NOAA B-WET: Bay Watershed Education
NOAA grants supporting place-based watershed education for K-12 students in Michigan and Great Lakes regions.
About This Grant
NOAA's Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program funds meaningful watershed educational experiences for K-12 students and teachers. Michigan qualifies through the Great Lakes region.
Grants typically range from $50,000 to $200,000. Programs must provide students with direct, hands-on experiences in or near a watershed, not just classroom instruction.
CS and data literacy components, such as water quality sensor networks or environmental monitoring, can strengthen a B-WET proposal when paired with genuine field experience.
View NOAA B-WET: Bay Watershed EducationEligibility
- K-12 public and private schools near Great Lakes or Michigan waterways
- Nonprofits with established watershed education programming
- Programs providing meaningful watershed educational experiences (MWEEs)
- Must include hands-on, field-based student learning
Allowable Uses
- Physical computing hardware (coding kits, micro:bits, robotics)
- CS and AI literacy curriculum
- Teacher professional development
- Water quality monitoring equipment, field science supplies, and data analysis tools
Forward Education Products for This Grant
These kits align to the learning outcomes this program funds.
- micro:bit Starter Kit — Physical computing for CS education. Aligns to Michigan CS standards for computational thinking and programming at grades K-8.
- MicroChat AI Literacy Kit — AI literacy curriculum for middle and high school. Addresses AI and data literacy components of Michigan CS standards.
- Coding for Good Kit — Project-based coding curriculum with real-world connections. Strong alignment to Michigan standards.
- micro:bit Robotics Kit — Robotics and physical computing for grades 5-12. Supports CS standards across computational thinking and programming.
Keep in Mind
B-WET requires genuine field-based watershed experiences. A program that only discusses water in a classroom will not score well.
NOAA has a published framework for Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences. Align your proposal to this explicitly.
Applications with environmental organization partners score higher.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does our school have to be on the water?
You need a meaningful connection to a watershed. Michigan schools have abundant options with the Great Lakes.
Can technology be part of the program?
Yes. Water quality sensors, GPS mapping, and data logging are excellent integrations.
Is teacher professional development included?
B-WET funds both student programs and teacher training.
What is the application process?
Applications are submitted through Grants.gov.
How can Forward Education help?
We provide curriculum alignment documents mapped to Michigan CS standards, pricing letters for grant budgets, and letters of support. Contact us before you apply.
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Explore more Michigan funding resources
View all Michigan AI & CS grants →Need Help Writing Your Grant Application?
Forward Education works with schools and districts to build strong funding proposals. We can help you connect our tools to your grant requirements.
- Curriculum alignment documents — Michigan CS Standards mapped to our kits
- Program quotes and pricing — classroom sets, bundles, and multi-site pricing
- Letters of support — documentation for grant applications
- Project ideas and scope-and-sequence — ready-to-use program outlines
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