New project will help train Nevada’s next water innovators

In an effort to expose more young people to STEM jobs — particularly those that will help prolong water resources in the West — the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday that it had awarded the Desert Research Institute a $1 million grant to develop new curriculum.

Working with both the Southern Nevada and Truckee Meadows water authorities, the institute will develop a topical, three-year program aimed at students from sixth to 12th grade. It will be available digitally, with the goal of extending water literacy beyond the boundaries of the Silver State, researchers said in a statement.

“The EPA grant is a significant step forward in enhancing our state’s educational resources and preparing our students for essential careers in water management,” Patricia Charlton, interim chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, said in a statement. “The work being done here in Nevada can serve as a model for the rest of the country.”

Training teachers about Nevada’s water industry is a part of the program, too. The institute will host a series of professional development opportunities for educators to learn about the curriculum and better incorporate lessons about water.

The overarching goal is to find and train the next generation of leaders who will have to make tough decisions about the future of Las Vegas and Nevada as a whole, which is inherently linked to water, researchers said. Over the three years, the curriculum will continually be updated.

“Nevada has a unique water infrastructure thanks to our desert climate,” Shawna Witt, the institute’s STEM education coordinator, said in a statement. “By providing digital access to the curriculum, students nationwide have the opportunity to learn from our innovative water management strategies and apply these lessons to their own local water challenges.”

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.