Water Efficient Gardening
introduction
Three Valleys Water, part of Veolia Water, is the UK's largest water-only supply company. The company provides more than 765 million litres of water each day to over three million customers. Given the precarious water supply and demand balance in its supply area, which includes Hertfordshire, Three Valleys Water has a strong incentive to encourage its customers to use water wisely.
description
The Gardens Roadshow project focuses on the use of water for gardening. Three Valleys Water recognised that the public was becoming more interested in gardening but lacked knowledge and understanding about water conservation.
The Roadshow primarily targeted domestic customers and schools. It has appeared at a large number of events, including the Chiltern Water Festival, the Finchley Carnival, and the Harlow Town Day. It has also been used as part of Environment Agency stands. The Roadshow also targeted employees of key business customers, including GlaxoSmithkline and Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
The roadshow provided an opportunity to promote a range of measures for saving water in gardening. Such measures include water efficient equipment used for gardening, water efficient plants and special soil types.
Research at the Three Valleys Water garden nursery has demonstrated that a water-efficient planter using water-retaining gel can save up to 23 litres of water per week compared to a traditional planter. Three Valleys Water is now set to increase links between the Roadshow and schools through an activity day of 'Making up Planters'. This is linked to the National Curriculum. It also provides a source of income for the school as order forms for planters are created by children and distributed to parents. Three Valleys Water supports the day with demonstrations, materials and aftercare sheets. The profits from the sale of the planters go to the schools. Trials in two schools generated 285 orders, worth £1,425 to the schools involved.
project team
Three Valleys Water
Environment Agency
further information