The Key is Environmental Literacy
Over the past several years, the Municipal Water District of Orange County’s (MWDOC) investment in K-14 water education has significantly grown, evolving to include programs and activities that support environmental literacy for all Orange County students. Involving students in the decision-making process of protecting our most precious natural resource – water – helps answer the question of “why should this matter to me” at a critical age.
Preserving our natural resources requires that all citizens be aware of environmental issues that may impact our future, and be engaged and knowledgeable enough to find solutions.
(FREE) Choice School Programs
MWDOC has provided more than 3 million Orange County students with essential water education since 1973. Each year, nearly 70,000 students in grades K-12 learn about Orange County water supply sources, the benefits of water conservation and good water stewardship, as well as the challenges that water providers face each year to deliver clean, safe, reliable water to homes, businesses, and industries.
(FREE) Grab-and-Go Water Activities
Developed in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education, MWDOC’s self-guided Grab-and-Go Water Activities use the engineering design process to engage students in investigation, inquiry, and hands-on projects to discover how everyday actions can significantly impact water supply and water quality for generations to come.
Water Energy Education Alliance (WEEA)
The Water Energy Education Alliance (WEEA) is a powerful coalition of education, and water and energy industry leaders working to build and strengthen career pathways for Southern California high school students. Water and energy sector jobs provide long-term, stable careers that ultimately contribute to the success and resilience of the industry, the welfare of workers, and to the health of the state’s economy.
Water Awareness Poster Contest
For over three decades, MWDOC has presented the annual Water Awareness Poster Contest (Poster Contest) to all Orange County students in grades K-12. The Poster Contest offers children an opportunity to use their artistic talents to express the importance and value of water through artwork. Each year, hundreds of entries are collected from students and classrooms across the county, and from these entries, 40 winners are selected.
Scouts BSA and Girl Scouts Programs
Several times a year, MWDOC hosts water education workshops to help Orange County BSA Scouts earn their Soil & Water Conservation Merit Badge, and Orange County Girl Scouts earn their Water Resources and Conservation Patch. These activity-based STEM clinics teach children of all ages where their water comes from, how to use water more efficiently, and how all life depends on the health and security of our natural resources.