Decorative image of fractal leaves with "CalTeach/MAST" text

AguaEd: Water Stewardship Through Bilingual STEM Education

AguaEd is a place-based, bilingual STEM education initiative that connects UC Davis students with middle school classrooms in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Through hands-on lessons in water science, sustainability, and environmental stewardship, AguaEd helps students understand the freshwater challenges facing their community and empowers them to become advocates for responsible water use.

Program Overview

Loreto is a coastal community in Baja California Sur where water is both precious and limited. The region relies on the San Juan Londó Bautista aquifer as its primary freshwater source and faces ongoing challenges related to arid climate conditions, infrastructure limitations, tourism growth, and long-term sustainability.

AguaEd brings these real-world issues into the classroom through engaging, Spanish-language science lessons taught by UC Davis STEM students. In partnership with Eco-Alianza de Loreto and local middle schools, CalTeach/MAST students design and teach activities that help learners explore where their water comes from, how it moves through Earth systems, how it can become contaminated, and what communities can do to protect it.

Three-photo collage of students collaborating on hands-on classroom activities

Program Goals

AguaEd aims to:

  • Build student understanding of local freshwater systems
  • Prepare UC Davis STEM students to teach science in culturally responsive, community-centered ways
  • Encourage students to share their learning with families and the broader community

By educating children and teens, the program creates a ripple effect—extending knowledge beyond the classroom and fostering community-wide awareness of water conservation and sustainability.

Get Involved

UC Davis students interested in bilingual STEM education, environmental science, Earth science, hydrology, sustainability, or teaching are encouraged to apply.

This is a fully funded internship program, with academic credit and/or transcript notation available.

Program Dates:

Summer Session II

  • August 27 – September 4 (curriculum preparation in Davis, in person)
  • September 5 – 19: Internship in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Apply here 

Contact

For more information, please contact: [email protected].

Preparing future STEM educators. Supporting water stewardship. Connecting communities.