The 2026 application process has closed. Please stay tuned for future updates.
Let’s celebrate our 2026 Educator Mini-Grant Awardees!
Pam Patterson | New York
Guard Your Great Lake: Cut the Plastic
Pam’s project engages high school students in a Lake Erie cleanup paired with scientific investigation and mentorship. Students lead trash audits, study microplastics, and collaborate with younger peers, then create community projects including PSAs, art, and outreach to drive local action.
Karen Metcalf | Florida
Zero Waste Restoration Nursery
Karen’s project challenges students to replace plastic seedling pots with biodegradable alternatives. Acting as material scientists, they design and test bio composite pots, then share their solutions through community workshops that support sustainable habitat restoration practices.
Shari Ruiz | Texas
Microplastics in Our Community
Shari‘s student led project engages grades 3–8 in investigating microplastics in their local watershed through paddling, sampling, and data collection. Students analyze findings, expand testing to everyday environments, and design solutions to better understand and reduce plastic pollution.
Rebecca Brewer | Michigan
Plastisphere: Protecting Biodiversity in a Synthetic World
Rebecca’s project tasks students with synthetic biology research, ecosystem simulations, and art to explore plastic pollution. Students design solutions to local impacts, model effects on wildlife, and create installations that raise awareness about plastics and biodiversity.
Stephanie Goebel | Michigan
Lake Huron Conservation: Plastic Pollution Stewardship
Stephanie’s project engages her students in cleanups, debris analysis, and data driven investigations. Students identify pollution sources, build a community action plan, and partner locally to host a cleanup and install a permanent beach station.
Jennifer Kuwahara | Hawaiʻi”
Just One Word… Plastics!
Jennifer’s project guides students through the lifecycle of plastics with hands-on investigations, waste audits, and beach fieldwork in Hawai‘i. Students design impact projects, from behavior change to advocacy, building real-world connections and long-term environmental stewardship.
Samantha Matsuoka | Alaska
Ocean Technology and Conservation
Samantha‘s project centers around an Ocean Technology Day, where students engage with scientists and tools like ROVs to explore, monitor, and locate marine debris. Through hands-on learning, cleanups, and mentorship, students connect technology to real-world ocean conservation.
Michelle Pieper | Hawaiʻi”
From Plastic to Pono: Rebuilding Our Relationship with ʻĀina
Michelle’s project encourages high school students to investigate plastic pollution through cultural, environmental, and economic lenses. Afterwards, students implement community-rooted solutions grounded in Indigenous knowledge.
What are our Educator Mini-Grants?
Educators play a vital role in shaping how young people understand and respond to the plastic pollution crisis and we want to support that work! Our Educator Mini Grant provides $1,000 to 10 awardees to support meaningful-learning experiences and action-focused projects that empower students to imagine and work toward a world where plastic pollution is unthinkable.
From January 1 to March 1, 2026, educators across the United States applied for the Wayfinder Society Educator Mini-Grant to support classroom or school-based projects during the 2026/2027 school year. Whether it is integrating reuse in the cafeteria, launching a student led research project, or building a mobile repair cart to share across campus, these grants help educators spark curiosity, inspire solutions, and empower students to become leaders in reducing plastic pollution.
Program Requirements and Expectations
To successfully complete this program, all awardees are required to:
- Complete their funded project by end of 2026/27 school year
- Attend a virtual check-in meeting in January 2027 to share project updates
- Submit a final grant report by May 2027
- Integrate at least one Wayfinder lesson or toolkit into curriculum between the award date and the end of the 2026/27 school year
- Adapt at least one Student Hub Action Guide into a class period activity between the award date and the end of the 2026/27 school year
- Prepare a 10-minute presentation about their project for an end-of-year recording that will be shared with our community
Program Timeline
January 1, 2026: Application opens
March 1, 2026: Application closes
Early-April 2026: Awardees announced
October 2026: Mid-Year Check-In
May 2027: Final Report and Impact Presentation Recording
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an Educator Mini-Grant include?
- Each awarded educator will receive a $1,000 mini-grant to fund their projects that help address the root causes of plastic pollution. This year, we will fund 10 educators nationwide, for a total of $10,000 distributed.
- All awardees will be added to our monthly Educator Ally newsletter, which shares movement-wide updates on plastic pollution – including policy news, outside funding opportunities, virtual events, scientific articles, and more.
- All awardees may choose to have their project highlighted on Algalita’s social media channels to help inspire our broader community.
Am I eligible to apply?
To qualify for an Educator Mini-Grant, you must:
- Be a middle or high school educator teaching in a public, private, or charter school in the United States.
- Demonstrate a commitment to addressing plastic pollution in your classroom, school, community, or beyond.
All subject areas are welcome. We believe every educator can play a meaningful role in the movement to end plastic pollution.
Algalita does not discriminate against applicants based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
What is the application timeline?
January 1, 2026: 2026-27 Educator Mini-Grant application opens
March 1, 2026: 2026-27 Educator Mini-Grant application closes
Early April 2026: Awardees announced
October 2026: Mid-Year Check-In
May 2027: Final Report and Impact Presentation
What kinds of projects can teachers apply with?
Our Educator Mini-Grant program is designed to support meaningful, school-based projects that help move us closer to a world where plastic pollution is unthinkable.
You may use the award funds to cover any expenses directly related to your project goals. Depending on your vision, this could include materials like physical signage, reusable alternatives, classroom supplies, event or space rentals, or any other items that help bring your project and impact to life for your students.
Here are some example projects to get your imagination going:
- Host a Fixit Clinic on campus to teach repair skills and keep items in use longer
- Start a thrift closet on campus where students can donate and find secondhand clothing
- Lead a field trip to a recycling center, waste facility, refill shop, or repair space to understand real-world waste systems
- Investigate microplastics or watershed health through hands-on testing and analysis
- Create a classroom “Repair & Reuse Station” stocked with basic tools, sewing supplies, and instructional guides where students can mend clothing, fix simple items, and learn repair skills.
- Launch a student-designed “Bring Your Own” campaign encouraging reusable bottles, utensils, containers, and bags, supported by data collection to track behavior shifts.
- Develop a waste-audit and action plan where students analyze their school’s waste stream, identify top plastic sources, and propose system-wide changes to reduce them.
- Build a “Sustainable School Store” featuring student-made or community-made upcycled items, refill options, or reusable supplies.
- Implement a composting or food-waste reduction program that reduces plastic-lined trash bags, single-use packaging, and overall waste.
- Create or expand a school garden that teaches students about soil health, composting, and growing food without plastic to reduce reliance on plastic-packaged produce and demonstrating regenerative, closed-loop systems.
- Start a “reuse library” or “gear library” for items like art supplies, lab materials, sporting equipment, or event supplies to minimize new purchases.
- Incorporate reuse into the school cafeteria by reducing single-use plastics and piloting new systems.
- Build a shared “reusable event set” of plates, cups, silverware, and napkins so classroom events can go plastic-free.
- Organize a nature-based field trip that helps students build a personal connection to their local environment and understand how ecosystems are impacted by plastic pollution.
- Host a field trip to a local recycling center, materials recovery facility, refill shop, repair space, or waste transfer station to help students understand real-world waste systems and upstream solutions.
- These are just a few ideas, the options are endless!
** Please note: If you are selected as a recipient of a Educator Mini-Grant, you will need to submit an expense and program report by the end of the 2026-2027 school year.
What else should I know?
- Everything included in your application is considered public information once submitted and you should not include private or privileged information.
- We will only accept one application per person.
- If you need to talk to us about your application for any reason, please contact us: https://algalita.org/wayfinder-society/contact/
“Educators are our greatest allies toward a cleaner, safer world.”
Katie Allen, Executive Director
