Thames Water joins local Earth Summit for fifteenth year

• Thames Water joined the National Trust Earth Summit for the charity’s annual event to educate local children on protecting the environment.
• This is the fifteenth year Thames Water has taken part.
• For the first time, Thames Water’s biodiversity partners, Action Funder, attended as part of the Backyard Nature Project.

On Tuesday 23 May, representatives from Thames Water’s education team attended the National Trust’s annual Earth Summit. 

The Earth Summit is held for four primary schools in the Swindon area at the National Trust’s Buscot and Coleshill estates. The day consists of fun and lively workshops hosted by a variety of organisations, to teach the children the importance of sustainability and biodiversity.  

This year’s event lands the same week as International Day of Biodiversity, celebrated on Monday 22 May, to promote an increased understanding of biodiversity issues. 

For the fifteenth year in a row, Thames Water has joined the day, crafting engaging activities to teach the children the importance of saving water and how we can all protect our sewage network by only flushing the three Ps; pee, poo and paper.  
Activities included a treasure hunt, flushing investigations and experiments, and a question-and-answer session with Thames Water staff about saving and protecting water.  

Liz Banks, Education Manager at Thames Water said: “We’re delighted to partner with the National Trust, supporting the Earth Summit for fifteen years running. We firmly believe it’s everyone’s water and we all have role to play when it comes to protecting this precious resource.  

“By engaging with the next generation, we have the opportunity to set children on the right path, educating them on the importance of sustainable living, a topic which we strongly encourage at Thames Water.” 

Liza Dibble, Education Officer for the National Trust said: “On the week of International Day for Biodiversity we must remember a sustainable lifestyle is an important educational topic. We hope to give these young people the confidence to tackle any environmental, social and economic problems they may encounter in their day to day lives.” 

For the first time, Thames Water’s biodiversity partners at Action Funder attended Earth Summit alongside them. In partnership with Thames Water, Backyard Nature is one of their national campaigns which sets out to empower children from all backgrounds to access nature and get involved in its care. 

Sophie Forge, Campaign Manager for Backyard Nature said: “We are thrilled to be attending Earth Summit for the first time with Thames Water. Our mission is to make nature accessible for all young people and this is a wonderful occasion to encourage and educate children of the importance of protecting our local environment and green spaces.”