Orange County
Region 9b

Project Pollution Prevention

Project Pollution Prevention School Plan

The goal of the Project Pollution Prevention school program is to reach as many Orange County students as possible on an ongoing basis.  Project Pollution Prevention's school program emphasizes the need to keep Orange County's watersheds clean by communicating an effective message that will change students' behavior and ultimately become a way of life.  The goal of Project Pollution Prevention is to provide graphically exciting and student-friendly activities and information to educate students on the need to protect our environment from both water and trash pollution.

The Project Pollution Prevention School Plan aligns with California Science and Math Contents Standards and reaches Orange County students in an efficient and cost effective manner.  In order to maximize our efforts, partnerships were established with Project Pollution Prevention, the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC), the Discovery Science Center and the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE).

For more information on Project Pollution Prevention, please visit www.ocwatersheds.com.

The Orange County Stormwater Program members have information regarding local and regional stormwater efforts on their websites. To learn more about the programs in your area, click here.

Partnerships:

Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC)

Project Pollution Prevention teamed up with MWDOC's 30 year old school program. Already known throughout the County, MWDOC's program has educated students about the sources and issues surrounding their water supply while preparing students for California Standardized Tests (CSTs). Teachers' lesson plans are reinforced and enriched with their water education curriculum.

A 5th grade activity book is distributed to students in participating schools. The book aligns with Grade 5 California Science and Math Content Standards and features eye-popping graphics emphasizing water and trash pollution prevention.

The "Go with the Flow" video features teenage actors explaining the water cycle, the everyday activities that cause pollution, the difference between sewers and storm drains, and how pollution affects Orange County beaches.

For more information contact Zoila Finch at Zoila.Finch@rdmd.ocgov.com.

 

Project WET (Water Education for Teachers)

Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) is offered in a workshop format by trained Facilitators. Participants receive a curriculum guide that can be used in the classroom to integrate hands-on activities that focus on water related topics such as pollution prevention and water issues awareness. 

For more information contact Zoila Finch at Zoila.Finch@rdmd.ocgov.com.

 

Discovery Science Center

Project Pollution Prevention teamed up with the Discovery Science Center to provide a comprehensive high school water quality monitoring program. The program includes integrated science concepts such as (1) the chemical components of water and how those components relate to the healthfulness of the water; (2) water production, purification and usage; (3) the human impact on water; and (4) water conservation.  With all four components the general theme of protecting our environment from pollution is emphasized.

Ninth through twelfth grade teachers receive professional development classes complete with curriculum and a kit of scientific equipment that enables them to conduct up to three weeks of water-focused and pollution awareness activities in their classrooms. 

For more information contact Zoila Finch at Zoila.Finch@rdmd.ocgov.com.

 

Orange County Department of Education (OCDE)

Project Pollution Prevention teamed up with the Orange County Department of Education's Inside the Outdoors program that empowers students, teachers, parents and the community to explore natural areas and expand their knowledge.

Fifth and sixth grade students who attend a week-long residential program in the San Bernardino Mountains learn about the water cycle and local watersheds, and use a student journal to record their water issues knowledge.  They also are given a two-page water pollution checklist to take home that guides the students in assessing their resource consumption habits.  

At three of the foothill site Field Programs, where students go on a field trip to a natural area in Orange County, students learn about the types of water on Earth, the limited amount of available fresh water, and the water cycle. They also play a game called "Where Do I Flow" in which they learn how and where water is polluted and cleaned and what they can do to help prevent water pollution.

"Drip Drop" is a Traveling Scientist outreach program that meets the water-related Earth Science Content Standards for fifth grade.  Students learn about the movement of water in the water cycle, the limited availability of fresh water on Earth and from where the water in their neighborhoods comes.  They also discover how aquifers work and how humans retrieve water from these underground sources, use a watershed model to learn how water becomes polluted, and develop ways to conserve water and prevent pollution in their neighborhoods.  The students are also exposed to the concept of TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Loads)  and how these levels are used to determine the amount of pollution that may be introduced into a waterbody.

For more information contact Kelly Connell at KConnell@ocde.us

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