Water Rangers Excursion Grant

Engaging youth in community science for water

As proud partners of Blue Schools Canada, led by the Center for Ocean Literacy Collaboration (COLC, formerly Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition), we’re excited to offer support for hands-on learning in both ocean and freshwater ecosystems. This grant provides educators in Canada with Water Rangers resources for field excursions to do community science! You can apply to receive Water Rangers tools to bring water literacy to the youth you work with during Ocean Week Canada and throughout the year.

About the grant

Through this grant, COLC and Water Rangers support meaningful, hands-on learning experiences that bring students outside to test water quality, explore their local waterways, and discover how they connect to the ocean. We’re committed to helping educators spark curiosity and inspire youth through real-world, on-the-water learning. We prioritize funding for activities around Ocean Week Canada (May 1 to June 30).

Funding prioritized for Indigenous and underserved youth

We aim to direct support where it can have the greatest impact. Priority will be given to initiatives engaging Indigenous and underserved youth, including those in low-income or rural communities. To help us reach as many young people as possible, we encourage applicants with the capacity to cover a portion of their equipment costs to do so. This approach ensures that available funds are focused on the youth who need them most.

How to apply

We’re moving to a rolling application process for this grant program. The call for funding applications opens February 1 and closes by March 20 or when all funds have been disbursed. The grant covers reasonable costs for Water Rangers water quality testing equipment and includes an optional online training session for educators and youth. The maximum grant awarded per application is $750.

Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until the available funding is fully allocated.  Once all funds have been disbursed, the application form will close. We will notify you within 2 weeks of submitting your application if you are successful.

We will consider only complete and eligible applications.

Selection criteria

Applicants will be selected based on: 

• The number of youth engaged and the depth of engagement
• The realistic ability to complete the activity with the allocated funding and timeline
• The diversity and geographic spread of participants
• Your willingness/ability to contribute part of the cost of the equipment
• Potential for continued water testing beyond the proposed activity
• Novel approaches to teaching water testing, OWC events, or community engagement

Here are examples of an application budget: 

You plan to take your Grade 7 class to a nearby stream for water testing. With 25 students and interest from other teachers who hope to bring their classes as well, you decide that two Education Testkits will best support the larger group. You can cover the cost of one kit, so in your application, you request two kits and indicate that you can fund one. 

You run a program for low-income youth, typically working with groups of five or fewer. For your small group, you decide to request one Freshwater Explorer Testkit. With limited funds available, you note in your application that you can contribute by covering the kit’s shipping costs ($25). 

Grant recipients will be invited to attend training sessions ahead of OWC to confidently conduct their water testing activities and learn how to add their event to the OWC event hub. 

Information sessions

Bilingual information sessions will be held from January 15 to February 15 and listed here. If you have questions you’d like answered right away, you can contact us.