Important lessons learned as Binsted school bags £5k from water saving challenge

An East Hampshire school has been given a high £5,000 after villagers pooled their resources into a water saving challenge.

Binsted reduced its water usage by eight per cent - the equivalent of 30,000 bathtubs - after taking part in the SE Water initiative earlier this year, writes Lucy Packer.

Some of the biggest savings were made at the primary school, where the community worked together to see where they could save water and change daily habits following one of the longest and hottest summers on record.

Flyers were posted through doors and parents posted on local Facebook groups to spread the message.

They showed their class to cross the finish line last week with Headteacher Henry Jennings claiming that an important lesson has been learned.

He said: “This was crucial for the children and community to focus on sustainability – the children are more observant at school and at home.”

Pupils were given a timer so they could shorten the time spent in the shower while they also made sure taps were turned off around school.

And their efforts paid off, with the school receiving £5,000 from SE Water after the village passed a target of reducing its usage by five per cent.

The money has been earmarked on new outdoor wooden storage lockers, plants, and gardening tools.

Tash Ralphs, member of Friends Of Binsted School, thanked everyone who took part with the school saving 2,455 cubic metres of water.

That’s the equivalent of almost one Olympic-sized swimming pool, 30,700 full bathtubs, or 9,824,000 cups of tea.

And the environmental benefits haven’t stopped yet as daily improvements made at the school have saved almost 510 litres every single day.

Tash said: “I think that children, staff and parents have learnt good habits for the rest of their lives.”