priority task teams, working groups, or leadership teams.

NOAA employees are not permitted to assist in the preparation of applications.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

Cost sharing is not required under this program. Any voluntary cost sharing or matching does not impact scoring and must be consistent with the requirements of 2 CFR 200.306.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

None

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

The Standard application package is available online at https://www.grants.gov. If this is not feasible, application packages may be requested from Jim Foley, B-WET Hawaii Coordinator at NOS/NOAA Office for Coastal Management - Pacific Islands, 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, Hawaii 96818, by phone at (808) 725-5284, or via e-mail at jim.foley@noaa.gov.

B. Content and Form of Application

Applicants should follow the full proposal application requirements stated in this

Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 48 announcement or applications will not be considered for review. The preferred content and form of full proposal packages should be complete and must follow the format described in this notice. Missing substantive application components will deem a proposal incomplete and will not be considered for further review.

Applicants should plan to upload their proposal at grants.gov as three files: 1. Title page and project narrative, 2. Budget narrative, and 3. Appendices.

Full proposal project narratives must total no more than 14 pages plus a one-page title page with abstract (no smaller than single-spaced, 12-point font, exclusive of all appendices and the required government standard forms). The project description should also include a table of contents, but the table of contents pages will not count towards the project description 14-page limit. Project descriptions that exceed the 14-page limit will be shortened by removing pages at the end of the proposal narrative before it is forwarded to merit reviewers for evaluation. Pages excised from lengthy applications will not be reviewed or considered.

Applications that are incomplete, unclear, or contain numerous typographical errors may not be understood effectively by reviewers, resulting in lower evaluation scores, so applicants are advised to review their application materials closely before they are submitted to the agency for consideration.

The budget narrative and justification are not included in the page limit, but applicants should be able to describe the budget request following the guidance outlined in section IV.B.4 of this notice in about five pages or less. The budget narrative should be limited to information that directly supports the project budget and budget justification. Any documents included in the budget that should otherwise be in the project narrative or appendices will be removed from the application before it is forwarded to merit reviewers for evaluation.

Appendices should not total more than 20 total pages and should be limited to materials that directly support the main body of the proposal (e.g., resumes, references, lists of relevant work products or reports, detailed methodologies, data sources, detailed budget information, letters of collaboration, lists of data sources, and maps). Appendices that exceed the 20-page limit will be shortened by removing pages at the end appendix before it is forwarded to merit reviewers for evaluation. Applicants should paginate their proposal and any appendices.

Required documents such as Federal forms, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) questionnaire, Data Management Plan, and Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) do not count towards the page limits, and could be included at the end of the appendices after all other supplemental material or uploaded as a separate file.

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Diacritical marks such as the okina and kahako are important to represent Hawaiian words appropriately.