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Charity Speaker from the Jubilee Nursery Our charity this year is the Jubilee Nursery in Mill Road, Waterlooville, and one of the helpers from the nursery came to talk to us about it. It offers care to children with special needs from birth to the age of five years and opens three days a week from 10.am to 2.30.pm. There is a team of qualified staff who work on a one to one, or one to two, basis with the children. There are also volunteers who help with the childrens' activities. Parents pay a daily fee and pay also for the minibus service if this is required. A charge is made for the childrens' lunch and a qualified cook caters for any special dietary needs. The nursery has a wide range of toys to cater for the childrens' special needs, also sand, books, puzzles, light displays and sensory equipment. As the children are disabled they need special chairs to sit in to give them support to take part in the various activities, and as they are made to be adjusted for children of different ages they are expensive. It is the Ladies Group's aim to raise money to enable them to buy some more of these special chairs. Southern Water Talk A lady who had recently joined Southern Water after leaving university came to talk about the work they do. She showed us a short video showing what happens to the water after it has left our sinks and toilets. Once the waste water has been through the treatment plant it is safe to return to lakes and rivers but it is not suitable for drinking, the sewage sludge is used by farmers. The National River Authority controls the quality of the water in our rivers. In Victorian times many people died of typhoid and cholera as the water in those days was so polluted. Many people buy bottled mineral water from the shops for drinking but in fact the drinking water standards are much higher for the water which comes through our taps. In this area we have hard water due to it fisewe through the chalk hills and it is better for our health than soft water as it is believed to help to prevent heart disease. Due to the density of the population here the demand for water is higher than average but the rainfall is lower and our speaker impressed on us the need to use water sparingly. Everyone in the group was given a Hog Bag, or Save the Flush bag. This is designed to swell up when put in the cistern and takes up the same amount of room as a litre of water, therefore each time the toilet is flushed it uses one litre less. Margaret Deal |
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page last updated 1 NOVEMBER 2000 |
