Celebrating National Water Week
25 Oct 2022
Last week, we celebrated National Water Week along with our local communities.
Barwon Water Managing Director Tracey Slatter said she knew how passionate many people were in the region about water and the role it plays in the lives of every living thing.
“Being in the water industry, National Water Week is a very special week in our calendar,” she said.
“This year’s theme, ‘Our water stories’, celebrates our individual connection to water and the environments it helps to create.
“Our connection to water is deep, personal and very much a factor of our everyday lives. Our interactions with water are numerous and can often be the basis of many memories and deep emotions.
“By acknowledging and exploring our deep connection to water, we further develop our understanding of how best to overcome the challenges and impacts of climate change in our region, while maintaining a focus on the health of our lands and waterways.”
Ms Slatter said the theme also encouraged us all to reflect on the strong connection our First Nations people have with the environment, and how they cared for the lands and waterways we now live and work on through the generations over many thousands of years.
Held in October each year, National Water Week is designed to highlight and celebrate the important role water plays in our lives and the lives of every living creature.
To help celebrate the week, Barwon Water partnered with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, along with other Victorian water corporations and catchment management authorities for the National Water Week Poster competition.
Primary school students from across the region displayed their creative talents as part of the competition, with Barwon Water’s Education Officer Fernando Garcia visiting schools this week to hand out prizes to the winners.
“In total, we received 320 entries from 10 local schools for the annual poster competition, focusing on this year’s theme ‘Our water stories’,” Mr Garcia said.
“The standard this year was fantastic, with many students connecting with the theme. Well done to all our entrants.”
First place in each category of the regional Barwon Water competition were entered into the state wide poster competition, with two of our students (Indi B from Torquay Coast Primary School and Emily H from Bellaire Primary School in Highton winning second prize in the prep and year 3-4 divisions respectively).
Winning students from the regional competition each take home a prize pack, and five lucky local primary schools – Elliminyt, Bellaire, Torquay Coast, Nazareth Catholic and Highton – were randomly selected for a $500 education voucher.