MWEE Awards
(Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience)
The MWEE Awards recognize Pennsylvania schools and community partners making a difference through hands-on watershed education. These awards celebrate meaningful learning experiences that engage students in investigating local environmental issues and taking informed action.
Nominations & Important Dates
Nomination Deadline: Friday, December 11, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EST
Awardee Notification: Friday, January 8, 2027
Award Recognition: Recipients will be recognized at the 2027 PAEE Annual Conference.
Explore the two award categories below to learn more about eligibility and submit a nomination.
MWEE Partner of Excellence Award
Recognizes organizations and community partners demonstrating exceptional support for Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences in Pennsylvania’s PreK–12 schools.
Who Is Eligible?
Organizations and individuals providing exceptional support for watershed education through partnerships with Pennsylvania PreK–12 schools, including nature centers, environmental education providers, conservation organizations, municipalities, government agencies, and colleges or universities.
Eligibility Period
Qualifying partnership work must have occurred between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2026.
MWEE School of Excellence Award
Recognizes Pennsylvania schools and school districts that have successfully implemented all four essential elements of a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience.
Who Is Eligible?
Pennsylvania PreK–12 public, private, charter, and parochial schools, as well as school districts, that have implemented all four essential MWEE elements.
Eligibility Period
All four essential elements must have been implemented between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2026.
The four essential elements include issue investigation, outdoor field experiences, synthesis and conclusions, and environmental action projects.
Projects or partnerships may have begun before or continued after the eligibility period, provided the required work was completed between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2026.
Meet Our 2026 MWEE Award Recipients
Past Award Winners
MWEE Partner of Excellence Award
The MWEE Partner of Excellence Award recognizes non-formal education partners who have previously demonstrated or are actively demonstrating exceptional partnership(s) with PreK-12 formal educational institution(s) to implement one or more elements of the MWEE.
Eligible applicants should represent an organization larger than themselves or otherwise act as exceptional supporters of MWEE implementation in a PreK-12 formal educational institution, such as an individual school or entire school district. Partners include but are not limited to intermediate units; municipalities and municipal authorities; county conservation districts; government organizations; incorporated non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations; nature centers, non-formal and community-based environmental education (EE) providers; and institutions of higher learning (colleges and universities). Eligible organizations must be serving PreK-12 audiences in Pennsylvania.
This partnership should have occurred between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2026. Partnerships may have been initiated prior to July 1, 2014, or continued after June 30, 2026, but eligible partners are required to have completed the project(s) during some or all of the required five-year time period.
MWEE School of Excellence Award
The MWEE School of Excellence Award recognizes individual schools or entire school districts (serving any or all PreK-12 students in Pennsylvania) who have previously implemented or are actively implementing all four essential elements of the MWEE. Eligible applicants should represent a PreK-12 formal educational institution in Pennsylvania, including but not limited to individual public schools, private schools, charter schools, parochial schools, and entire school districts that provide school-day or after-school programming and have successfully implemented the four essential elements of the MWEE.
All four essential elements should have been fully implemented between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2026, even if MWEE implementation was initiated prior to or continued after this time period. The four essential elements include 1) Issue definition and background research; 2) Outdoor field activities; 3) Synthesis and conclusions; and 4) Stewardship and civic action projects. More information regarding the essential elements can be found HERE. Implementation by the applying institution may have occurred independently and internally at the organization, or in partnership with other institutions or non-formal education providers.