Exploring the Future of Engagement

Field trips to Holland Energy Park have become a staple for many schools in the Holland area. Teachers visit year after year to give their students hands-on, engaging opportunities to learn about electricity and energy. The popularity of the Visitor Center has increased awareness of public utilities and led to the expansion of field trips to our other facilities – the Water Treatment Plant and the Water Reclamation Facility. As teachers encourage students to become citizens of the world, they emphasize the need to understand how a community functions. Learning experiences through interactions at Holland BPW’s electric, water and wastewater reclamation plants have become essential to our community.

The increasing popularity of field trips and tours at our facilities resulted in a Tactical Action (T.A.) focused on identifying opportunities to enhance our educational resources. A cross-functional group of employees met each month to develop a strategy for future development using the design thinking process. Through the design thinking process of observation, investigation, and incubation, the team identified the following:

  • Resources available in our community
  • New ideas for improvement
  • Updates needed in existing facilities
  • Spatial and physical requirements to ensure a positive field trip experience

Takeaways

In addition, the team also identified emotional and intellectual outcomes for each facility. These outcomes are feelings and knowledge that we hope visitors learn and take away from their experience.

Emotional outcomes include feelings like:

  • I’m proud of the work BPW does in my community.
  • I want to work here!
  • I had fun or I want to come back again.

Intellectual outcomes include the actual knowledge gained from a visit, field trip or experience. Intellectual outcomes center around the themes of community, history, the natural world, and technology.

Holland BPW field trips teach students how the decisions they make at home can impact their community. For example, as students tour the Water Reclamation Facility, they learn about the wacky and wild things that come through the first filtration stage of the process, called headworks. This leads to a discussion about what should and should not be flushed. Teaching this concept to students is a great way to encourage them to become “pipe protectors,” which in turn encourages their parents to make positive changes.

Utility Education – In Our Space or Yours

Having a dedicated field trip space at Holland Energy Park means we can engage with a larger number of students. One of the primary findings of our T.A. group was the need for ample learning space at Water Treatment and Water Reclamation.

Although the water plants do not currently have dedicated learning spaces, Holland BPW has expanded the reach of educational opportunities by visiting local classrooms.

In the Spring of 2024, Ashley Day, Education and Visitor Programs Specialist, partnered with a 2nd grade teacher at West Ottawa school district. Together, Ashley and the teacher developed a multi-day experience that challenged students to learn the importance of water. Activities included an introduction to the water cycle and water conservation, a field trip to the Water Treatment Plant, a demonstration with an Enviroscape 3D model, and a hands-on “do it yourself” water filter experiment. After several days of in classroom experiences and on-site visits with Holland BPW, students were able to fully explain the water treatment process. Students were enthusiastic about identifying Holland’s source water, Lake Michigan, and the chemical and physical processes of water treatment. In 2025, this partnership will expand to include a second classroom.

The educational programs and initiatives offered by Holland BPW not only enhance students’ understanding of environmental and technological concepts but also foster a sense of responsibility and community engagement. Through interactive field trips, collaborative classroom experiences, and dedicated learning spaces, Holland BPW strives to cultivate the next generation of informed and enthusiastic citizens. Some students may even spark an interest in essential utility careers. As we continue to expand and refine these programs, the impact on both our local community and the utility industry will undoubtedly grow. The future holds many exciting opportunities to bring utility education to our community.

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