Middle School Outreach Program

The Watershed Protection group of the City of Palo Alto is seeking a contractor to manage and deliver a middle school outreach program focused on environmental education, specifically through a curriculum called Microbes in Sewage that utilizes microscopes. This program aims to reintroduce a fully developed educational initiative that has been successfully implemented for over 25 years but has been paused in recent years. The contractor will be responsible for relaunching the program for the 2025-26 school year, reaching approximately 2,000 middle school students across six communities served by the regional wastewater treatment plant. The project builds on existing partnerships with the Regional Water Quality Control Plant and the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, which currently serve elementary students, with this initiative expanding outreach to middle school audiences. The contract, titled Middle School Outreach Program, is posted under solicitation number 194718 with a deadline for responses on June 25, 2025. It is a project with an estimated value between $50,000 and $150,000 and falls under the NAICS code 334516. The organization responsible is the California Public Works-Engineering Division, and interested contractors can contact Albert Lujan via email or phone for further details. The program’s goal is to foster environmental awareness and science education among middle school students, leveraging a curriculum that has proven effective over decades and is now being revitalized for the upcoming academic year.