Ohio · State Grant

Ohio Environmental Education Fund (OEEF): Environmental/Climate Education

Ohio's Environmental Education Fund (OEEF) provides grants for environmental and climate education programs across Ohio, supporting K-12 projects that build student environmental literacy, outdoor learning experiences, and STEM skills.

Funding

$5,000–$50,000

Eligibility

Ohio nonprofits, schools, and government agencies

Grade Focus

K-12

Subject

Environmental Science / STEM / Climate

Deadline

Annual (fall application cycle)

Type

State Grant

About This Grant

Ohio's Environmental Education Fund is administered by the Ohio EPA and provides competitive grants for environmental education programs serving Ohio residents. The fund was established by the Ohio General Assembly to support environmental literacy — helping Ohioans understand and steward the state's lakes, rivers, forests, and natural resources.

Ohio's environmental assets — Lake Erie, the Ohio River, extensive wetlands, and forests — provide rich context for K-12 environmental education. OEEF funds classroom programs, outdoor learning experiences, teacher training, and environmental monitoring projects. Programs that use technology to study Ohio environmental issues — water quality in Lake Erie tributaries, air quality in urban areas, or watershed health monitoring — are excellent fits.

Unlike many environmental education funders, OEEF accepts applications from individual schools and small nonprofits, not just large organizations. This accessibility makes it one of the best entry-level environmental education grants for Ohio teachers who want to add environmental monitoring or outdoor CS activities to their programs.

View Ohio Environmental Education Fund (OEEF): Environmental/Climate Education →

Eligibility

Ohio nonprofits, K-12 schools, and local/state government agencies
Programs delivering environmental education to Ohio residents
Projects must address Ohio environmental issues (water, air, land, wildlife, climate)
Individual teacher classroom grants may be considered for smaller OEEF programs

Allowable Uses

Physical computing hardware (coding kits, micro:bits, robotics)
CS and AI literacy curriculum
Teacher professional development
Environmental monitoring equipment, outdoor learning materials, and field investigation costs

Forward Education Products for This Grant

Forward Education offers classroom-ready kits that align with Ohio CS standards and fit cleanly into grant budgets. All kits include teacher guides and curriculum.

micro:bit Starter Kit — Entry-level physical computing, perfect for introducing coding and computational thinking.
MicroChat AI Literacy Kit — Hands-on AI literacy curriculum covering machine learning concepts for K-12 classrooms.
Coding for Good Kit — Project-based learning kit connecting coding skills to real-world community challenges.
micro:bit Robotics Kit — Advanced robotics and engineering challenges for deeper CS exploration.

Keep in Mind

Ohio environmental issues are your best angle — Lake Erie health, Appalachian forest restoration, and urban air quality are current OEEF priorities.
The fund is administered by Ohio EPA — reference Ohio EPA data and priorities in your application.
Technology projects that generate real environmental data (water sensors, weather stations, pollution monitoring) score well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can individual teachers apply for OEEF grants?

OEEF has a small classroom grant program for individual teachers. Larger grants go to nonprofits and schools.

Does OEEF fund CS or coding programs?

OEEF funds environmental education specifically. CS is fundable when it's clearly in service of environmental learning — data collection, analysis, or monitoring.

What Ohio environmental issues does OEEF prioritize?

Lake Erie water quality, invasive species, wildlife habitat, Appalachian restoration, and climate education are current OEEF priorities.

How is OEEF funded?

OEEF is funded by contributions from the Ohio Hazardous Waste Cleanup Fund and voluntary contributions. It's a state program administered by Ohio EPA.

How can Forward Education help?

We provide curriculum alignment documents mapped to Ohio CS standards, pricing letters for grant budgets, and letters of support for qualifying applications. Reach out before you apply.