Peebles Pupils Pioneer Mission to Protect Scotland's Water

“Water plays such a valuable part in everyday life and links into the Curriculum for Excellence so well, we want to give young people the opportunity not only to learn but to have a voice to drive positive change to protect Scotland’s water.”

Lorna Neilson
Scottish Water Project Lead

Primary pupils in Peebles in the Scottish Borders are taking on a new mission – to safeguard the nation’s water and environment. 

Mission H₂O is being launched by Scottish Water during Climate Week as an engaging and hands-on primary school challenges aimed at inspiring learners aged 5-11. 

It’s part of a new Scotland-wide programme under the banner Generation H₂O to encourage young people to care for the nation's most precious natural resource. 

Pupils at Priorsford Primary were the first in the country to take on Mission H₂O, before it rolls out more widely. 

Mission H₂O encourages young people to become responsible water citizens, valuing and protecting the water and the wastewater network. They will learn about the importance of water and set a challenge using a scorecard to actively reduce their water consumption, using water wisely over the course of a week.  

Michelle Fraser, teacher at Priorsford Primary said: “It is fantastic to take part in Mission H₂O with Scottish Water at our school and great to see the children’s reaction to the mission and ‘Droplet’.  

The teacher's guide is great and the links to extension activities are brilliant. Having the Experience and Outcome curriculum links for each of the subject areas to show the relevance is a really good idea and this is exactly what teachers need for our planning.” 

Scottish Water’s Generation H₂O project lead Lorna Neilson said: “Water plays such a valuable part in everyday life and links into the Curriculum for Excellence so well, we want to give young people the opportunity not only to learn but to have a voice to drive positive change to protect Scotland’s water.

“We’re thrilled to launch Mission H₂O as the first lesson of our new Generation H₂O youth engagement programme with the students from Priorsford Primary. They really are pioneers.  

“We plan to take Generation H₂O to a national level by extending our reach through partnerships and strengthening our relationships within communities with school visits later in the year.  

“The next phase will look at bringing opportunities to young people from rural and deprived areas by working with a youth partner to let young people lead a movement of change across the country, inspiring others within their communities to take positive action to protect the planet through caring for water. 

“Our objective is to help support a new generation of responsible water citizens – who are knowledgeable about the water cycle and take active steps to safeguard it for themselves and future water users. It’s essential when faced with the challenges of climate change and ensuring long-term reliable and sustainable water supply.” 

The Mission H₂O primary resources are all linked to the Curriculum for Excellence objectives across: Sciences, Social Studies, Technologies, and Health and Wellbeing. This is free to download following registration. Click here to find out more. Scottish Water Generation H₂O - National Schools Partnership.

More Generation H₂O resources for primary and secondary schools will be coming later in the Autumn term. In the meantime, existing education content is available here. Education - Scottish Water.