A forward-thinking collaboration between two New Zealand firms is seeing plastic gain a new lease of life in the South Island. SWE and RX Plastics have teamed up in a pilot project to recycle and reuse polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”) and soon to be polyethylene (“PE”) materials from vineyards and projects around Marlborough.

RX Plastics have set up the pilot system at SWE’s headquarters – which sees the products cleaned, then sorted into their category. Once checked they are collected and returned to their Tinwald factory for regrinding and repurposing. The PVC is reground and made into other products. The PE material is also reground and pelletised, ready to be used in a myriad of other new products. This reduces the waste to landfill from these products by an estimated 99%, with the rubber rings from within the PVC sockets the only remaining part not able to be recycled – yet.

Steve Pitts, Territory Manager for RX Plastics explains, “we’ve been working with SWE since they first opened their doors. When Stephen came to me a few years ago, asking what we could do to help reduce their waste to landfill, it put things in motion. We’re all very excited to have this pilot now underway here in Marlborough.”

Pitts says, “it’s still early days, and at this point we are trialling it with SWE here in Marlborough. However, I’m really confident this is going to be successful – and at that point we’d be looking to open it up nationally to our clients.”

SWE’s Managing Director Stephen Leitch says their motivation to decrease waste came to the forefront when they became Toitū carboNZero accredited in 2017. The company has nine active “shift projects” (and another half dozen already completed), that “shift” SWE from its current emissions output to a reduced one. “Our shift projects us from where we are now, to a place that better meets our mission. An example of one of our active shift projects is to have zero waste to landfill. We have been working hard with all our suppliers to look at how we can reduce, reuse and recycle – and this pilot project with RX Plastics came out of that work.”

RX Plastics were pleased to work together on a solution. “We got involved because we are always looking for ways to improve our environmental footprint – and we want to support our client’s sustainability goals too”, says Pitts. “Our products are designed to be used for 50-100 years plus. And if we can recycle them at end-of-life, well that completes the circle perfectly.”

Dripline and drippers are not included in the scope of this pilot project, but we are exploring a trial with another supplier to deal with that.

This story has also been featured in the Winepress Magazine. You can read that article in the WinePress magazine here.

Stephen Leitch,(Managing Director, SWE and Member of the pilot project committee) with Steve Pitts (Territory Manager for RX Plastics and Member of the pilot project committee)

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We were thrilled to be profiled in the NZ Entrepreneur magazine – as part of their “Innovation Nation” series. Innovation Nation is a series celebrating stories of innovation and entrepreneurship from around New Zealand.

The feature explores the way we are addressing the challenges – and opportunities – facing primary industry in New Zealand.

Read the full article in the NZ Entrepreneur magazine here:

SOUTHERN WATER ENGINEERING OPTIMISING PERFORMANCE IN THE KIWI WINE CAPITAL

Marlborough business Southern Water Engineering (SWE) aims to optimise primary industry performance by improving water and wastewater systems – all by monitoring and analysing data and putting in fixes before the problems pile up.

Founded fourteen years ago and officially launched in 2011, the sixteen-person team at SWE balloons to at least 25 during the busy grape-growing season (typically October to April), when the grapevines require correct water management to achieve the best outcome for harvest. As most of the nation’s wine is produced in Marlborough, the need for optimal management of water and effluent ramps up a notch.

Though SWE’s water management tools work on all sorts of farms, vineyards have traditionally been SWE’s main focus – after all, that’s where the greatest demand has been.

Over 28,000 hectares of vines (over 70% of the national total) are under the care of wine producers in Marlborough, a dry region where vineyards typically use drip irrigation to provide grapevines with 2.2mm of water per hectare per day. If growers get their water requirements wrong, they reduce wine quality (which impacts the wine market as a whole) as well as setting the vines up for subsequent ongoing problems and additional costs.

If New Zealand were to go the way of Australia and bill for water, water bills would potentially be five figures or more each year for local vineyards. The UN has reported that by 2030 demand for water could be 40% greater than the supply available.

With an industry that often prides itself on continuous improvement, many are keen to get ahead of the curve with water use before it becomes mandated – and costly. With wine industry exports reached $2.01 billion for the year ending December 2020, it gives an indication of what’s at stake each year.

The problems largely stem from five main areas: poorly functioning irrigation systems; degradation of systems caused by faults (such as incorrect operating pressures); a mix of older technologies with inefficient system designs; the fact that few tests are conducted on systems (except pressure tests); and a lack of awareness of potential problem areas leading to unexpected, and often avoidable breakdowns.

Examples of the costly consequences from underperforming systems which SWE aims to minimise are:

• A worker may have to drive for large amounts of time (emitting greenhouse gases) to get to a pipe failure and work out how to solve it.
• Vineyard operators may have no idea that a drip irrigation system isn’t working, and otherwise-productive vines might end up with reduced yield (resulting in reduced return for the grower).
• A leak may result in water wastage, leaving insufficient water for effective irrigation within the grower’s allocated water rights.
• A leak may not be detected until the vineyard operator arrives at the vineyard or the leak is reported by a neighbour.
• Failures in vines caused by too much or too little water are likely to have an ongoing effect on future harvests.
• Effluent from wine processing may not end up evenly distributed on the land and result in non-compliance fines and environmental issues.

Founder and managing director Stephen Leitch has spent fourteen years at SWE developing tools to try stop the above problems setting in. Leitch’s current focus is part of a wider 25 years in the irrigation industry, including roles at FruitFed and WaterDynamics and before that, Leitch studied at agricultural sciences hub Lincoln University – with plenty of family influence to steer him into his current role. “Everybody in my family is an engineer of some sort,” Leitch told NZ Entrepreneur. “I went to Lincoln and did a horticulture degree but I somehow ended up back in engineering!”

To condense SWE’s services to one sentence, the company essentially offers hardware, software and services for primary industry, so clients with a water fault can narrow down the fault from their office or smartphone – as well as stopping problems before they occur thanks to proactive maintenance and monitoring.

SWE provides growers, farmers and producers with everything from up-to-date pumping and filtration technologies to maximise pump performance – through to remote access alarms so alerts are received when irrigation breaks down. Tech solutions SWE offers include programmable logic controllers, supervisory control and data acquisition systems and radio link / telemetry, and their SmartAudit offering, all of which helps clients weather the ‘big dries’ which Marlborough is prone to.

With the SmartAudit service, for example, SWE routinely identifies an average of 5% potential water saving per year. This amounts to a potential saving of 102m3 of water per hectare per year – a figure which would amount to a minimum saving of 2.3 million cubic metres of water per year across Marlborough, or nearly 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water. (Making this degree of saving would also offer the potential of irrigating a further 900 hectares of extra land, if you wanted to).

To be clear, Leitch says, this represents not a one-off saving but an annual saving. Leitch remarks it is important to note that this 5% represents a very conservative estimate of potential water savings. “We have regularly seen the potential for at least 20% savings in vineyard blocks audited to date.”

SWE’s interventions can help deliver improved uniformity of water delivery, improving plant health and yields – and importantly, more efficient use of water. For the client this also results in fewer breakdowns and increased lifespan of irrigation components, enables planning for capital expenditure for future maintenance and upgrades and can even sometimes result in lower running and replacement costs.

Leitch says tackling vineyard inefficiencies requires a team who composed of a mixture of “brainstormers” with a vision of the future, plus “others who can do the nuts and bolts and actually get us there,” meaning mechanical engineers who take care of steel headworks, installing pipe and servicing pumps and controllers. The team have a progressive company culture looking after them, and SWE has recognised for its progressive values almost from its inception.

SWE is Toitū carbonzero™ accredited, and pays all staff above the Living Wage. SWE won the ‘Business Innovation’ category at the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards (2017) and was shortlisted for the Irrigation NZ ‘Innovation in Irrigation Award’ (2014) and was also supreme winner of the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards (2013).

Continuing with their drive to innovate, SWE is currently in beta testing phase for their newest offering – “swelink” – which provides clients with real-time data and trend analysis across their system, and has the potential to greatly improve system efficiency, reduce water wastage and enhance effective and timely decision-making. Leitch says swelink is the culmination of a lot of R&D and is “excited” for what it can do for their clients.

Despite the company’s focus on innovation and technology, Leitch says he isn’t looking to completely automate irrigation. Collaboration is the focus instead. “What we do is collect the data – and build the analysis – to enable that. And I think a smart entrepreneur looks for how you work with other businesses to get the best outcome for everybody.”

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“Best use of New Zealand natives” – prestigious garden award for SWE

SWE was delighted to accept the award for the “Best use of New Zealand natives” category of the Rapaura Springs Garden Marlborough “Best Garden” Awards 2018 on Sunday, at the annual Garden Fete.

The SWE gardens at their Waters Ave headquarters are the culmination of nearly six years’ work by the team, with extra efforts being dedicated to the garden in the last two years. “Our initial impetus was environmental and aesthetic”, explains MD, Stephen Leitch. “It was around converting a relatively industrial site to one which was supportive of local wildlife – bees, insects and birds – and a welcoming, pleasant space for staff and visitors. We had some helpful initial design input from [landscape architect] Helen Ballinger a while back. Then we just got stuck in and got going with it. But about two years ago we got [landscape designer and gardener] Adrienne Wyatt involved – and it was Adrienne’s expertise and hard work that really helped turn our vision and early efforts into a more special end result.”

The grounds are a lush palette of New Zealand natives – flaxes, cabbage trees, muehlenbeckia, kowhai, Marlborough Rock Daisies, amongst many other species. The planting of these natives works seamlessly to complement the large established exotic trees which the team inherited with the site. “For us it is important to have biodiversity on the site, so we’re not slaves to the idea of only using native trees and plants,” Stephen adds. “It’s another part of our company commitment to ‘doing the right thing’ by our environment”.

Sculptural elements by SWE staff

There are also a number of interesting sculptural elements which feature in the garden too. The windmill is made from one of the original “Booth self-oiler windmills”, originally from an old mid-Canterbury farm. SWE’s Field Mechanical Engineer, Tony McConaghey, created the authentic tripod on which the windmill now sits.

Peter Clark created the sculpture which has pride of place amongst the plants near the site entrance. Peter’s ‘orb’ is created from repurposed barrel rings (from wine barrels) connected to make a naturalistic shape – resembling the white basket fungus (Ileodictyon cibarium).

While very many of the plantings are natives, the team have also found space to incorporate fruit trees – such as feijoas – for the staff to enjoy. “And we’re not finished yet,” Stephen adds, laughing.

Garden Marlborough explain that the awards are important as, among other things, they “encourage the beautification of the Marlborough region as a whole”.

What the Garden Marlborough judges said:

“There was clearly a lot of thought and design gone into the development of the SWE landscape, in an area where we didn’t necessarily expect to see this. They have used a strong palette of native plantings alongside some existing large established exotic trees. It was also nice to see the inclusion of ferns in sheltered spots as well as enclosure created by the planting scheme around the outdoor staff seating area. Well done!”

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SWE was honoured to appear on this season’s Rural Delivery series on TVNZ 1​ – talking about SmartAudits, water conservation, and the evolution of technology in the industry.

“Leading Marlborough-based water engineering and irrigation company SWE is helping New Zealand producers to manage (and conserve) their water use, while creating significant savings in power usage and improving crop quality.”

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the Rural Delivery team for coming to visit us here in Marlborough and for sharing our story. We’re beyond honoured to have been included in the series, alongside so many other prestigious and innovative businesses and organisations.

You can watch it here:

You can also read more over on the Rural Delivery website here: www.ruraldelivery.net.nz/stories/SWE-and-SmartAudit

And find out more about our SmartAudit service here.

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SWE earns world-class greenhouse gas carboNZero^certTM certification

SWE continues its commitment to sustainable business practice by becoming carboNZero^certTM certified

SWE is delighted to announce that their organisation has been certified under the world leading carboNZero^certTM certification programme, by Enviro-Mark Solutions Limited of New Zealand. This milestone marks SWE’s commitment to environmental leadership, assuring customers with the most robust and credible evidence that their efforts to manage, reduce and offset carbon emissions for their business are effective and credible.

SWE now has an effective net zero carbon footprint, certified in accordance with ISO 14064-1 – ensuring our clients and community know we meet and exceed international standards and best practice.

SWE Managing Director, Stephen Leitch, is thrilled with the achievement, which is part of the company’s ongoing quest “to ‘do the right thing’ by our team, our clients, our community, and our environment”.

SWE is delighted to be continuing their history of being a leader in their field, becoming the only multi-disciplinary team consulting practice (in their field of water, power, and technology) to currently have carboNZero^certTM certification. At present, SWE is one of 70+ leading carboNZero^certTM certified organisations in New Zealand

Stephen explains “As a business we have integrated a commitment to the environment into our everyday way of working; it’s not just lip service. We want to know – and be able to demonstrate – we are running a business which works in an environmentally-sound manner, as verified by a rigorous external audit and accreditation process”.

One of the ways SWE has reduced our carbon footprint was through the purchase of two electric bikes, which are currently used by Stephen and SWE staff. Consequently, Stephen and the team have drastically reduced their use of company cars and travelled over 4,500 kilometres by electric bike since they were bought in 2017.

Enviro-Mark Solutions CEO, Dr Ann Smith praises SWE’s commitment to leading their industry in taking responsibility for the greenhouse gas impact their business has.

“It is great to see a company like SWE taking action to reduce their impacts. This achievement should be celebrated by everyone at SWE and we look forward to seeing how this leadership evolves in their sector. We hope this success story inspires other organisations to take action.”

Other accolades for SWE include being finalists in the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards (2015) and winners of the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards (2017) in the “Business Innovation” category; being shortlisted for the Irrigation New Zealand “Innovation in Irrigation Award” (2014); and being the supreme winners of the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards (2013), winners of the “Innovation Award” and the “Adding Value to Marlborough” Award.

You can find out more about SWE’s carboNZero^certTM certification and their commitment to environmental sustainability by heading to our Environment page.

About carboNZero^CertTM certification

carboNZero^certTM certified organisations have measured their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (such as business travel, electricity and vehicles), committed to managing and reducing the emissions, and have offset any remaining emissions by purchasing verified carbon credits. The process is independently verified as accurate and complete in accordance with ISO 14064-1/PAS 2050 (the international standard for GHG measurement) on an annual basis. Developed from over 15 years of experience in GHG measurement and carbon monitoring, Enviro-Mark Solutions’ carbon programmes are the world’s first internationally accredited GHG certification programmes under ISO 14065.

The internationally accredited carboNZero^certTM Certification Programme is operated by Enviro-Mark Solutions, the leading provider of independent environmental certification in New Zealand. Since 2001, our programmes have ensured that New Zealand companies are benefiting from international best practice, applied science, and effective tools. Enviro-Mark Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Landcare Research, a Government-owned Crown Research Institute. Though developed for New Zealand business needs, Enviro-Mark Solutions currently serves over 400 clients worldwide. Learn more at www.enviro-mark.com.

Details of SWE’s certification disclosure are available at www.enviro-mark.com/our-members/members/southern-water-engineering

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Cawthron Marlborough Environment Award Winners

SWE were honoured to accept the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Award in the “Business Innovation” category for our SmartAudit service.

“It is a humbling experience, and a pleasure, to be considered amongst so many great companies committed to making a positive impact on the environment,” Stephen Leitch says.

Stephen explains that perhaps the greatest pleasure (for the management team) of submitting an entry into the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards is the opportunity to showcase the outstanding commitment and passion of the SWE staff team who, in all their efforts, strive together towards peak performance for our clients and our own business. Taking the opportunity to honour and thank the team for all their efforts to date is one not to be missed as they have all worked incredibly hard to diversify the SWE business streams and market penetration into other industries, as well as continuing to further the awareness of water and energy conservation potential throughout vineyard, winery and food processing industries and others.

SWE people are dedicated specialists who come together to make our company the success it is today. Behind the scenes is a team of people who provide input into the management and operations at SWE, because “better never stops”. We are committed to excellence at all levels in our processes, our customer service, our technical expertise, and our dedication to mindful and sustainable environmental management and conservation.

Environmental sustainability is a core value included in our mission statement, and we wholeheartedly subscribe to the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards motto that “sound environmental management is good business”.

Read what the judges had to say:

“SWE continues to keep ahead of the curve in the continuous improvements to its business and service to customers, diversification into other industries, and persistence in spreading the word about the importance of water management and conservation.

Stephen is an innovator and educator. Not content to just lay pipe and leave he is constantly driving new ideas and through SmartAudit is advising Marlborough land

managers about the need to collect data and manage water use. SWE takes a practical approach to encouraging and educating land users by developing technology and systems that are appropriate to the local situation.

The success of SWE is based on the triple bottom line they can deliver to their customers – financial, environmental and social benefits for their businesses.

The judges were impressed by the way SmartAudit demonstrates and encourages the dollar savings (tangible benefits) and intangible benefits. For example, improved crop quality means less disease, less spray, and a good result for the environment and the bank balance.”

To find out more about the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards, including the list of 2017 award winners, go to www.cmea.org.nz

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What Is A Water Footprint?

Have you heard of the term ‘water footprint’? Ever wondered what it means? Well, everything we humans eat, drink, wear, buy and sell takes water to make it. The water footprint of a product is a measurement of just how much water was used to produce a particular product.

Watch our video telling you more about water footprints – and discover how much water it takes to make that chocolate bar or banana you’re about to bite in to…you might be surprised!

Source for water footprint data: www.waterfootprint.org (citing overseas calculations)

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Heard of the ‘transformer’ tree? They take over wherever they start to grow, completely transforming the ecosystem and are referred to as one of New Zealand’s worst pests. Better known to you and I as ‘wilding pines’, these trees are a scourge on our beautiful natural environment around Marlborough, and New Zealand as a whole.

Over Easter Stephen (our MD) took a group of RSE workers from the Solomon Islands – here in Marlborough for the grape harvest – on a conservation trip. Heading up to the Leatham Conservation Area they spent the day successfully clearing wilding pines.

Wilding Pines

Wilding conifers, also known as wilding pines, are an invasive species in New Zealand that threaten our native plants and animals, and millions of dollars are spent on controlling their spread. In the South Island, they threaten an estimated 210,000 hectares of public land administered by the Department of Conservation.

It’s important to note they are a very “thirsty” species of tree, and by removing trees it’s estimated we free up 30-40% water usage in that area – water we can ill afford to waste on wilding pines.

Staying on top of Marlborough’s wilding pine problem takes a huge commitment from DoC as well as volunteers and we were lucky to have the very willing help of our visitors, who in turn enjoyed some sightseeing along the way!

At SWE we really enjoy getting out and making a difference to our local Marlborough environment – and it was wonderful to partner with these enthusiastic Solomon Islanders, who also wanted to make a contribution to our Marlborough community while they are here.

Clearing wilding pines is an enormous job, expensive (for the country), and tough, but we can all help – one tree at a time.

Want to know more about how you can help with wilding pine control in Marlborough?

Contact the local DOC office on 03 572 9100 (Gee Street, Renwick) or 03 520 3002 (14 Auckland Street, Picton).They can provide you with further information on the identification and control of invasive weed species.

You can also check out the New Zealand Wilding Conifer Management Group website which includes information about the National Wilding Conifer Management Strategy.

Want to know more about wilding pines generally?

You might like to watch the interesting ‘Story’ article here: http://www.newshub.co.nz/tvshows/story/invasive-pine-species-threatens-native-plants-2015121618#axzz3uEoC0Gty

And you can find more information here: http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/common-weeds/wilding-pines/.

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An exciting breakthrough occurred recently in Marlborough for Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project at Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve with the capture (and release) of two critically endangered long-tailed bats.

The long-tailed bat population has been declining rapidly in the region, and indeed over all of New Zealand, over the past 40 years with Pelorus Bridge being one of the last remaining populations in the top of the South. The bats, which shelter in the mature podocarp trees during the daytime, can sometimes be seen in the evening flying above the forest or along the Pelorus River / Te Hoiere.

Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project is a combined effort between Forest and Bird members from Nelson-Tasman and Marlborough and community volunteers, such as Stephen Leitch (SWE’s MD) who has been working on the project for four years. Volunteers clock up around 80 hours a month checking 500 traps across 150 hectares – to decrease the populations of rats, stoats, possums and feral cats that threaten the livelihood of the local long-tailed bat population.

What made this capture, tag and release particularly special was that it was the first time many of the volunteers, like Stephen, had seen these fascinating creatures they’ve been working so hard to protect.

In 2013 Te Hoiere Bat Project received the category award for Landscape and Habitat Enhancement at the Marlborough Environment Awards showcasing its success as a combined community conservation project.

Watch the video outlining more about the breakthrough in the bat recovery project at Pelorus Bridge here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/78161414/

Long-tailed bat – photo credit: Kerry Weston

You can find out more about the long-tailed bat or join us in volunteering to help save this endangered creature through Forest and Bird. More help is always needed!

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We were delighted to be entrants in the 2015 Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards and showcase our SmartAudit service. For those of you not yet familiar with our SmartAudit offering – this service sees us conduct a thorough audit of our clients’ vineyard irrigation systems, assess how the system is performing overall and report back, recommending what improvements could be made.

At SWE we are exceptionally proud of the successes the team has achieved to date through the solution-focused implementation of SmartAudit. We have already seen massive changes in the way that irrigation systems have been optimised through the recommendations. And, we believe, the potential to make an even greater impact on water and power savings throughout the wine industry is enormous.

Demand for water is a serious issue – we want Marlborough to be at the forefront of innovation in water conservation – setting the standard for the rest of New Zealand.

We were honoured to receive such positive feedback from the judges, including the comment:

“Demand for water is a serious issue for Marlborough. We have built up markets for our wine and must ensure consistency of quality and supply. This entry highlights the need for smarter irrigation and more water storage and it also provides the solutions. It encourages vineyard owners to take a proactive step and be prepared, rather than wait until their feet are in the fire.”

Our congratulations and thanks obviously go out to the sponsors, the organisers, the winners, and all our fellow entrants.

A full list of winners can be seen on the Cawthron Institute website.

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Climate resilience

Climate change is a contentious issue – whichever side of the argument your beliefs fall.

The latest report from the United Nations (UN) predicts a 40% water shortfall by 2030* while University of Northumbria researchers predict a “mini ice age” in 15 years**. Climate change is pretty well a certainty. What we don’t know is what the change will be.

As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said in about 500BC, “The only thing that is constant is change”.

Given this uncertainty about what the climate will throw at us in Marlborough – for next summer or the next decade – at SWE we advocate a ‘climate resilience’ approach which may be multi-pronged, such as building a dam as a contingency plan for water scarcity, optimising systems so no drop is wasted, future proofing equipment, planting varieties which are the best fit for each individual location and so on. In effect, we should prepare ourselves to weather the storm, whatever that may be.

A recent Stuff article stated that NIWA has estimated “a 95 per cent chance the east coast of the North and South Islands will be affected by El Nino weather patterns until March 2016… NIWA predicted this summer’s event to be one of the worst in 18 years.”*** As Ward farmer Kevin Loe, interviewed for this article highlighted, even though it’s tough, you don’t have to be beaten by the conditions if you plan for them, “Map it out, then mitigate and manage”.

The prologue to the UN water report states that despite all the issues surrounding water the world faces, “The fact is there is enough water available to meet the world’s growing needs, but not without dramatically changing the way water is used, managed and shared.”*

A SmartAudit is a perfect first step. SmartAudit is our innovative irrigation management tool which assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the entire system – considering everything from equipment to design, and everything in between. The end result is a benchmark report which allows clients to ensure the system is running optimally in the present, and identifies opportunities for enhanced climate resilience and contingency planning for the future.

Preparation is key. Let’s get local businesses climate ready. Talk to our expert team about your options for protecting your business’s climate resilience.

* Source: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/wwdr/2015-water-for-a-sustainable-world/

** Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/11733369/Earth-heading-for-mini-ice-age-within-15-years.html

*** Source: http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/71686028/el-nino-summer-looming-for-marlborough-farmers

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We’re delighted to have been able to visit Blenheim School last week to see The Great Drain Game in use. It was exciting to see the project come to fruition, and to witness the understanding in the children’s eyes as they got to see firsthand what their choices meant ‘downstream’ in the stormwater and wastewater systems.

Marlborough District Council’s Freshwater Educator, Anna Crowe, is doing a great job inspiring local Marlborough children about  water conservation and helping them to understand that their actions can make a difference.

We understand Anna has lots of bookings to take The Great Drain Game to Marlborough schools – so it will, no doubt, be coming to a school near you!

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