Ambassador Bob

Kia ora, 

I'm Bob the ambassador for Room 9 at North Street School in Fielding. I can't wait to go to Wellington for the People and Water field trip. I am pretty good at saving water but I'm sure I will find out more about how to look after our water network.

In the meantime I'm making new friends at Shelley the LEARNZ teacher's place. I met Tommie the Tabby and the other ambassadors.

Chat soon,

Bob.

Monday 22 May

Kia ora,

I hardly slept last night because I was so excited about our trip to Wellington. The weather was perfect even though it was freezing first thing this morning. I was surprised at how quickly we travelled just about the full length of the South Island to make it to our cool capital city. Windy Wellington welcomed us with a cool breeze but beautiful sunshine. 

We walked all around the centre of the city and along the waterfront. It was easy to see why people care about water in Wellington. There is water everywhere with the harbour, ponds, rivers and even fountains. I’m looking forward to finding out more about water.

See you in the morning,

Bob.

Tuesday 23 May

Tēnā koutou,

It was a windy Wellington day today but we still managed to get out and about and see lots of the city. We went all the way out to the Wainuiomata Treatment Plant where water collected from rivers is treated to make it safe to drink. It was incredible to see how much dirt is filtered out. Chlorine is also added to kill bugs and fluoride is added to help us keep our teeth strong and healthy.

I am glad our water is treated because it would be horrible to drink water that could make people sick.

Tomorrow we will continue following the journey of water and see what happens to it once it goes down the drain.

Bye for now,

Bob.

Wednesday 24 May

Kia ora,

It was a bit of a smelly start to the day out at the wastewater treatment plant. We saw all the rubbish that must be removed from wastewater before it can be treated. Only the 3 Ps should go down the loo – pee, pooh and paper (toilet paper that is). Even though some disposable wipes are described as flushable, they aren’t. They can block pipes and cost everyone lots of money in repair bills.

I was surprised to learn that good bacteria are used to help break down contaminants in wastewater while UV light is used to kill the bad bacteria.

We also found some easy ways to save water such as fixing leaking taps and taking shorter showers.

See you tomorrow,

Bob.

Thursday 25 May

I was keen to make the most of our last day in Wellington so I got up extra early. We headed back out to Lower Hutt and found out a lot of interesting things about water, such as where water for firefighting comes from.

We also took a closer look at stormwater. Stormwater is all the rain water that flows over the ground and down drains in the street. These drains lead to waterways so it’s really important not to wash things like oil, cleaning fluids and rubbish down the drain. Only rain should go down the drain!

I have had a great time on this field trip but I'm looking forward to getting home to catch up with you all.

See you soon,

Bob.