Enhanced Scientific Leadership and Capacity in the US Environmental Protection Agency - Science For Environmental Protection: The Road Ahead - page 163

and fellowship programs, and the Environmental Education and Training Part-
nership, which has worked to develop standards for environmental education. In
2009, OEE issued an Environmental Education Highlights report (EPA 2009b)
that briefly describes some of the dozens of outreach and education programs
that EPA leads. They include collaborations with schools, the Boys and Girls
Clubs, the Girl Scouts, and the Parent-Teacher Organization to provide educa-
tion and service opportunities focused on energy conservation, water conserva-
tion, recycling, and waste reduction. The Tools for Schools program in the Of-
fice of Air and Radiation has reached more than 60,000 schools with educational
materials, training, and guidance on indoor air quality. The agency collaborates
with the American Meteorological Society to provide training and outreach tools
for broadcast meteorologists on air quality and watershed protection. Between
scientific survey trips, EPA's ocean survey vessel Bold hosts open houses at
ports of call around the country.
OEE administers the National Network for Environmental Management
Studies fellowships, which were established in 1986 and have supported more
than 1,400 fellows. Network fellows receive support for undergraduate or
graduate studies and work on EPA-supported and EPA-directed research pro-
jects. Students apply in response to requests for applications developed by EPA
staff in Washington, DC, and in regional offices and laboratories around the
country.
ORD also offers critical student support and encouragement through its
People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) student grants and design competition, its
Greater Research Opportunities undergraduate fellowship program, and the
STAR graduate fellowship program (EPA 2012c). The Greater Research Oppor-
tunities program offers fellowships to juniors and seniors who are studying in
environment-related fields in colleges and universities that do not receive large
amounts of federal research funding. The fellowships provide academic support
for up 2 years with a summer internship at EPA. The agency plans to award
about $2 million worth of Greater Research Opportunities undergraduate fellow-
ships in 2012 (EPA 2012d). The STAR fellowship program supports master's
and doctoral students who are working in environment-related fields. Students
competing for STAR grants are required to submit original proposals on EPA-
specified research topics that run the gamut from social sciences to engineering.
More than 1,500 STAR fellowships have been awarded since the program began
in 1995 (EPA 2012c). The P3 program offers grants to teams of college students
who research and design innovative solutions to sustainability challenges (EPA
2012e). The teams can apply for $15,000 for Phase 1 development grants and up
to $90,000 in Phase 2. Phase 2 grants are awarded at the National Sustainable
Design Exposition in Washington, DC, each April (EPA 2011a).
Delivering Science Outside the Environmental Protection Agency
As state, local, and tribal environmental agency budgets decline, the agen-
cies will rely increasingly on EPA for scientific support. EPA conducts pro-