Youth Engagement, Education and Employment Programs | F19AS00318

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00318

The Youth Engagement, Education and Employment Programs grant opportunity (F19AS00318) is a discretionary grant issued by the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, focused on building youth and educator engagement in conservation through practical, science-based learning. The project described centers on the San Diego Zoo Global Conservation Education Team and its long-running effort to connect Southern California students and teachers with real conservation research so classroom concepts in biology and chemistry feel tangible and relevant. The overall intent is to strengthen conservation literacy, increase hands-on science participation, and cultivate a lasting conservation stewardship ethic aligned with Department of the Interior priorities.

The funded program is built around two tightly linked components: teacher preparation and student field experiences. First, the project provides a three-day, comprehensive professional development workshop for 16 science teachers from San Diego County and Los Angeles County. Those teachers receive ready-to-implement conservation science lessons along with access to online conservation science kits, so they can take what they learn and apply it directly in their own classrooms. Second, after the training, those teachers bring their classes to the Beckman Center for Conservation Research and the Outdoor Learning Lab for hands-on field research and exploratory, lab-based conservation science inquiry. The scale described is roughly 512 students participating through these teacher-led classroom trips, meaning the workshop is designed to multiply its impact by equipping educators who then reach many more students.

A key feature of the opportunity is its emphasis on authentic, research-oriented experiences rather than purely classroom instruction. The description highlights lab- and field-based activities that mirror real wildlife conservation work, giving students and teachers a chance to connect textbook knowledge to real-world conservation problems and methods. It also draws on the San Diego Zoo program track record, noting that since 2006 it has reached more than 55,000 Southern California science students through conservation science field trips to the Beckman Center, underscoring that the proposed activities are part of an established model rather than a pilot concept.

From an administrative and eligibility standpoint, this opportunity is listed under CFDA 15.676 and supports activities spanning community development, education, employment and training, environment, and natural resources. Eligible applicants are limited to nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The award ceiling is listed at $77,794. Importantly, the notice makes clear this is a single-source selection award: the applicant has already been chosen, and the posting is not a request for proposals or an open competition. The opportunity record shows a creation date of July 26, 2019, with an original closing date of August 1, 2019, reflecting the administrative window for the notice rather than a typical competitive application period.

In terms of federal priorities, the project explicitly aligns with the Department of the Interior financial assistance priority labeled as Priority 1: "Creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt." In practice, the program advances that priority by training educators, immersing students in conservation research environments, and promoting long-term stewardship values through repeated, hands-on engagement with the science of species conservation.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the community development, education, employment, labor and training, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Youth Engagement, Education and Employment Programs" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.676.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 26, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 01, 2019 This is notice of a single source selection award. The applicant has been selected. This is not a request for submission of proposals.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $77,794.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for F19AS00318

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