OCT is committed to furthering environmental education by offering two annual grants, up to $12,500 each, to Orleans schools. Piloted in 2023, OCT’s grant program has funded a variety of projects in K-8 classrooms, including but not limited to studies of birds, plants, animals, water quality, scientific observation, photography, gardening, and more.
Eligible applicants for the grant are Orleans Elementary School and Nauset Regional Middle School.
The deadline for grant applications is March 1, 2025.
Ready to Begin?
- Each project leader will fill out an Individual Project Form.
- The Grant Director at each school will evaluate the projects and compile the Individual Project Form information onto the Grant Cover Sheet.
- Each school will submit the Grant Application (Individual Project Forms + Grant Cover Sheet) to OCT by March 1, 2025.
- OCT will review submissions, ask any questions, and award the grants by April 1, 2025.
Click the buttons below to download the forms and view the year-long timeline for the grant program.
Looking for Inspiration?
OCT has teamed up with several location organizations to brainstorm ideas for grant projects. Click the boxes to see what kind of activities are being offered, or use these ideas to jumpstart your own creativity. The projects are arranged by grade level. In order to receive grant funding for these activities, you must contact the presenter before submitting your grant application to ensure their availability to schedule and deliver each activity. You may modify these suggested activities in collaboration with the presenter, or work with organizations not listed here.
You can also find connections between environmental education and math or ELA from DESE Massachusetts here.
Program or Presentation Name: Baggie Gardens
Target Group: K-8
Program Cost: Approximately $500 for three hours on site that includes some preplanning with the teachers involved. Shorter sessions negotiable
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: Students create a Baggie Garden to take home to learn how seeds grow. Instructions also invite students to investigate seed phototropism and geotropism.
The CCMNH Coastal Explorer Outreach Program has two potential components: a visit aboard the Coastal Explorer Bus that comes to the school and an in-class STEM program. The Bus can accommodate groups of up to 10 students at a time, typically for about 20 minutes. The In-Class program is EITHER a 20 minute in-class program paired with a visit aboard the Bus or a stand alone 45–60-minute STEM program in the classroom. The activities can be adjusted to be appropriate for students in grades K-8. CCMNH staff can work with more than one class during a day. Costs listed are typically for 2-3 classes depending on class size.
Name of Presenter: Barbara Knoss (contact for all presenters at CCMNH)
Company or Organization: Cape Cod Museum of Natural History (CCMNH)
Phone: 508-896-3867 ext. 129
Email: bknoss@ccmnh.org
Program or Presentation Name: Biomimicry: What can we learn from a leaf?
Target Group: K-8
Program Cost: Approximately $500 for three hours on site that includes some preplanning with the teachers involved. Shorter sessions negotiable.
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitmen: Students learn biomimicry from investigating leaf properties and discovering how plants like the lotus have inspired self-cleaning paints and water repellent clothing.
The CCMNH Coastal Explorer Outreach Program has two potential components: a visit aboard the Coastal Explorer Bus that comes to the school and an in-class STEM program. The Bus can accommodate groups of up to 10 students at a time, typically for about 20 minutes. The In-Class program is EITHER a 20 minute in-class program paired with a visit aboard the Bus or a stand alone 45–60-minute STEM program in the classroom. The activities can be adjusted to be appropriate for students in grades K-8. CCMNH staff can work with more than one class during a day. Costs listed are typically for 2-3 classes depending on class size.
Name of Presenter: Barbara Knoss (contact for all presenters at CCMNH)
Company or Organization: Cape Cod Museum of Natural History (CCMNH)
Phone: 508-896-3867 ext. 129
Email: bknoss@ccmnh.org
Program or Presentation Name: The Biomimicry Challenge
Target Group: K-8
Program Cost: Approximately $500 for three hours on site that includes some preplanning with the teachers involved. Shorter sessions negotiable
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: This activity is a game where students match something from nature with the innovation it inspired. The goal is to help students understand how nature is a pathway to science and invention.
The CCMNH Coastal Explorer Outreach Program has two potential components: a visit aboard the Coastal Explorer Bus that comes to the school and an in-class STEM program. The Bus can accommodate groups of up to 10 students at a time, typically for about 20 minutes. The In-Class program is EITHER a 20 minute in-class program paired with a visit aboard the Bus or a stand alone 45–60-minute STEM program in the classroom. The activities can be adjusted to be appropriate for students in grades K-8. CCMNH staff can work with more than one class during a day. Costs listed are typically for 2-3 classes depending on class size.
Name of Presenter: Barbara Knoss (contact for all presenters at CCMNH)
Company or Organization: Cape Cod Museum of Natural History (CCMNH)
Phone: 508-896-3867 ext. 129
Email: bknoss@ccmnh.org
Program or Presentation Name: Meet Delilah
Target Group: K-8
Program Cost: $150
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment (100-200 words max): Step inside a life-size North Atlantic right whale to learn about this fascinating yet critically endangered animals. Students learn about the natural history, research and threats facing these animals who every winter/spring come to feed in Cape waters. This program is often combined, though can be a stand-alone program, with the plankton program over two days, to help students understand the significance of the small ocean life to our large ocean life. A space large enough for a 60’ whale is necessary, usually a gym or cafeteria.
Name of Presenter: Jesse Mechling
Company or Organization: Center for Coastal Studies
Phone: 508-487-3623 x 114
Email: jmechling@coastalstudies.org
Program or Presentation Name: Plankton: The Good, the Bad and Truly Amazing
Target Group: K-8
Program Cost: $150
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment (100-200 words max): Students learn about the wonderful world of plankton. This 45min-1½hr program discusses the world of phyto and zooplankton, their significance to our marine ecosystems through a presentation, activities and viewing plankton under a microscope.
Name of Presenter: Jesse Mechling
Company or Organization: Center for Coastal Studies
Phone: 508-487-3623 x 114
Email: jmechling@coastalstudies.org
Program or Presentation Name: What lives in Smiling Pool?
Target Group: K-8
Program Cost: Approximately $500 for three hours on site that includes some preplanning with the teachers involved. Shorter sessions negotiable.
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: Students investigate muck and pond water, using materials CCMNH provides to try to isolate and identify water/muck creatures. They will learn how the critters identified act as a bioindicator for the health of the body of water from which the muck originated.
The CCMNH Coastal Explorer Outreach Program has two potential components: a visit aboard the Coastal Explorer Bus that comes to the school and an in-class STEM program. The Bus can accommodate groups of up to 10 students at a time, typically for about 20 minutes. The In-Class program is EITHER a 20 minute in-class program paired with a visit aboard the Bus or a stand alone 45–60-minute STEM program in the classroom. The activities can be adjusted to be appropriate for students in grades K-8. CCMNH staff can work with more than one class during a day. Costs listed are typically for 2-3 classes depending on class size.
Name of Presenter: Barbara Knoss (contact for all presenters at CCMNH)
Company or Organization: Cape Cod Museum of Natural History (CCMNH)
Phone: 508-896-3867 ext. 129
Email: bknoss@ccmnh.org
Program or Presentation Name: Fall and Winter Wildlife Adaptations
Target Group: Grades 1-5
Program Cost: $250 for classroom instruction, $250 for related field trip
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: 45 min-1 hour classroom instruction will review how our local wildlife prepare for the fall and winter months including survival strategies such as food storage, shelter seeking and hibernation, brumation, physical adaptations, and the migration patterns of birds, whales, fish and earthworms. We will cover birds, mammals, reptiles and touch on invertebrates and plants in the classroom. Power point presentation provided, and active Q&A participation encouraged.
Classroom Field Trip: 30-40-minute field trip to Boland Pond with nature journaling, drawing, and exploration related to fall and winter wildlife adaptations. We will search for animal tracks and signs, collect natural items and determine how wildlife use them in the fall and winter, and determine which creatures are preparing for winter at Boland Pond, how and why. We will ask the questions, “How does human activity and climate affect winter wildlife survival?” “How can we help wildlife prepare for the colder months?” We will explore parallels between wildlife and humans preparing for Fall and Winter seasons.
Name of Presenter: Stephanie Ellis
Company or Organization: Wild Care, Inc.
Phone: (cell) 650-319-5491
Email: stephanie@wildcarecapecod.org (preferred)
Program or Presentation Name: Local Animal Adaptations
Target Group: Grades 1-5 (program will be adapted to the specific grade level)
Program Cost: $250
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: This ~1-hour program will focus on adaptations of local animals and how those adaptations help them in our environment. Examples include: Opossums use of a prehensile tail to carry nesting material; Migratory birds use of long bones and air sacs to increase O2 exchange for flight; Owls’ feather structure supporting silent flight; differing beaks and feet, etc. This is a Power Point presentation, with opportunity for question and answer time, and follow up questions via email welcomed. A written component for later reading/writing prompt will be offered if requested.
Notes:
- Owl and turtle presentations, along with a bit about what they can do to help are already in grade 4, and can be adapted to any other grade level, and attached to the MA Science Standards.
- We will match science curriculum standards to all programs at a later date (they were considered when writing these).
- We will also provide a follow up writing prompt or activity to match each elementary program if requested (we’ll work with staff for follow up activities in middle school).
- Due to animal patient loads (orphans), it would be best for us if we did not present these programs in September.
Name of Presenter: Amy Sanders
Company or Organization: Wild Care, Inc.
Phone: Wild Care, Inc. 508-240-2255
Email: (preferred contact) volunteer@wildcarecapecod.org
Program or Presentation Name: Supporting Our Wildlife and Ecosystems.
Target Group: Grades 1-5 (program will be adapted to the specific grade level)
Program Cost: $250 ($500 if combined with a field trip to Wild Care’s Educational Center *)
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: This ~1-hour program will include the types of animals we see in our area, and will focus on the challenges that both our wild animals and ecosystem face, as well as how elementary students can both help in general, and respond if they find an animal in distress.
Specifically, we will include trash, rodenticides, fishing gear, domestic pets, and landscaping (habitat destruction and application of chemicals that are then introduced into our water cycle and ecosystem). This is a Power Point presentation, with opportunity for question and answer time, and follow up questions via email welcomed. A written component for later reading/writing prompt will be offered if requested.
A visit to our Educational Center can be combined with this program (roughly 1-1.5 hours).*
* A visit to our Educational Center includes seeing our educational turtles and owls, as well as the grounds of Wild Care. Other animals may be shown depending on who we have and what they are recovering from. Cameras are in place around the facility that can potentially be viewed in the Educational Center as well, again dependent upon what patients we have. Visits of the clinic facility are not generally included depending upon the animals present and their conditions, and by group size. It is possible we might be able to visit the actual clinic if we can create group sizes of 6 or under, again dependent upon who is in the clinic, and how their conditions. Animal welfare comes above all other considerations in determining which animals can be shown and where public can visit.
Notes:
- Owl and turtle presentations, along with a bit about what they can do to help are already in grade 4, and can be adapted to any other grade level, and attached to the MA Science Standards.
- We will match science curriculum standards to all programs at a later date (they were considered when writing these).
- We will also provide a follow up writing prompt or activity to match each elementary program if requested (we’ll work with staff for follow up activities in middle school).
- Due to animal patient loads (orphans), it would be best for us if we did not present these programs in September.
Name of Presenter: Amy Sanders
Company or Organization: Wild Care, Inc.
Phone: Wild Care, Inc. 508-240-2255
Email: (preferred contact) volunteer@wildcarecapecod.org
Program or Presentation Name: Spinnaker: An Entanglement Story
Target Group: Grades 4-8
Program Cost: $150
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment (100-200 words max): Spinnaker is the Center’s humpback whale skeleton who died due to an entanglement in 2015. This one-hour presentation which is offered onsite at the Center or at a school recounts the story of Spinnaker’s short life and the work done by the Center’s disentanglement team to free her three times. The powerful story is a great introduction to the Center’s forty-year history of marine animal entanglement response and our nearly fifty-year history of studying humpback whales.
Name of Presenter: Jesse Mechling
Company or Organization: Center for Coastal Studies
Phone: 508-487-3623 x 114
Email: jmechling@coastalstudies.org
Program or Presentation Name: Changing Cape Cod Marine Ecosystems
Target Group: Grades 5-7
Program Cost: Free
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment (100-200 words max): For fifteen years the Center’s education program has conducted and in-school and field water quality testing program for grades 5-7. This program includes at least two field trips to local area bodies of water (Town Cove) where students use scientific instruments to measure basic abiotic parameters of our marine ecosystems; temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity. The program includes two introductory classes and one possible follow-up in addition to the field site visits. Programming at the 7th grade level focuses more intently on climate change and its impacts on our local marine ecosystems.
Name of Presenter: Jesse Mechling
Company or Organization: Center for Coastal Studies
Phone: 508-487-3623 x 114
Email: jmechling@coastalstudies.org
Program or Presentation Name: Eelgrass: Cape Cod’s Forgotten Essential Habitat
Target Group: Grades 5-8
Program Cost: $250 (two classes)
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: This new program designed for upper elementary and middle school students would investigate the significance of eelgrass habitat on Cape Cod. The program consists of an in-class presentation and a field expedition to Paw Wah Pond in Orleans, to measure and examine eelgrass. This program can be designed for science as well as art or writing classes.
Name of Presenter: Jesse Mechling
Company or Organization: Center for Coastal Studies
Phone: 508-487-3623 x 114
Email: jmechling@coastalstudies.org
Program or Presentation Name: Introduction to Birds of Cape Cod
Target Group: Grades 6-8
Program Cost: 2024-2025 pricing for 50–65-minute school-based programs: First classroom: $190, each additional classroom: $120 (*please note pricing increases are updated in August)
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: Two 50-65-minute visits (Introduction to Birds and Bird Walk at Boland Pond). Programs take place in the fall. The first visit is indoors, followed by an outdoor program at Boland Pond. Through inquiry-based and hands-on activities, explore groups of birds, their adaptations, and which bird species are commonly found on Cape Cod year-round and during fall migration. Practice making observations to identify different bird species using field guides and binoculars, and record observations in a field journaling exercise.
Name of Presenter: Mass Audubon Cape Cod Educators
Company or Organization: Mass Audubon
Contact Information: Spring Beckhorn
Phone: (508) 362-7475
Email: capeeducation@massaudubon.org
Program or Presentation Name: Local Animal Adaptations
Target Group: Grades 6-8 (program can be adapted to the specific grade level)
Program Cost: $250
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: This ~1-hour program will focus on adaptations of local animals and how those adaptations help them in our environment. Examples include: Opossums use of a prehensile tail to carry nesting material; Migratory birds use of long bones and air sacs to increase O2 exchange for flight; Owls’ feather structure supporting silent flight; differing beaks and feet, etc. This is a Power Point presentation, with opportunity for question and answer time, and follow up questions via email welcomed.
This program will differ from the elementary program in that it will match the body parts to those of humans, and how evolution has altered them to serve the differing needs of each of us (human and. the animal). For example, human long bones in the leg support weight and so are adapted to be heavier, denser and stronger than in a bird who has to be light and have a higher O2 exchange for flight which is metabolically challenging, or spinal changes in humans, birds and turtles.
Notes:
- Owl and turtle presentations, along with a bit about what they can do to help are already in grade 4, and can be adapted to any other grade level, and attached to the MA Science Standards.
- We will match science curriculum standards to all programs at a later date (they were considered when writing these).
- We will also provide a follow up writing prompt or activity to match each elementary program if requested (we’ll work with staff for follow up activities in middle school).
- Due to animal patient loads (orphans), it would be best for us if we did not present these programs in September.
Name of Presenter: Amy Sanders
Company or Organization: Wild Care, Inc.
Phone: Wild Care, Inc. 508-240-2255
Email: (preferred contact) volunteer@wildcarecapecod.org
Program or Presentation Name: Supporting Our Wildlife and Ecosystems
Target Group: Grades 6-8
Program Cost: $250 ($500 if combined with a field trip to Wild Care’s educational center*)
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: This ~1-hour program will include the types of animals we see in our area, and will focus on the challenges that both our wild animals and ecosystem face, as well as how students can both help in general, and respond if they find an animal in distress.
Specifically, we will include trash, rodenticides, fishing gear, domestic pets, and landscaping (habitat destruction and application of chemicals that are then introduced into our water cycle and ecosystem). This is a Power Point presentation, with opportunity for question and answer time, and follow up questions via email welcomed.
This program will differ from the elementary level in depth, and with a stronger focus on rodenticide poisoning, as well as with a component to encourage career paths in Environmental Sciences, Wildlife Veterinary Medicine, and Wildlife Rehabilitation.
A visit to our Educational Center can be combined with this program (roughly 1-1.5 hours).*
* A visit to our Educational Center includes seeing our educational turtles and owls, as well as the grounds of Wild Care. Other animals may be shown depending on who we have and what they are recovering from. Cameras are in place around the facility that can potentially be viewed in the Educational Center as well, again dependent upon what patients we have. Visits of the clinic facility are not generally included depending upon the animals present and their conditions, and by group size. It is possible we might be able to visit the actual clinic if we can create group sizes of 6 or under, again dependent upon who is in the clinic, and how their conditions. Animal welfare comes above all other considerations in determining which animals can be shown and where public can visit.
Notes:
- Owl and turtle presentations, along with a bit about what they can do to help are already in grade 4, and can be adapted to any other grade level, and attached to the MA Science Standards.
- We will match science curriculum standards to all programs at a later date (they were considered when writing these).
- We will also provide a follow up writing prompt or activity to match each elementary program if requested (we’ll work with staff for follow up activities in middle school).
- Due to animal patient loads (orphans), it would be best for us if we did not present these programs in September.
Name of Presenter: Amy Sanders
Company or Organization: Wild Care, Inc.
Phone: Wild Care, Inc. 508-240-2255
Email: (preferred contact) volunteer@wildcarecapecod.org
Program or Presentation Name: Coastal Processes and Hazard Mitigation
Target Group: Grades 7-8
Program Cost: $150-$250 (two classes)
Brief Program Description Including Time Commitment: This one-to-two class program introduces upper middle school students to coastal changes including sediment movement, and storm tide inundation due to sea level rise. Students are introduced to the different concepts of sediment transport, sea level rise, storm tides and more, and use a variety of technology including: orthoimagery, Google Earth, and the Center’s Storm Tide Pathways App.
Name of Presenter: Jesse Mechling
Company or Organization: Center for Coastal Studies
Phone: 508-487-3623 x 114
Email: jmechling@coastalstudies.org
Additional Resources
- Who is the Grant Director?
- The principal, or someone the principal chooses for this role. The Grant Director leads the development of the proposal. The Grant Director is also the point of contact for OCT once the grant has been funded. They are responsible for making sure the grant projects occur, and for the final fiscal report to OCT.
- Who is the Project Leader?
- The project leader is responsible for leading their individual project within the grant.
- What will OCT fund?
- Materials and supplies for classrooms
- Staff development
- Field trips (including transportation) in Orleans that are integrated into environmental education
- Work or experiences with outside organizations (I.e. Mass Audubon, Wild Care, Inc., Center for Coastal Studies, Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, among others)
- Can budgetary adjustments be made after the grant is awarded?
- Yes, as long as the adjustments do not increase the total cost of the grant.
- Are OES and NRMS competing against each other for funds?
- No. The OCT board has budgeted up to $12,500 for each school this grant cycle.
- What if things don't go as planned?
- That's okay! OCT is looking for honesty and learning from the activities, and we know things often don't go as planned. We see this grant as a way for schools to try new things and decide what is worth continuing with their own resources and what is not.
- How long does my proposal need to be?
- Short and sweet. We want the application process to be as easy as possible. Please answer the questions completely and make sure we understand your project, but don't feel obligated to turn in multiple pages of data or information. We'll ask clarifying questions if we need to. (See Examples of Completed Project Description Forms)
- Do you require any reports on the status of the grants?
- Yes. OCT will work with the Grant Director to ensure grant projects are moving forward. Teachers and staff are also encouraged to:
- Submit photos to OCT showing the grant projects in actions. (Click here to send us photos)
- Invite the OCT board, staff, and community members to learn from students during school hours. This is great way for students to show their presentation skills!
- Yes. OCT will work with the Grant Director to ensure grant projects are moving forward. Teachers and staff are also encouraged to:
"Every child needs nature. Not just the ones with parents who appreciate nature. Not only those of a certain economic class or culture or set of abilities. Every child."
— Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods