Tom Barrett posted on March 04, 2011 12:27
Youngsters across Southampton are diving into the world of water thanks to a unique partnership between Southern Water, Southampton FC and the WWF.
Southern Water has joined up with the Saints Foundation to deliver a series of water workshops in primary schools across the city. The programme also supported by WWF-UK will take youngsters on a journey to find out where Southampton’s tap water comes from and what happens to it before it reaches the tap.
The workshops, which will run over two sessions, will culminate in the students coming up with ideas about how they can save water and a practical football coaching session. There will be expert advice from Southampton Football Club’s Sports Scientists about the importance of drinking water for health, particularly during exercise and the students will then be asked to think about what else they use water for and complete a water diary for a week
The project was launched at Weston Park Junior School on Thursday 3rd March, where pupils took part in the workshop before meeting Saints player Lee Barnard who is supporting the campaign along with The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Carol Cunio who commented, “It is very important that children learn how to use water sensibly as in the future it is going to become a bigger issue. I didn't realise that having a bath and flushing the toilet uses so much so I learnt something today too."
Darren Bentham, Southern Water’s Director of Metering, said: “This programme has been tailor-made to educate local youngsters about where their water comes from, the importance of water in their lives and to raise awareness about how they use it. It comes as we are installing meters in homes across the city and we hope that educating the next generation of water users will help reduce the demand for water and encourage people to use this precious resource more wisely.”
Mrs Emma Kerrigan-Draper, Deputy Headteacher at Weston Park Junior School said: "The children really enjoyed the workshop and have definitely taken on board the information. The way it was presented really engaged them and there is a great chance of them remembering what they learnt and taking it home with them."
Pictured above, pupils from Weston Park Junior School are pictured with Lee Barnard, The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Carol Cunio and Glen Stock from Southern Water. For further information on the Southern Water partnership, contact the Saints Foundation on 0845 6889370.