EPA to fund five-year environmental education program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is accepting applications for the National Environmental Education Training Program. EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection and Environmental Education will award one cooperative agreement for approximately $2 million per year for this five year national program which is expected to operate from Oct. 1, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2015, subject to appropriations. Applications will be accepted until July 26.

The purpose of the program is to deliver environmental education training and long-term support to teachers and other education professionals across the U.S. to enable them to teach effectively about environmental issues. U.S. institutions of higher education and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply or to be partners in a consortium.

EPA encourages institutions to form broad-based consortia when applying for this program. The National Training Program must include opportunities for education professionals who reach historically under-served audiences such as communities of color and economically distressed communities.

The program must deliver training and long-term support to a wide range of education professionals that reach diverse demographic populations in all geographic regions of the U.S., including K-12 teachers, faculty at colleges and universities, and non-formal educators. The National Training Program must also build on existing national environmental education resources and programs to leverage resources, encourage partnerships, and reduce duplication of effort.

EPA will award only one cooperative agreement to a consortium of institutions to operate a five-year national educator training program. This program does not provide grants for smaller scale educator training or other types of environmental education projects. Entities that are seeking funds for these types of local, state or regional projects should consider other sources funding from EPA, other federal agencies and/or the private sector.

For more information contact Kathleen MacKinnon or go to  http://www.epa.gov/education/educate/solicitation.html.