National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration October 19, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NOAA's Office of Education (OED) is requesting applications for environmental literacy projects in support of free-choice learning. The proposed projects should support NOAA's vision which is: an informed society that uses a comprehensive understanding of the role of the ocean, coasts, and atmosphere in the global ecosystem to make the best social and economic decisions. Successful projects should reach significant segments of the U.S. population at a State, multi-state or national level. The environmental literacy messages should clearly convey how the Earth system influences a project's target audience, how the target audience is influencing the Earth system and how an environmentally literate public can make informed decisions. The goal of these projects should be to provide adequate information to move the audience's knowledge beyond basic awareness while reaching audiences sufficient in size with a message that promotes such a change. Funded projects will last between one and five years in duration and will create new, or capitalize on existing, networks of institutions, agencies and/or organizations to provide common messages about key concepts in Earth System Science, for example the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts (https:// www.coexploration.org/oceanliteracy/documents/OceanLitConcept s 10.11.05.pdf). Applications for exhibits involving construction of part or all of a building are not eligible for funding under this announcement. Formal education projects and projects whose main focus is on development of new data visualizations and platforms will not be considered for funding through this announcement. Please visit https:// www.oesd.noaa.gov/fundingopps.html for information on additional funding opportunities in those areas. This funding opportunity meets NOAA's Mission Goal to protect, restore and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through ecosystems-based management.