The NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program is a competitive grant program that began in 2002 to support a partnership for watershed restoration in the Chesapeake Bay. The program has since grown to serve seven regions around the country: California, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England, and Pacific Northwest. The framework for environmental education promoted by the program, the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE), has evolved over this time into a robust learner-centered framework that focuses on investigations into local environmental issues and leads to informed action. This year marks the B-WET program’s 20-year anniversary and NOAA is celebrating B-WET’s success over the last two decades with the theme "20 years and growing."

Over the last 20 years, B-WET has become a powerful catalyst for environmental literacy across the country. Since 2002, B-WET has awarded over $110 million to support 874 B-WET projects, now serving around 4,000 educators and almost 80,000 students annually. 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.

Visit the B-WET anniversary website for stories that illustrate how the B-WET program has impacted students, schools, and communities over the past 20 years. And look for B-WET posts highlighting #BWET20andGROWING on NOAA Education’s social media and B-WET’s Facebook page on August 8–19.