WASHINGTON, DC—The USDA Forest Service and the National Environmental Education Foundation are working together to fund projects that promote conservation, stewardship and access to Forest Service lands for underserved communities. The funding is coming from Greening STEM grants.

Since 2020, Greening STEM grants have provided funding (up to $10,000 per project) to support a holistic STEM program that aligns with agency priorities by infusing agency science and resources into school curricula and focusing on student-directed investigations of relevant research topics, local environmental issues, and/or problems affecting local public lands. The funding allows Forest Service staff to work alongside state foresters and formal and informal educators to design and deliver STEM programming that engages youth in place-based citizen science and environmental monitoring.

2022-2023 funding opportunity

The Forest Service continues to collaborate with the foundation to build the capacity of units (including institutions in the State & Private Forestry network, such as state forests) using components of NEEF’s Greening STEM model to design and deliver STEM programming. This year, an estimated $30,000 is available for projects in the 2022-2023 academic school year. Grants will range from $5,000 to $10,000.

Grant applications are being accepted through May 13, 2022. This grant competition is open to all Forest Service units, institutions that manage public lands within the State & Private Forestry network and partners. Applications must be submitted online by a Forest Service point of contact or their nonprofit partner. The application must demonstrate active and collaborative involvement by Forest Service staff, a school or school district, and a community-based nonprofit organization.

What is Greening STEM?

The Greening STEM model is an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to teaching STEM subjects that uses the natural environment and real-world challenges to engage learners and deliver high-quality STEM education. All Forest Service Greening STEM projects shall include elements of one or more of the Greening STEM design principles: place-based learning, three-dimensional learning, project-based learning and community-based learning.

For example, a recent project in Hawaii focused on Learning Culture and Cultivation. In 2020, Pearl City High School in Honolulu worked with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources Urban Forestry Program and local nonprofit partners to engage students from the Natural Resource Program that integrated Hawaiian culture into the curriculum. 

As a result of the project, student enrollment in the Natural Resource Program tripled, and volunteers built a native plant shade house to grow native plants for the local partners’ restoration efforts. Learn more about the 2020 Greening STEM demonstration project in Hawaii at Ewa Forest Reserve case study.

In 2021, three additional Greening STEM grants were awarded for projects taking place in Rhode Island, California and Puerto Rico: providing an introduction to urban forestry and teaching students about the role of citizen scientists.

Programming funded by these grants will use STEM-focused content, instructional strategies, training approaches, and collaboration and dissemination technologies to assist school educators and staff in implementing and enhancing learning in and outside of the classroom. Learn more about the current 2021-2022 grantees here. 

How do I apply?

For inquiries about the grant program, contact Rachel Bayer, State and Private Forestry environmental education specialist, at Rachel.bayer@usda.gov or Robert Sendrey, NEEF environmental education program director, at rsendrey@neefusa.org. Access the grant application here: 2022-2023 Forest Service Greening STEM Grants.