Nature & Climate Education Facilities Grant Program
Nature & Climate Education Facilities Grant Program supports museums and public institutions with buildings, equipment, and exhibits to advance climate, biodiversity, and cultural literacy.
Funder: California Natural Resources Agency
Due Dates: March 1, 2030 (2025 Budget Act project completion, unless subsequently changed)
Funding Amounts: Up to $45 million total; identified project allocations range from $1 million to $15 million
Summary: Supports buildings, equipment, structures, and exhibits that promote climate, biodiversity, and cultural literacy.
Key Information: Funding is allocated to named Budget Act projects; no further funding is currently available.
Description
The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) administers this program through Proposition 4, the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024. It funds buildings, equipment, structures, and exhibit galleries that present collections to promote climate, biodiversity, and cultural literacy. Projects may also support species recovery and biodiversity protection to advance California’s 30x30 conservation goal.
Funding has been identified for ten projects in the Budget Acts of 2025 and 2026, including natural science collection digitization, interactive water exhibits, coastal stewardship education, and kelp farming exhibits. The program’s procedural guide governs administration of specified grants rather than an open competition. Projects must provide public benefits and, where possible, meaningful and direct benefits to vulnerable populations and disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged communities.
