In October of 2022, WCN was selected by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) as a winner of the first ever Pratt and Whitney Global E-STEM Awards. Grants totalling $250,000 were awarded by the chief transformation and strategy officer of Pratt and Whitney, Satheeshkumar Kumarasingam to 13 non-profit organizations in 11 countries. Each organization showed a tremendous dedication to expanding programs for youths in environmental, science, technology, engineering, and math (E-STEM) education.

The recipients were chosen from a pool of approximately 175 applicants representing 40 countries who submitted applications between May and July 2022 by a panel of judges from Pratt & Whitney and NAAEE. The winners were revealed in Tucson, Arizona, at the Educating for Change NAAEE 2022 Annual International Conference. 

Since 2002, Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN) has been working tirelessly to integrate Interactive Environmental Education (IEE) into Nepal's formal educational system. With the aim of using STEM methodologies to teach children about waste, energy, forest, and water conservation, WCN began working with schools in Kathmandu and rural Chitwan through a long-term project called Nepal Nature School (NNS). All schools in Nepal have since adopted parts of their curriculum. The organization supports innovative techniques that encourage collaboration among kids, teachers, and parents, teaching numerous life skills through STEM approaches so that they can pursue various lucrative careers in the environmental field. This additional aid from the NAAEE and Pratt and Whitney is sure to assist WCN further expand its project to rural areas of Nepal.

Read more about WCN’s Nepal Nature School project over here! 

https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/1-ecosmart-school-program/18/

Check out all the 2022 winners on the NAAEE website! 

https://naaee.org/programs/e-stem/e-stem-awards