Northern Ireland Water believes it has an ethical business
imperative and moral obligation to promote wellbeing and health safeguarding
the environment as well as to convey the importance of water conservation. It
wants to promote good water practices, particularly amongst a generation of
future customers and alter their behaviours whilst they are young.
In the last three years, Northern Ireland Water has invested
£1m in its education programme.
During this time it has established an education programme,
led by the Water Education Team, which aims to encourage good water practices,
that will lead to positive environmental impact and ultimately it hopes this
will mean significant savings for the organisation and its customers.
The main focus has been on school age children, particularly
Key Stage 1-3 and each aspect of the programme is designed to engage the pupils
to increase their understanding of water as a precious resource and this is done
in a fun and interactive way. It has been carefully designed to complement
curriculum learning, the ‘World About Us’, ‘Environment and Society’ and
‘Science and Technology’.
Some of the tools and resources include:
- double decker Water Bus;
- education centres at Silent Valley and
Wastewater Heritage Centre in Belfast; and
- educational cartoon DVD
The Water Education Team is supported by a team of staff
volunteers from across the organisation’s seven directorates. It provides a
knowledgeable presence at events and tours etc and this has also expanded and
developed its skills sets.
