South East Water donated a water butt to young gardeners at Burgess Hill School for Girls after taking part in their Girls Go Green week last month.

The Junior School's Eco Committee invited Mr Street from South East Water to speak to the girls about water efficiency during their Girls Go Green week in October. Mr Street returned to the school last week to present the water butt to members of the Gardening Club and Eco Committee.

Mrs Pearson, Deputy Head of the Junior School, said "The talk was fascinating and there were lots of very useful facts about saving water. Following the talk I thought I would ask about the possibility of the company donating a water butt to the Junior School Gardening Club; to my surprise they said yes!"

Lee Dance, Head of Water Resources and Environmental at South East Water, said "It was a pleasure to donate the water butt to Burgess Hill Junior School for Girls. It is important that children learn from a young age how they can conserve water, not only in the home, but in the garden as well."

"Plants much prefer rainwater to tap water so by storing it in a water butt the young gardeners will not only benefit the environment, they should see the benefit in their plants too."

At the Gardening Club pupils learn basic gardening skills while growing a variety of foods including beans, carrots and strawberries.

Mrs Pearson said, "This water butt will provide an excellent opportunity to further enrich our curriculum by seeing first-hand how we can collect water to benefit the garden. It will also teach pupils about where water comes from, how it can be used and the importance of using it wisely."

Mr Street with members of the Gardening Club and Eco Committee

16/11/11