A school outreach program by Veolia, offered in communities served by its municipal water business, reached more than 55,000 students – an all-time high – during the 2024-2025 school year, the company said.
These free classes, aimed at complementing curriculums at each grade level, were presented to students across Veolia’s municipal water service territories across North America. In addition to the 2,060 classes taught, learning opportunities included educational tours for thousands of students at water and wastewater treatment plants operated by Veolia. Across all states, the program’s instructors supported dozens of environmental outreach events from Earth Day celebrations to STEM nights.
“Veolia’s school outreach program is an incubator for the next generation to find their roles conserving and replenishing water resources – operating infrastructure, protecting biodiversity, creating new technological breakthroughs and building a circular economy for water,” said Karine Rougé, CEO of Veolia’s municipal water division in North America. “Getting students interested in water plants the seeds to continue learning in these areas, discovering their careers and their futures in the science we need to provide environmental security to a changing planet. Some of those kindergarteners will be the next generation of our workforce in a blink of an eye, and all of them will benefit from the sparks we light in our educational programs.”
Veolia’s community relations managers and outreach instructors work closely with teachers to ensure that classes and outreach programs provide a valuable supplement to lesson plans. The programming is evaluated at the end of each school year, taking into account teacher and student feedback. This helps Veolia continue to adapt and evolve its programs in a way that engages students and makes them excited to learn about water.
“Veolia’s programs provide our students with hands-on experience and a different perspective,” said Patricia O’Brien, 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 about the importance of water on our planet.”
Veolia’s municipal water division serves 20.7 million people across America with water, wastewater and biosolids services, consistent with the company’s global GreenUp strategy to lead the ecological transformation by depolluting, decarbonizing and regenerating resources.
“Veolia’s school and community outreach programs have opened doors for students by exposing them to water career pathways they never knew existed,” said Jonathan Grossman, dean of students at the Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School in Groton, Conn.
Headquartered in Boston, Veolia has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across North America.
Source: Veolia North America
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