Calling all educators and advocates! It's time to reach out to your Senators and Representatives to ask for support for robust funding for environmental education in the FY25 federal budget.
We need to reach out to as many House of Representative offices as soon as possible, and no later than April 5th, 2024, to ensure our legislators sign on to support EPA environmental education funding. Learn about the appropriations process and federal programs supporting environmental education, and find the instructions you need to take action in support of those programs, below. Information provided by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE).
NAAEE's toolkit with the resources you need to take action today:
Includes sample emails and phone scripts (also included below), plus more information about the EPA and NOAA programs the "Dear Colleague" letters support. Everything in this blog post is also available in this guide!
118th Congress Record of Past Support for EE
Includes contact information for representatives by district.
NAAEE's complete guide to the advocacy process
Learn the basics if this is your first time taking action!
These materials can also be found on the NAAEE website.
Background Information
Addressing complex and urgent environmental problems requires an informed and engaged citizenry. Federal environmental education (EE) programs through the EPA and NOAA have been crucial in funding local education initiatives that help students and the general public participate in community decisions about environmental issues. For fiscal year 2025, we are seeking a needed funding increase for these essential programs.
Appropriations subcommittees in the Senate and House will begin to hold meetings in the coming weeks (April 2024) to determine funding allocations for the FY ‘25 budget. These allocations will be influenced, in part, by requests that come from other members of Congress in the form of “Dear Colleague” letters in support of individual programs.
NAAEE, EENC, and our nationwide allies are calling on educators, students, and other advocates to each take a few minutes to request that their Members of Congress support EE by signing these electronic "Dear Colleague" support letters to the respective appropriations committees.
You will be asking your legislators to endorse one such funding letter for the EPA Office of Environmental Education, including the crucial grant program. There will be a separate letter for Senators to sign in the coming week or weeks, as well as support letters for NOAA environmental education programs. It is important that we generate as many Congressional signatures for the letters regarding EE programs at NOAA and EPA as possible!
The offices of your representatives are staffed at this time of year to consider these requests—this is one of the easiest things you can ask your Rep. or Senator to do. The biggest reason we hear from Members of Congress about why they didn’t sign these letters is : “I wasn’t asked”!
Ready, set, go! Take action today:
The goal:
Contact the D.C. offices of your Senators and Representatives to ask that they sign on to “Dear Colleague” letters in support of EE programs at NOAA (specifically, the Bay Watershed Education and Training program and Environmental Literacy Grants) and EPA (specifically the Office of Environmental Education).
Finding contacting information:
If you already have a relationship with a staff member in your Congressional offices, you should email them directly with the request. If you don’t have a current contact, check this spreadsheet to see if we have a contact (or sometimes two) for you to email. If there isn’t a contact listed, you will need to call the Washington DC offices of the legislator and ask who is the appropriations support coordinator and what is their email address. It may be hard to get this information over the phone but don’t give up! Our request does not always fit neatly into any of the tight categories that the people who answer the phone have a response. If they don’t know who the appropriations person might be, you could ask for the legislative staff who deals with education or the environment. If they give you two different names and emails, send a single email addressed to both of the people jointly.
Doing background research:
Check your Senators’ or Representatives’ record of support for EE. If they have signed on to these letters in the past, or supported EE in any fashion, be sure to mention this in your email or call—it can make the decision to sign on again a no-brainer! You can also read about yourself with the thirteen (!) large-scale environmental education projects that NOAA and the EPA have funded in North Carolina in recent decades, including multiple directly funding EENC's work, to learn more about the impact these appropriations have on our local communities.
Make your ask: Email template
Email is the preferred way to contact your legislators. Italic text in () is to be replaced by information you provide.
Subject: Appropriations programmatic sign-on letter request: EPA and NOAA Offices of Environmental Education
Hi -------,
EPA and NOAA education funding is essential for addressing our environmental challenges. These programs have very modest budgets, but the schools, nature centers, water conservation districts, and other organizations who benefit from the grant and other programs do a lot with a little!
Our district and state has benefited greatly from these programs; here are the fantastic grants received in the state and locally in the past ten years: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cF_2mqp5U0sQAN2T5t6sjlVTmBh2xd1slvcEHfia64M/edit?usp=sharing
Please help secure this crucial funding by having Representative/Senator (Your member of Congress) join many other Members of Congress and sign on to these letters:
EPA support letters circulated by: Reps. Magaziner (RI-2) and Neguse (CO-2), and Sen. GIllibrand (NY).
Thank you for supporting environmental education!
(Your name)
(Your affiliation, if applicable; “member, your state EE association” is okay)
Make your ask: Phone call script template – Senate
Ask if it is possible to speak to the person who handles appropriations issues related to the environment. It may not be; that is fine.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. My name is (name) from (city or town). I am calling on behalf of the Environmental Educators of North Carolina, to urge Senator (Name) to sign on to two Dear Colleague Letters in support of important appropriations for environmental education grants at EPA and NOAA.
The first asks the appropriations committee to provide a boost in funding for the National Environmental Education Act for fiscal year 2025. This letter is being circulated by Senator Gillibrand, who is asking that the program be funded at $14 million. EPA’s environmental education grants are small but critical investments that provide significant returns for our communities and the local environment. Funding for this office has been stagnant for a decade and $14M is the original amount authorized in 1990.
A second letter urges Congress to support funding for the vital NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training and Environmental Literacy grant programs. Please sign on to this letter in support of these important programs—it is being circulated by Senator Baldwin’s office.
Environmental education is critical for (state). It provides non-regulatory solutions to complex problems, engages students in real-world learning, and supports a healthy quality of life.
I will follow up with you by email with copies of the letters and contact information. Should I send these materials to you or is there another person I should contact?
Thank you for your time.
Make your ask: Phone call script template – House
(Ask if it is possible to speak to the person who handles appropriations issues related to the environment. It may not be; that is fine)
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. My name is (name) from (city or town). I am calling on behalf of the Environmental Educators of North Carolina, to urge Representative (Name) to sign on to two Dear Colleague Letters in support of important appropriations for environmental education grants at EPA and NOAA.
The first asks the appropriations committee to a provide a boost in funding for the National Environmental Education Act for fiscal year 2025. This letter is being circulated by Representatives Neguse and Langevin, who are asking for $14 million for the program. EPA’s environmental education grants are small but critical investments that yield significant returns for our communities and the local environment. Funding for this office has been stagnant for a decade and $14M is the original amount authorized in 1990.
A second letter urges Congress to appropriate $12 million for the vital NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training program, and $8 million for the Environmental Literacy Program. This represents a modest increase in funding over previous years. It also includes a request for funding to support climate change education. Please sign on to this letter in support of these important programs—it is being circulated by Rep. Kathy Castor.
Environmental education is critical for (state and district). It provides non-regulatory solutions to complex problems, engages students and the general public in real-world learning, and supports a healthy quality of life.
I will follow up with you by email with copies of the letters and contact information. Should I send these materials to you or is there another person I should contact?
Thank you for your time.
Who to contact with questions:
At EENC: Brian Wuertz, Board Policy Committee Chair – brian@eenc.org
At NAAEE: Sarah Bodor – sarah@naaee.org; Brock Adler – brockadler@gmail.com