UWE Bristol awarded £233k for project working with children to develop water efficiency solutions

UWE Bristol been awarded £233,000 for a project that will see researchers work with children across the UK to explore their ideas for sustainable water use.

Academics will work with 180 primary school pupils in Yorkshire, the South West and Eastern England to discuss their suggestions on action that could be taken on water use and efficiency.

The project, named Water Warriors, has been funded through Ofwat’s first Water Efficiency Lab competition.

Led by Dr Sara Jayne Williams, the 18-month study will involve researchers co-creating curriculum-linked resources - with children contributing their ideas in participatory workshops. The research team will train and support teachers to deliver lessons throughout one school term – meaning pupils will benefit from repeated engagements with water efficiency ideas (rather than one-off interventions, which are more common). Researchers will later assess whether pupils’ understanding, values and behaviours have changed as a result.

Interviews will be conducted with parents and carers in some of the children’s households to explore whether intergenerational learning has occurred and whether children can act as catalysts for change on water values and efficiency.

As part of the project, water use measurements will be taken in schools and households prior to, during and after the interventions, to gauge whether any actual changes in water usage have taken place.

The project builds on a body of research developed by Dr Williams and others over the past 10 years, supported initially with internal UWE funding, exploring children's ability to act as catalysts of change in flood preparedness.

Dr Williams, a programme leader for BSc Environment and Sustainability, and a researcher in environmental psychology, said: “Children already have powerful ideas about environmental change and can be hugely influential within their families and communities.

“This project puts them at the centre, helping turn their ideas into practical actions that can support more sustainable water use.

“We’re working with an incredible team across research, practice and the creative sector, and I’m excited to get started.”

The study will see UWE Bristol work in partnership with the project lead, the Water Research Centre, along with Yorkshire Water, South West Water and Anglian Water.

Water Warriors highlights the importance of engaging future generations not simply as recipients of information, but as active participants in shaping more sustainable ways of living. The project will explore how children can play a meaningful role in shaping sustainable water futures, bringing together academic research, sector and educational expertise to better understand how water behaviours are formed and influenced.

With a child-centred approach, the project recognises that future generations have significant care and capacity for influence - qualities that remain underutilised and underexplored in current approaches to water efficiency and broader environmental action.

While children should not be expected to carry responsibility for solving global challenges, their voices, ideas, and everyday practices are an important part of wider collective efforts. Water Warriors seeks to understand how young people engage with water, sustainability, and care for the planet, how these perspectives can be supported and amplified, and how they can inform more effective, long-term change.

The research takes a values-led approach, focusing on how early experiences and education can help nurture long-term behaviours towards water stewardship. By exploring how awareness, responsibility, and practical action develop over time, the research led by UWE Bristol within the Centre for Environment, Society and Resilience (CESR) will contribute to more inclusive and impactful strategies for improving water efficiency.

Professor Jo Barnes, Co-Director of CESR, said: “This is an excellent win for Sara and for CESR. Building strong partnerships with industry and communities is central to both this project and our wider strategy, and will help ensure the work achieves meaningful intergenerational impact by empowering schoolchildren to influence water use within their families, now and in the future.”

Run by Ofwat and Challenge Works and supported by Arup and Isle Utilities, the Water Efficiency Lab aims to fund the most promising solutions for cutting demand among both households and businesses. A total of £25 million will be available through annual Water Efficiency Lab competitions between 2025 and 2030. Each competition will explore a different theme, which is designed to target funding towards the key challenges and most critical barriers to water efficiency.

The first competition focussed on innovations that give people and businesses the insights they need to better understand their water usage and the tools to take action to reduce it – helping cut their bills, preserve water resources and protect the environment.