Scottish Water and Aberdeen Science Centre (ASC) are teaming up to inspire hundreds of local school children across the North-east to become responsible water citizens.
The partnership, announced one year after Scottish Water launched its nationwide education programme Generation H2O, will see ASC deliver a series of workshops focused on the various stages of the water cycle, including the processes involved in making water safe to drink.
The workshops, which are funded by Scottish Water, will look to inspire P5 to P7 school pupils to become more responsible with their use of water, recognising the importance of conserving and protecting such a precious natural resource.
In addition to the delivery of the sessions at ASC, the programme will feature a community outreach element to ensure harder to reach groups have the opportunity to participate.
Chief Executive of Scottish Water, Alex Plant, announced the partnership at the Annual Consultative Meeting of the publicly owned utility company, which was this year held at ASC.
He said: “In recent years, the increasing impact of the climate crisis is becoming more and more apparent through the extreme weather events we are experiencing – these include drier and warmer summers which put our water resources under increasing pressure, while demand continues to rise.
“There has never been a greater need to equip young people with the knowledge and skills required to protect Scotland’s water. To date, we have had 667 teachers register to use the materials offered through Generation H2O, reaching 34,213 young people. We are looking forward to continuing to expand those numbers in the coming years.
“As part of this drive, we are delighted to sponsor this Water Cycle Workshop at ASC which will help school pupils across Aberdeen City and Shire build their STEM skills and become passionate about protecting one of our most precious resources. Educating young people about these issues will help us to inspire a change in the way they think about water usage, and we know that they can also be very persuasive when talking to their families about these same issues!”
Bryan Snelling, Chief Executive Officer at Aberdeen Science Centre, said: “We are honoured to partner with Scottish Water to spread awareness of the vital importance of conserving one of our most precious natural resources.
“Thanks to the support of Scottish Water, our new workshops will allow us to engage with hundreds of school pupils from the North-east of Scotland and beyond, in addition to various local community groups, as we explore the many small changes we can make that will ultimately have a big impact on our consumption and use of water.”
The workshops will be delivered from January 2025 and are available to schools across Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Moray and parts of Angus. It is hoped to involve more than 300 pupils through the workshops, with an additional 10 community outreach sessions.
Teachers can register for Scottish Water’s free Generation H2O resources through the National Schools Partnership: Scottish Water Generation H₂O – For Primary Schools – National Schools Partnership
All lessons are aligned to the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes, and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and are designed to develop important transferable skills including creativity, collaboration, problem-solving and critical thinking that can aid them in the future workplace.