The B-WET background information provides succinct messages and facts about NOAA and the B-WET program.

How to use these materials: Unlike the other communication materials in this toolkit, the background information is not to be used as a template. It is meant to provide background and language for you to use when you are communicating about NOAA and the B-WET program. The background information is helpful for when you are asked questions or responding to a request from the media for more detail as a result of a press release distribution, for example.

About NOAA:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an agency in the Department of Commerce with the mission: “To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.” NOAA has a vested interest in supporting and building a science-informed society. Education, therefore, plays a significant role in supporting NOAA’s mission. The NOAA Office of Education works to advance education both within NOAA and the public it serves. The NOAA Office of Education coordinates activities across NOAA and with external partners to help ensure that NOAA's education programs and activities are based on NOAA science and support the agency's cross-cutting priority of promoting environmental literacy.

About the NOAA B-WET program:

One of the Office of Education’s programs is the NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program. Established by Congress in 2002, the B-WET program is a competitive grants program that provides funding for locally relevant environmental education projects for K-12 audiences. B-WET promotes student learning in their local communities and encourages capacity building for environmental education. Funded projects advance ocean, climate, and other environmental literacy principles.

The core component of B-WET-funded projects is the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). The MWEE is a learner-centered framework that focuses on investigations into local environmental issues and leads to informed action. The B-WET program and the MWEE framework support environmental education, foster student success and interest in learning, and empower students to implement environmental solutions in their own communities. This in turn supports NOAA’s mission of science, service, and stewardship.

The B-WET program serves seven geographic areas of the country: California, Chesapeake, Great Lakes, Gulf of America, Hawaiʻi, New England, and the Pacific Northwest. Regional implementation allows B-WET to be responsive to local education and environmental priorities. Each region connects grantees to their watershed, supported by relevant NOAA assets and local resources and expertise.

Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences:

The core component of B-WET-funded projects is the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE), a learner-centered framework designed to engage students with their local environment and empower them to address real-world environmental issues through inquiry, investigation, and action. It fosters environmental literacy by connecting students to nature and equipping them to make informed decisions for sustainable communities.

We have developed An Educator’s Guide to the MWEE. The tools, worksheets, and information in this guide help educators ensure that MWEEs are done thoroughly and thoughtfully to increase student environmental literacy.

NOAA B-WET program’s national impacts:

Since 2002, NOAA has supported 981 B-WET projects. As of 2024, this program has reached approximately 7,000 educators and 68,400 students with high-quality environmental education programs.

B-WET uses internal and external evaluation, current research on teaching and learning, and lessons learned from over two decades of program implementation to improve and refine the core B-WET experience, the MWEE. Conducting national-level program evaluation while staying up-to-date on current education research helps us monitor and adjust program activities and MWEE components through evidence-based best practices. For more on B-WET’s approach to evaluation, visit our Evaluation webpage, or to see recent evaluation results, please visit our Impacts webpage. 

NOAA educational resources:

NOAA Education works to bring you educational resources and opportunities that support NOAA’s mission of science, service, and stewardship. Education resources from NOAA program offices and partner websites can be found on the NOAA Education website.