Proposal

**Comments (from preproposal reviewers):** WWB-LAC plans to support partners with training in the design of formative research activities, based on partner’s needs. It would be helpful if your proposal could include information on the kind of support that would be most useful for you (such as quantitative survey design methods, focus group methods, in-depth interviews, indicator development, or developing and using monitoring plans). <<**Suggestions:** Please provide information on the conservation threats at each of the partner sites, and how constituency building strategies are prioritized. <<‍‍‍‍‍ We would note that Puerto Rico is not a high priority for DIC’s international funds.  ‍‍‍‍‍Please provide information on how this curriculum fits with other educational programs at these sites. Does this curriculum fit an identified gap? How will schools be identified and selected? How will support to teachers’ be provided and monitored over time (or will your work only take place in the workshops)? <<Please describe your strategy for developing a conservation ethic over time with this audience and this educational resource. Please include information from past experiences in formal education, experiential learning, and outdoor activities. What are the key lessons learned that you plan to include in the project’s design? What barriers (or challenges) do you anticipate and how will you overcome them? While we understand the constraints of short-term projects on monitoring longer-term changes in attitude or conservation ethic creation, what kind of indicators are you thinking of tracking? Please provide information on how you anticipate adapting Cornell’s Bird Sleuth program to the Caribbean. The following table may be a helpful way to summarize your projects’ objectives, activities, and indicators. 1.2 1.3. Etc. || 1.1 1.2 1.3. Etc. || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.2 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.3 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Etc. || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.1 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.2 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.3 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Etc. || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.2 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.3 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Etc. || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.1 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.2 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.3 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Etc. ||
 * <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Objective || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Activity || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Indicators ||
 * <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1.1
 * <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.1
 * <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.1

<span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In your section on sustainability please describe how the adapted materials will have a life after the timeframe of this project. What kind of sustainability strategies do you anticipate? “Train the trainers” interventions? Future workshops? Volunteer promoters? <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Budget questions: Given the size of the project budget, producing only 24 kits seems like a low number. If you are working with at least 60 teachers, does that mean that they don’t each get a kit? Please justify the salary expenses closely, including those for technology development (especially if these platforms already exist?). What is the contribution of local partners? <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">More information on the requested format and requirements for your proposal can be found in the attached document. The deadline is June 15th. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lisa and Anne, please add partner names, countries, and details throughout!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A. Cover Page

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">B. Project Summary

<span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">BRIEFLY summarize your project in one page or less. Include the title of the project, geographic location, and a brief overview of the need for the project. Goal(s), objectives, specific project activities, beneficiaries, and expected products can also be included in this section.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Through citizen science projects at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, participants from around North America and Latin America learn to identify birds and collect data about the birds they see. Then, they submit that data via the Internet to databases that researchers, students, and the public can use to better understand birds and how to conserve them. Citizen science programs also provide a unique opportunity to improve local science and technical literacy while connecting people to their local environment in a meaningful way.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Over the last five years, educators at the Cornell Lab have distributed BirdSleuth curriculum materials to educators that help them to involve their students in citizen science projects, such as eBird. Through eBird, students can send in data about the numbers and kinds of birds that they see. Recently, through an EPA funded project, Cornell Lab educators began working <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">on curricula that will connect children in different U.S. states via the internet through bird migration, their own bird research, and citizen science. By involving children in additional countries, who have different cultures, languages, and habitats — but some overlapping birds — we can extend learning opportunities, excitement, and build international collaboration via the Internet in a unique and meaningful way. The curriculum proposed here will teach children throughout the Caribbean how to identify their local birds so that they too can participate in citizen science and conservation action projects and share their learning with others. We believe that connecting children with the outdoors and their local birds will empower future generations with the knowledge and passion to protect biodiversity.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) and Cornell Lab of Ornithology staff will work with education leaders at Caribbean partner organizations (such as Bahamas National Trust, others ) to define needs so that the resources developed are useful in formal classrooms and out-of-school programs (such as the xxxxx programs at BNT and xxxxx at xxx ). After the curriculum is developed, Cornell Lab and SCSCB staff will travel to the Caribbean to host training workshops that will help the education leaders at the partner sites to understand how to use the technology components (eBird database), curriculum resources (lessons and related kit resources), conduct training on teacher mentorship, and collaborate on some local adaption of resources. These workshops, supplies, and knowledge will empower partner educators to integrate the //BirdSleuth—Caribbean// curriculum into their own programming as well as disseminate the curriculum to local teachers and students. We will help ensure the implementation and sustainability of this program by providing reusable kits of materials that the partners will loan to their local participating teachers.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Caribbean is one of the top 5 most important hotspots for global biodiversity, especially for bird species. Local people are generally neither aware of the global, national, or local importance of their wildlife and habitats nor aware of the importance of conservation to their own livelihoods, health and well‐being. Building a conservation ethic has long been known to help foster conservation of the natural environment. The ultimate beneficiaries of these efforts will be school-aged children, who will directly participate in BirdSleuth conservation lessons and the eBird citizen science project. Our ultimate goal is for Caribbean children to gain scientific and technology literacy, while becoming ambassadors for their unique environment and the bird life it supports.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">C. Project Narrative

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Statement of Need

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This section should answer the question, “Why is this projectnecessary?” The statement of need should clearly identify the <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">targeted species or habitat, adescription of the <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">direct threats that adversely affect the targeted species/habitat at the <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">project site, a justification for which threat(s) is the most important to address, and the <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">specific threats that the project will implement and address. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Explain how your proposal differs from past work or builds upon it. Explain the success or <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">failures of past efforts by yourself or others, and how your proposal will build upon those <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">efforts and lessons learned. Summarize previous or on-going efforts (of your organization as <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">well as other international, national, regional, and/or local organizations or individuals) that <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">are relevant to the proposed work.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In citizen science projects at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, participants collect bird data following prescribed protocols and submit their data for use by researchers, students, and the public. Citizen science provides an opportunity to broaden civic engagement in wilderness stewardship while providing scientific knowledge about local areas, including population trends in wildlife, avian life histories, and management recommendations. Citizen science provides a unique opportunity to improve local science literacy and connect people to their local environment.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Traditionally, most monitoring has been conducted by adult citizen scientists, but in 2006, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology began offering educational resources and citizen science training opportunities to North American teachers through the BirdSleuth program. These resources and related training opportunities have helped thousands of educators bring the educational and scientific power of citizen science to middle school students throughout the United States and Canada. BirdSleuth has successfully helped these teachers teach science, math, technology, and English language and writing skills. We wish to take advantage of ongoing geographic expansion of the eBird citizen science project and the interest of new partners by developing a modified BirdSleuth curriculum that will teach Caribbean children how to identify and appreciate their local birds. With this skill set, they too will be able to participate in eBird citizen science and conservation action projects. Engaging children in local environmental monitoring and explicitly teaching them about habitat and conservation can help ensure the future of protected ecosystems. Because birds migrate, their conservation depends on working across borders. From an educational standpoint, birds have a unique ability to connect children - kids can communicate about the birds they share. In the past year, and with funding from the EPA, we have begun working on curricula that will connect North American children via the internet through bird migration, their own bird research, and citizen science. We wish to expand these online supports to the Caribbean, so that students in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin American countries will achieve a new understanding of our global environment through communicating about the birds they share.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">The training and collaboration experiences provided through this grant will boost teachers’ environmental education skills, giving them a supported way in which to begin using their local habitat for ongoing environmental monitoring, exploration, and education. Collaborating with other students online (or through writing, in areas of limited access) will give students a unique perspective on the interconnectedness of biodiversity and the role their local habitat plays in the “big picture,” fostering a greater sense of shared responsibility for environmental protection. Specifically, building on the successes of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, the West Indian Whistling‐Duck and Wetlands Conservation Project, and the RARE “Pride”campaigns in several countries, we will encourage understanding of endemic birds. Educators have indicated that children feel pride in these endemics, and we believe that, by sharing knowledge about their birds and habitats with children in other countries, we can enhance local pride and capitalize on this for

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">2. Project Goals and Objectives <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This section should answer the question, “What do you want <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to achieve?” State the long-term overarching goal(s) of your program. Objectives are the <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">specific outcomes that you want to achieve in order to reach your stated goal(s). Your <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">objectives must be attainable within the project period and should be specific, capable of <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">being measured, realistic, and results-orientated (i.e., objectives should represent necessary <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">changes in threats, conditions or capacity that affect one or more conservation targets or <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">project goals). Objectives should form the basis for the project’s monitoring and evaluation <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">section, described later in the proposal. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Create an innovative curricula resource that utilizes citizen science technologies to promote student environmental stewardship. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">1.1. Develop a draft //BirdSleuth—Caribbean// curriculum. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1.2. Develop a support website that includes resources accessible to both teachers and students, such as eBird maps, graphs, and charts; an interactive Google Globe; and a collaborative wiki space .<<< does this seem right, everyone? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">1.3. Initiate the new //BirdSleuth—Caribbean// curriculum by distributing draft copies to partner educators, who will work (ideally some cases with local teachers to read and suggest edits to the resources. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">1.4. Revise and finalize the //BirdSleuth—Caribbean// curriculum and website based on feedback from partner educators and their local teachers. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">1.5. Distribute the curriculum to teachers at workshops with partners. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">1.6 Monitor and encourage the curriculum and website by participating teachers. || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1.1 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1.2 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1.3. <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Etc. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Create and support a network of conservation educators, providing opportunities to collaborate with colleagues working in similar roles in distant settings and to work together to enhance BirdSleuth’s potential to motivate and enliven student learning. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 2.1. Hold monthly partner meetings via Skype or online chat throughout the duration of the grant. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">2.2. Partner educators will convene for one face-to-face training and revision meeting. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">2.3. Lisa Sorenson will contact all partners at least twice monthly to provide ongoing support and encouragement as the partners provide training and support to their local teachers. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">2.4 Expand SCSCB and partner organizations’ capacity to do conservation and training by expanding its existing network of contacts, partnerships, library of resource materials and activities, and website resources (including activities, podcasts, online sharing of experiences powerpoints, videos, and other downloadable resources) via an interactive "earning network" website. || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.1 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.2 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.3 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Etc. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">3.2. Teachers will be trained in resource implementation, including use of citizen science and inquiry-based learning. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 3.3. Trained teachers will receive a copy of the // BirdSleuth—Caribbean // curriculum and basic resources, such as bird ID cards and access to the collaborative website. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">3.4 Trained teachers will be eligible to check out one of several kits that will be housed at partner institutions. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">3.4. Local BirdSleuth teacher networks will be supported by their local partner educator as well as SCSCB and Cornell Lab staff. These local networks will communicate with each other via the collaborative website and join with other networks to compare and contrast local habitats, bird observations, and conservation actions. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">3.5. Broader dissemination will be achieved by... || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.1 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.2 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.3 <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Etc. ||
 * <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Objective || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Activity || <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><range type="comment" id="263420">‍‍‍‍Indicators ‍‍‍‍ ||
 * <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1.
 * <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2.
 * <span style="color: #9145d3; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Each partner organization will build a local BirdSleuth teacher network by hosting training workshops for local teachers on the new resources and technologies. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">3.1. Each partner organization will plan a training workshop for between 15 and 25 local teachers.
 * 4.Test the effectiveness of approaches (such as citizen science participation, online collaboration, and hands‐on science activities) for changing attitudes toward conservation of wildlife and habitats among students, teachers, and partner educators. ||  ||   ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The ultimate audience for this project is children, approximately ages 8 to 14, who will benefit through participation in the habitat and conservation lessons, the eBird citizen science project, and online communications with other participating classes. By providing children with the opportunity to connect with nature and learn about science, ecology, and conservation, we will be helping to develop future conservation leaders and environmental stewards in the region. Participating teachers will learn innovative ways to teach, and educators in our partner organizations will gain in capacity to meet the needs of teachers in their local regions.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Project Activities, Methods, and Timetable

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This section should answer the question, <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“What are you going to do and how?” State the proposed project activities and describe how <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">they relate to the objectives. Provide a detailed description of the methods for each activity. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Provide a timetable indicating roughly when (over the life of the project) activities or project <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">milestones will be accomplished. Include any tables, spreadsheets or flowcharts within the <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">body of the narrative (DO NOT include separate attachments). The timetable should not <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">propose specific dates but rather group activities for each month of the project period. To <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">view a sample project timetable go to: <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We have experience in pilot testing materials for new audiences. For example, to test the feasibility of a Costa Rican BirdSleuth module, Cornell Lab staff conducted a field test of a Costa Rican version of the //BirdSleuth: Most Wanted Birds// module in the Sarapiqui region of Heredia, Costa Rica between February and April of 2009. Working with educators at the Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center and La Selva Biological Station, we observed the use of the curriculum in fourteen classrooms, and found that teachers and students enjoyed learning about birds, going outdoors to watch birds, and using module resources. However, several challenges hampered full implementation of the program. Teachers needed more training, background information, and teaching supplies. Entry of the students’ bird observations into the Cornell Lab’s eBird citizen science database did not take place because of inadequate access to computers in the schools, lack of teacher comfort with the technology, and bird identification challenges. Although the students were excited to study their local birds, inability to fully immerse themselves in BirdSleuth and citizen science reduced the potential impact of this project on their science knowledge and their dedication to conservation. In the proposed project, these implementation obstacles will be overcome through a revised curriculum developed and delivered through deep, strategic partnerships with local Caribbean organizations that will help with teacher training, bird identification, and computer access where appropriate. These partners bring a wealth of experience in working on resource development, teacher professional development, and ??? for constituents in the Caribbean. Lisa and Lynn, please add experience developing resources for Caribbean audiences, especially similar to this (i.e. classrooms, out-of-school).

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">To help accomplish these goals, SCSCB will work closely with the three aforementioned Caribbean partners to field test the resource for wide release throughout the Caribbean. Each partner will work with us to provide teacher workshops and ongoing local support that collectively will enable approximately 60 middle school teachers to develop their students’ science proficiency through conservation‐oriented inquiry. Using these materials, teachers and their students will focus on the conservation of birds and habitat by participating in engaging, hands‐on lessons that deal with conservation and habitat, conducting schoolyard inquiry investigations, participating in the Lab’ eBird citizen science project, and communicating via the Internet with classes in other settings in the Caribbean, United States, and Latin America.

<span style="color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Need a timeline that matches final objectives and narratives!! Add web stuff. (Project Coordinator and Curriculum Writer) || Release the curriculum || Use resources in summer programming and collect feedback (Site Coordinators) || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Maintain regular contact with Site Coordinators (Project Coordinator) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Evaluate the use and effectiveness by conducting some classroom observations and/or teacher interviews (Site Coordinators) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Collect final feedback from teachers (Site Coordinators) || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Final revision and design of the //BirdSleuth—Caribbean// curriculum and website for dissemination (Project staff and web developers) ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">August-October, 2011 || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Develop //BirdSleuth—Caribbean// curriculum and website
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">November-December, 2011 || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Provide feedback on the draft resources and brainstorm ideas for local adaptation (Site Coordinators) ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">January-April, 2012 || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Revise the //BirdSleuth—Caribbean// curriculum and website (Project Coordinator and Curriculum Writer) ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">May 2012 || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">All Site Coordinators attend a 2-day joint meeting to train in the //BirdSleuth—Caribbean// resources (all Site Coordinators and staff)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">summer 2012 || Train local teachers (Site Coordinators)
 * September 2012-May 2013 || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Provide ongoing support to those teachers (partner educators supported by Project Staff)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Summer, 2013 || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Compile feedback (Project Staff)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">September, 2012 || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 15px;">Analyze program evaluations and prepare final report (Project Coordinator) ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. Stakeholder Coordination/Involvement

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This section should answer the question, “Who are you going to be working with?” Describe how you have coordinated with and involved <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">local resource managers and other relevant organizations or individuals in planning your project, and how they will be involved in conducting project activities and disseminating project results.

Caribbean folks--Anne and Lisa--HELP! <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Site Coordinators at 3 demonstrations sites: <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">1. (Bahamas) <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">2. (Jamaica) <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">3. (Antigua) <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">These educators will develop the education resources, conduct teacher training workshops, lead the field test in respective countries, and take responsibility for housing and loaning the materials. Jennifer Fee, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Curriculum Developer, will lead the development of the curriculum resource.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The technology architect will coordinate the development of the website.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. Anticipated Benefits, Outputs, and Outcomes

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This section should answer the question,“What will we achieve?” Identify all expected project products/outputs (examples include: <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">management plans, brochures, posters, training manuals, number of people trained, workshops held, hours of training provided, patrols conducted, etc.). <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once the outputs are identified, describe the intended impact of the products/outputs on the objectives. Conservation outcomes are the desired impacts of a project, such as a change in capacity, threat, or condition of a species or habitat, and should relate directly to your <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">objectives. To track your progress toward achievement of each project objective, identify what you will measure (i.e., indicators), and how you will measure it (i.e., methods, sample sizes, survey tools). For example: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Collaborating with other students online will give students a unique perspective on the interconnectedness of biodiversity and the role their local habitat plays in the “big picture,” fostering a greater sense of shared responsibility for environmental protection. The citizen science component of BirdSleuth directly involves students in environmental stewardship. Knowing that the data they contribute to the eBird database will be used by professional conservation researchers empowers students because their action matters.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For education and outreach, include examples of questionnaires or behavioral surveys that you will employ to measure how knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors were affected by your project.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For training, assessment tools like exams or tests should be described and benchmarks for passing the training program should be stated. Where appropriate, include direct measures of abundance or spatial extent for the focal species, population, or habitat to demonstrate the impact of project activities. The USFWS values projects that report both the success and failures of efforts as a means by which an applicant can improve their performance and provide lessons learned to improve our efforts to conserve wildlife.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The proposed project will contribute to our understanding of how web-based collaboration can improve environmental literacy and stewardship, a need addressed in the NSF report, // Transitions and Tipping Points in Complex Environmental Systems // (NSF, 2009)//.// This report emphasizes our nation’s urgent need to connect young people with the natural environment, especially in light of the imminent challenges facing society due to current and anticipated future environmental change. Countering what Louv (2005) identified as a growing trend for children to spend their lives primarily indoors, disconnected from nature, the NSF report identifies the need for people of all ages to develop holistic perspectives of human dependence on the services provided by healthy ecosystems. The report also identifies the power of digital learning in helping to achieve this ambitious goal: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// In this digitally connected and socially networked world, people are no longer passive consumers of information. They interact with and contribute to information and co-create solutions in cyberspace. This invites exciting new avenues for learning opportunities that meaningfully connect people to their environment through data and models. It is time to ask how we can best promote environmental literacy by engaging a cyber-connected society for the benefit of environmental science (NSF, 2009, p. 9). //

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">6. Project Monitoring and Evaluation

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This section should answer the question, “How will we know that the project is working successfully?” Describe how you (or others) will monitor project progress and measure the project’s results and impacts, including project performance indicators. Indicators should assess the project’s impacts and progress toward <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">objectives, and can be a mix of impact indicators (such as behaviors changed) and process indicators (such as radio spots produced and aired on a radio station). Include details on how you will assess your progress toward reaching the objectives and how project participants and beneficiaries will participate in these activities.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the commencement of the project, we will measure existing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of student, teacher, and partner educator so that we can evaluate the most effective ways of changing attitudes regarding birds and their habitats and conservation behavior among the target groups. For example, we will assess whether participating in hands‐on activities, citizen science, online collaboration, or a combination of these aspects impacts the attitudes and behaviors of students, teachers, or partners.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Jennifer Fee will provide oversight to the project’s ongoing development and evaluation. She has previously managed both the pilot and field test evaluation phases of the existing BirdSleuth curriculum. She has also evaluated the efficacy of both long-term teacher courses and short-term teacher workshops in enhancing teachers’ ability to engage their students in investigations about birds and their habitats. Working with qualitative and quantitative evaluation instruments, Fee will provide all required reports, including a Final Technical Report that will provide a critical analysis of: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">In particular, these efforts will address the NSF’s call to better understand how to promote environmental literacy by engaging a cyber-connected society for the benefit of environmental science (NSF, 2009), making results useful to the field of science education in general.
 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Number of teachers trained, and details about their practice (number of years in the field, experience with environmental education)
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Number of students reached, including details about general student demographics
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Teacher satisfaction with the training workshop (teacher feedback)
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Overall teacher satisfaction with the curriculum in meeting educational goals and student outcomes (teacher feedback at end of school year)
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Breadth/depth of teacher implementation per region (teacher and partner educator feedback at end of school year)
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Assessment of the use and effectiveness of the collaboration website (teacher and partner educator feedback at end of school year)
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Evaluate changes in teacher practice, particularly in the areas of receptivity to environmental and inquiry-based teaching (matched pre- and post- teacher surveys)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">7. Sustainability <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This section should answer the question, “What is your long-term plan for this project beyond the USFWS funding period?”Explain which project activities will <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">continue beyond the year described in your proposal and how these activities will be funded in the future.

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This project is a key step in reaching goals set forth in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and BirdSleuth strategic plans for reaching diverse audiences and expanding education and outreach to countries besides the United States and Canada. These efforts have been encouraged by the Cornell Lab’s Directors and Board. Ultimately, we aim to link children and cultures through the Lab's eBird project and related educator resources. This would be a new and innovative approach both for the Lab and in education and outreach in general. With funding beyond that sought in this proposal, within two years, we intend to develop a field-tested migration/conservation module of BirdSleuth for widespread release in the United States and Canada, plus innovative web resources that will connect students in North America with those in the Caribbean and in Latin America through the topics of migration and conservation.

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This plan also meets several key needs of Caribbean partners, in particular, an education program that aligns with organization missions and can be used in a variety of settings. Help, Lynn and others! <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While we are working with specific partners, who represent specific countries, the materials we develop will be highly transferable. Over time, and using what is learned in the development and support of the //BirdSleuth—Caribbean// program, we plan to expand our training workshops and share the resources to other Caribbean counties.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Add info about existing education efforts in the Carib, and the meetings/workshops that SCSCB holds that will be possible dissemination routes?

Include text about the website where resources will be housed and freely available beyond the grant period.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">8. Description of Organizations Undertaking the Project

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This section should answer the question, “Who are you?” Provide a brief description of the applicant organization and allcooperating organizations and agencies. State the activities for which each group orindividual is responsible. Provide brief (1-2 paragraphs) describing the experience and abilities of key personnel, identifying their qualifications to meet the project objectives.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">**The Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB)** works in the insular Caribbean in all types of habitats (e.g., wetlands, forests, coastal areas). The society’s overarching mission is to increase the capacity of our members and partners to conserve endemic, migratory, and resident bird species and their habitats, including globally threatened species (e.g., West‐Indian Whistling‐duck) and economically important species (White‐crowned Pigeon and others).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">**The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s** mission is to interpret and conserve the earth's biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. The **BirdSleuth** project is a key component of the Lab’s Education Program, and was originally developed with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). It has grown to include a suite of modules and associated online and in-person teacher professional development, and was honored as an NSF Highlight in 2008.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lisa Sorenson, Ph.D., President, SCSCB, Project Leader: Coordinate the project and lead the evaluation effort; lead training workshops, encourage submission of resources to the website; oversee development of the learning network website and upload content, maintain communications with Site Coordinators and SCSCB’s network (via email, our website and listserves, including BirdsCaribbean, Caribbean Bird Educators Network). Lisa has 26 years experience working in the Caribbean, including teaching, research, environmental impact assessment work, project planning, and conservation education and training. Currently, she is leading/ coordinating a region‐wide outreach and environmental education program, SCSCB’s bird monitoring programs, and delivering training workshops on the importance and value of local wetlands and birds.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ann Sutton, Ph.D., SCSCB, Project Advisor and Writer: Assist with writing and development of curriculum and other educational materials, and adaptation of BirdSleuth for the Caribbean and delivering training workshops. Ann is currently consulting/ volunteering with several NGOs, including working on a project to manage, interpret, and develop ecotourism in a wetland in the Portland Bight Protected Area in southern Jamaica. Ann recently published //A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica.//

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jennifer Fee, M.S., Manager of K-12 Programs, Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Take the lead in creating curriculum and other educational materials and delivering training workshops. Jennifer has been involved with curriculum development and teacher professional development for 15 years, and is the lead author of each of the BirdSleuth modules as well as a co-author on several book chapters and articles for teachers and other educators.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nancy Trautmann <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">, Ph.D., Director of Education, Cornell Lab of Ornithology: O versee Cornell's participation in the project, paying particular attention to sustainability and potential scale-up of curricular resources and related teacher professional development opportunities. Nancy has over 20 years experience conducting and evaluating environmental science outreach programs for secondary teachers.

Jeff Gerbracht, B.S., Lead Application Developer, Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Oversee development of extensions to BirdSleuth eBird to adapt data entry and reporting modules for teachers and students in the Caribbean. Jeff has 16 years of web development and project management experience and is the lead developer and architect for eBird.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">List Site Coordinators??

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">1. (Bahamas) <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">2. (Jamaica) <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">3. (Antigua)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">9. Project Budget Table

**<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS-BoldMT','serif';">Begin your project budget table on a new page **//<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT','serif';">. //<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">The budget table should include a column

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">for all cost categories/items for the project, one column to show the cost calculation, a

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">column for the total costs, one column for the requested USFWS funding, one or more

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">columns for applicant and partner contributions, and, if applicable, a column for any program

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">income that will be used to conduct project activities.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">Go to http://www.fws.gov/international/dicprograms/Sample%20Budget.pdf to view a

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">sample project budget table. We will need to copy this format, below is for the purpose of numbers discussion

Lisa, this seems high--so make sure it matches the work plan in terms of time. ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   || Lisa, we must figure out whether some/all partners can contribute match of this as part of their ongoing programs... or do some need additional salary support? ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * || Category/ Budget Item || Cost Calucalation || Total Cost || USF&W || Society of the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds || Cornell Lab of Ornithology || Partner Sites || Program Income ||
 * Personnel || Salary and Frige for Project Coordinator (Lisa Sorenson) || $x salary x 33% time for 2 years
 * || Salary and Frnge for Project Advisor (Anne Sutton) || $x salary x 5% time for 2 years ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * || Salary and Fringe for Curriculum Writer (Jennifer Fee) ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * || Salary and Fringe, Technical Developer (Jeff and/or eBird staff?) || Remove row ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * || Salary and Fringe, Web Developer (subcontractor) || $8,000 || $8000 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * || Salaries, Site Coordinators || $x salary x 25% time for 2 years, 3 partners

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">10. Budget Justifications <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">Justify or explain all requested budget items/costs. Demonstrate a <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">clear connection to project activities, and show how line item amounts were determined. For <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">example, a $3,300 line item for lodging costs should include the formula for how the cost was <span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">calculated: //<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT','serif';">Lodging for 20 nights x 11 people x $15/night = $3,300 //<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">. Requests for personnel <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">salary should be well documented, including the base-line salary figure and the estimate of <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">time (percent) to be directly charged to the project. Assistance to cover personnel salaries is <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">generally given a lower priority. Wherever possible, cost calculations should be included in <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif';">the Project Budget Table. Narrative justifications should be included immediately after the <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT','serif'; font-size: 15px;">Project Budget Table

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">11. Governmental Endorsement

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">12. Map

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">D. SF 424 Application for Federal Assistance and 424b Assurances Forms

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">E. Documentation of 501(c)(3)

F. Indirect Cost Rate Agree