A new water fountain has been installed at one of Medway’s award-winning parks.
We received a £2,000 grant from the 2022 Sea-Changers Coastal Fountain Fund, sponsored by Bunzl Plc, to install the new drinking water dispenser at Riverside Country Park in Rainham.
Sea-Changers, a UK coastal marine conservation charity, launched the grant scheme to reduce the impact of single-use plastic water bottles in coastal habitats.
The council’s Climate Response and Child-Friendly Medway teams also contributed £3,484 towards the cost of the fountain.
At our Child-Friendly City Hall event in November 2021 children and young people helped the team prioritise their plans for how Medway can become even more child-friendly including making the area cleaner and greener. Young people suggested creating more water refill stations and the council will continue to explore funding opportunities for more water stations in the future.
The new water fountain also supports the national Refill campaign which was initially launched to encourage people to use reusable water bottles rather than single-use plastics.
Cllr Howard Doe, Deputy Leader of Medway Council, who is leading on Medway’s Climate Change agenda, said: “I am pleased we have installed a new water fountain at Riverside Country Park in time for the summer holidays. Medway’s young people are passionate about making Medway cleaner and greener and I am delighted that we have brought one of their ideas to fruition. We hope the fountain will encourage residents exploring the Green Flag award-winning park to bring along their reusable water bottles and fill up for free.”
Helen Webb, Sea-Changers co-founder, said: "As a marine conservation charity, we are working tirelessly for the protection of the marine environment. By helping people avoid single-use plastics we can work towards eliminating this plastic waste entering our rivers and seas."