Youth Environmental Education Grant Program

Youth Environmental Education Grant Program – Now Open

The Youth Environmental Education Grant Program is now open. Please note that the Trust is in the process of transitioning to a new grants management system to improve the application and grant administration experience for applicants and grantee partners. As part of this transition, the online application system for this funding opportunity will open later than the release of this RFP.

We anticipate that the new system will be live in June and expect the application to be available for at least one month prior to the application deadline of Thursday, July 9^th at 4pm EST.

In the meantime, we will post a PDF mockup of the online application on our website so applicants can preview the structure and format of the application. All narrative questions, accessible via the link below the RFP, may be reviewed and completed in advance of the system opening.

Applicants are encouraged to review this RFP closely and contact Trust staff with any questions. We appreciate your patience as we make improvements to better serve our grantee community.

The Youth Environmental Education Grant Program was established to provide accessible funds to schools, organizations, and agencies for youth environmental education opportunities and educator support.

To accomplish this goal the program funds projects that involve youth and students investigating a local environmental issue, problem, or phenomenon through indoor and outdoor research culminating in developing solutions and taking action in their school or community – also known as the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) model. Funds can cover a multitude of items including costs for field trips, fieldwork, transportation, substitute fees, and supplies for projects. This grant program also aims to build educator capacity and comfort in leading environmental education programs by funding the attendance to or development of professional development trainings for educators.

What this funds: This grant program welcomes applications for projects in the state of Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay watershed portions of D.C., Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Applicants can request funds from one of the following tracks.

Track 1: Out-of-School Outdoor Investigations for Youth Provided by Community-Based Organizations (up to $10,000)
Track 2: Outdoor Classroom, School-Yard Habitat, or Community-Based Improvement Requests (up to $10,000)
Track 3: Professional Development for Formal, Non-Formal, and Community Educators (up to $5,000)
Track 4: In-school MWEEs for Pre-K-12 Students (up to $5,000)

Who can apply: Schools, nonprofit organizations, community associations, faith-based organizations and more. View the RFP for more details regarding organization eligibility.

Is match required? Match is required in some cases and encouraged in others. Review the “Funding Restrictions, Match Requirements, and Timeline” section of the RFP for more details.

Grant Application Process: The Chesapeake Bay Trust’s grant applications are all submitted through an online system. If you have questions regarding the application process, please contact this program’s grant manager, Jaren Baluyot at 410-974-2941 ext. 103 or JBaluyot@cbtrust.org.

*Please note, online applications through the grant system started at this time are intended for the upcoming deadline. Any applications that are not submitted are automatically deleted after the deadline passes. Please do not fill out an application with the intention of submitting for a future deadline, as you will lose your work.

Educator’s Guide to the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience: For assistance constructing a robust MWEE, please review the Educator’s Guide to the MWEE.

Chesapeake Bay License Plate Parent Notification Form: Environmental Education awardees should distribute this form to parents of students engaged in the activities related to the award to ensure parents are aware that Bay Plates supported the project.