For Schools

group of young students

The Regional Water Quality Control Plant and Watershed Protection group offers free outreach programs for children. Their goal is to educate the next generation about pollution prevention in watersheds and promote stewardship of the environment.  

Free Classroom Programs

The Plant offers free classroom programs for schools within our service area: East Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Stanford. We visit over 50 classrooms annually with hands-on lessons that meet California’s Next Generation Science Standards.

For elementary school programs, we are piloting a partnership with the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo. These lessons are for 5th grade classrooms, and the topics are Water Pollution and Water Filtration.

Our middle school program will relaunch in School Year 2025-26. It consists of a microscope lab, called Microbes in Sewage, for 7th grade classrooms. Children identify microorganisms in sludge from the Plant and learn about their role in wastewater treatment.

Downloadable Curriculum

Beyond our classroom programs, we offer downloadable lessons on watershed protection and related science topics. Lessons align with Next Generation Science Standards and are available in English and Spanish. They can be completed by students on their own time or led by a teacher.

Access the free lessons

Take a field trip to the Plant

Bring your class on a field trip to the Regional Water Quality Control Plant! On this walking tour, students will see how operators, scientists, and engineers work together to clean 20 million gallons of wastewater daily before it’s released to San Francisco Bay. They will also learn how they can prevent pollution to the Bay through everyday choices they make. Tours are offered on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with an appointment. Students must be 6th grade or higher.

Review the Plant Tour Guidelines prior to requesting a tour.

Questions? Please call (650) 329-2598 or email CleanBay@PaloAlto.gov 

Schedule a free tour

Learn more about the Plant and its wastewater treatment process in this online video. 

Posters for teachers

person viewing a poster Are you teaching your students about watersheds, sewer versus storm drains, or pollution prevention? Download these free graphics and resources for your classroom.

Water Treatment Process Photos 11x17s.pdf(PDF, 4MB)

RWQCP Aerial Photo of Treatment Plant only 11x17.pdf(PDF, 849KB)

Aerial Photo of Treatment Plant and Baylands 2024 11x17.pdf(PDF, 1MB) 

Contact Us

Tina Keegan

Watershed Protection Outreach Project Manager

 

Phone

(650) 329-2635

 

Email

Tina.keegan@paloalto.gov

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