Cedar Integrated Discover Silent Valley
10 March 2010
5,000 Reasons to Give to WaterAid
9 March 2010
Maghera based BSG Civil Engineering Ltd, at Christmas, gave a very generous donation of £5,000 to WaterAid. The kind-hearted offering by the Northern Ireland Water (NI Water) contractor, currently working the Antrim Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW), was made in lieu of buying and sending Christmas cards to colleagues and associates.
Paul McSparron, Project Engineer, BSG, explained why the company decided on this alternative gift:
“At Christmas, our post bags are normally crammed full with Christmas wishes but this year, the staff at BSG decided to do things differently. This donation will mean that the money goes that bit further - to the far side of the world in fact! Working on the Antrim WwTW, we felt it was fitting to make a gesture that would impact on a similar and practical level to less fortunate communities around the world. Given that it costs just £15 to ensure that each person has access to basic facilities for life, our contribution will provide over 130 individuals with safe, clean water ensuring a better standard of life and a future.”
Stephanie McCullagh, a member of the NI WaterAid Committee, and Senior Project Manager with NI Water thanked all the staff at BSG for the contribution:
“On behalf of WaterAid and NI Water, I would like to thank all the team at BSG for this generous gift. WaterAid uses low cost technologies to fund projects that provide safe, clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene training for communities in Africa and Asia.
If you would like to make a donation to WaterAid, log on to www.wateraid.org
The Secret Garden ....of Silent Valley
9 March 2010
NI Water’s best kept secret has finally been unlocked, in the form of an old garden allotment which Mourne Heritage Trust and the secret gardeners have brought to life through the Active Lifestyles Programme.
Hidden away for years, the old allotment which adjoins the Silent Valley Gate Lodge was made available by NI Water in support of the scheme which provides a valuable experience for people with a diverse range of abilities to engage with the outdoors. This combines physical exercise, social interaction and environmental education in a number of ways.
The scheme, based at Silent Valley is primarily for special needs groups, aka the secret gardeners, who have taken responsibility for the garden and even grown their own fruit and vegetables.
Dymphna Gallagher, Head of Quality & Compliance at NI Water and who works closely with Mourne Heritage Trust comments,
“NI Water is delighted to be involved with such a great initiative. The old allotment garden, sheltered by traditional dry stone walls and hedges, has been turned into a nursery, growing native trees such as Oak and Hazel from seed collected locally in the Mourne area from ancient woodland sites.
“The original purpose of the garden has also been maintained with the special needs groups using some of the beds to grow their own fruit and vegetables; everything from potatoes and peas to strawberries and redcurrants. There is even a harvest each year from a pair of apple trees which we think have been in the garden for generations!”
Regular groups from local special needs providers, including charities and the local health trust, visit the nursery at Silent Valley several times a week and engage in gardening activities. Everything from sowing, planting, potting up, weeding, transplanting, pruning and harvesting. This gives the participants a sense of achievement and responsibility for the success of the nursery.
A recent grant for the scheme will enable Mourne Heritage Trust to develop and expand the scheme which will allow the work to continue for another five years!
For further information on Silent Valley, log onto www.niwater.com
'Water' Lot of Fun Rolls into St. Joseph's Primary School
9 March 2010
NI Water's annual schools poster competition will have the theme 'Down the Drain' and is intended to teach children the consequences of flushing harmful materials down the drains and how small changes in our behaviour can help protect the environment.
NI Water are hosting a photographic exhibition at W5 to tell the story of sewers in Belfast and to promote the new Belfast Sewers Project.
