Veolia’s Municipal Water school outreach program reaches record 55,000 students
Veolia’s Municipal Water school outreach program reaches record 55,000 students. Photo Credit: Veolia North America
PARAMUS — Veolia’s Municipal Water division says its school outreach program engaged more than 55,000 students during the 2024-25 school year, the highest total in the program’s history.
The initiative offers free, curriculum-aligned classes in communities served by Veolia’s Municipal Water business across North America. In addition to 2,060 classroom lessons, students participated in facility tours of water and wastewater treatment plants and attended environmental outreach events such as Earth Day celebrations and STEM nights.
“Veolia’s school outreach program is an incubator for the next generation to find their roles conserving and replenishing water resources,” said Karine Rougé, CEO of Veolia’s Municipal Water division in North America. “Getting students interested in water plants the seeds to continue learning, discovering careers and building the science we need to provide environmental security on a changing planet.”
The program’s interactive lessons cover topics such as the water cycle, freshwater ecosystems and the science of thunderstorms. Veolia’s community relations staff and instructors coordinate with teachers to complement lesson plans and evaluate the program annually based on student and teacher feedback.
Teachers say the approach helps students see water in new ways. “Veolia’s programs provide our students with hands-on experience and a different perspective,” said Patricia O’Brien, a science teacher at Park Avenue Elementary School in Port Chester, N.Y. “Teaching them about where water comes from, how it’s cleaned and how to conserve gives them a lot to reflect on.”
Jonathan Grossman, dean of students at Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School in Groton, Conn., added that the programs also highlight career opportunities. “Veolia’s school and community outreach programs have opened doors for students by exposing them to water career pathways they never knew existed,” he said.
Veolia’s Municipal Water division serves 20.7 million people nationwide with water, wastewater and biosolids services. The program is part of the company’s GreenUp strategy to promote ecological transformation through depollution, decarbonization and resource regeneration.
