Mt. View Sanitary District and the Lindsay Wildlife Experience are excited to continue their partnership with the Wetlands Field Trip Program. The program benefits local students with a curriculum that aligns with California education standards as well as increasing awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the wastewater treatment process, and its effects on the local wetland habitats and the wildlife they support.

Students throughout Contra Costa County have enjoyed this program since 1996 and the experience remains complimentary thanks to various grant programs, private donations, and revenues from MVSD’s cell tower and billboard leases.  The 4-hour program features a tour of the MVSD wastewater treatment plant and a wetlands hike in Moorhen Marsh. 

The treatment plant tour gives students a first-hand look at how wastewater is treated so it can be safely returned to the environment and how everyone can help keep our creeks and waterways clean by learning what is safe to pour down the drain.

On the wetlands hike in Moorhen Marsh, students look for mammal signs like tracks and scat from species including river otter and black-tailed deer. Students also get the opportunity to learn how to find and observe birds like the Great Blue Heron and Canada Goose. Dip-netting activities allow for close-up inspection of a variety of fish and invertebrate species, including dragonfly nymph, while learning about water pollution and aquatic animal adaptations.

If you would like to learn more about the Wetlands Field Trip or sign up for one, contact MVSD’s Public Outreach Coordinator at rmitchell@mvsd.org.