News Article

Creating our next-gen water leaders

Students rank Denver Water guide among Colorado’s top water education programs.

When you’re looking for the “best of the best” educational programs in Colorado teaching students about water — who better to ask than students!

So, when the Colorado Watershed Assembly, which works to protect watersheds throughout the state, started reviewing programs that focused on water education, conservation and academics, they brought in the expert eyes of the students.

And the students saw exemplary work from Denver Water’s Youth Education Program with their development of a Water Education Resource Guide as well as the Keystone Science School and water exhibits at CSU Spur, both of which the team partners with other water leaders on from across the state.

From June to October 2025, a group of nine students ages 16-24, pored over 15 education programs used across Colorado to teach students, in grades kindergarten through college, about water. The students’ evaluations, along with reviews by the Colorado Watershed Assembly’s educational staff, were used to determine which programs and resources do an excellent job teaching about water.

“Water in Colorado is one of our most precious resources, and we want to give teachers, students and parents an idea of which water education programs are exemplary, the best of the best, in meeting national standards for excellence in environmental education — and also incorporating an awareness of what water means in our state,” said Donny Roush, the manager for the project to identify Colorado’s “Water Education Exemplars.”

Dropping knowledge with Denver Water’s Youth Education Program.

The five-year effort aims to review 100 educational programs and include 35 students in those reviews. Including students in the program reviews is important because today’s young people are tomorrow’s leaders.

“Students bring a critical eye to reviewing these programs, because they’re the ones in the classroom, they’re the ones who are doing the learning, and they are the intended audience for these water-focused programs. They become the participant-observers in the evaluation process,” said Roush, who has worked in water education at the Denver, state and national levels for more than 30 years.

Two water education efforts that involve Denver Water’s Youth Education Program received a “Water Education Exemplar” award. Image credit: Colorado Water Education Exemplar program.

Programs that received the “exemplar” mark during the first year of review included two initiatives involving Denver Water’s Youth Education Program.

“A child born today will be an adult in 2050. The children who are learning about water now in our schools, after-school programs, summer camps and colleges, by 2050 they’ll be the leaders of our state organizations, businesses and communities,” said Matt Bond, manager of Denver Water’s Youth Education Program.

“We were honored — and proud — to learn that Denver Water’s Water Education Resource Guide had been named among the Water Education Exemplars in this first year of the project,” Bond said.

Four people smile for the camera. — Denver Water's Youth Education Program team reaches about 10,000 students and adults every year. Photo credit: Denver Water.

Make a difference in our community with a career at Denver Water.

Denver Water’s Youth Education Program works with schools and teachers, reaching about 10,000 students and adults across the metro area every year. The staff visits schools and offers resources to educators.

“Colorado, and the Denver metro area, has a complicated water story, which our leaders — today and tomorrow — need to understand to address the water challenges we’ll be facing in the future,” Bond said.

Denver Water’s free Water Education Resource Guide contains information and activities to support educators in providing Denver-specific information and activities to build understanding of our drinking water system. The materials in the free guide can be used as a resource to enhance water-related studies in the classroom and complement Colorado academic standards.

The exemplar evaluation noted that “a learner exiting (the Resource Guide’s) investigations successfully would have big ideas and action-oriented skills from which to make wise water-use decisions, assisting their communities in stretching water supplies.”

The guide’s materials were developed for sixth grade students; however, investigations can be adapted for younger or older audiences. The materials promote hands-on, authentic student experiences.

“The guide’s goal is to encourage a deeper appreciation of the importance of water in our daily lives and the work that goes into providing a clean, reliable water supply for the communities we live in,” Bond said.

Denver Water, along with Aurora Water, is also a sponsor and partner in the Keystone Science School’s H2O Outdoors, one of the other programs that was deemed exemplary by the review committee.

H2O Outdoors is an annual three-day program for high school students that uses hands-on field research, site visits and expert speakers to explore water policy, conservation and careers in water management.

Two students in winter jackets stand together, the student on the right writes in a notebook with a pencil. — Students at the H2O Outdoors program learn about the water with hands-on field research. Photo credit: Denver Water.

The exemplar evaluation noted that H2O Outdoors touched on key water concepts, including “watershed, water rights, Colorado water history, water supply infrastructure, stream quality assessment, and the global water cycle, capped by role-playing where participants wrestle with a realistic scenario via collaboration and consensus-building. H2O Outdoors gets a lot done in a short amount of time.”

The exemplar evaluations also had high praise for the water-themed exhibits at the Hydro building on Colorado State University’s Spur campus, located at Denver’s National Western Center north of downtown.

The CSU Spur Hydro building is home to Denver Water’s new water quality laboratory, and the water provider’s staff helped support and vet its exhibits.

A young child uses a touchscreen while looking at a water exhibit. — Interactive exhibits explore the world of water at CSU Spur’s Hydro building. Photo credit: Denver Water.

The evaluation found the exhibits to be in “an architecturally stunning space with shapes and forms reflective of water and waterways, the building is welcoming, accessible, and compelling — especially due to entry being free.”

As you climb (the stairs in the Hydro building), content gets more sophisticated and nuanced. Manipulable elements invite tactile engagement. There is an intentional combination of eye-pleasing displays, technology-driven exhibits, and hands-on interactive activities.”

A report on the first year of Colorado’s Water Exemplars Project, including a list of the educational programs deemed “exemplar” as part of the 2025 review, can be found at the Colorado Watershed Assembly website.