A recent Armed Forces Day event was given a boost due to Severn Trent Services’ Education Team.
Most sizeable military bases host family days for personnel and their families. RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire went one better this year, combining it with the annual Armed Forces Day and opening the party to 3,000 members of the public at the end of June.
Attractions on the day included a Spitfire fly-past, a military band, battle re-enactments and – perhaps less obviously – a Severn Trent Services JetVac display.
In case you’re not aware what the connection is, Severn Trent Services hold the contract to manage the Water and Waste-Water Infrastructure on behalf of the M.O.D. for a large part of the country. Events like this give us the opportunity to get out, meet the people we serve, provide some tips, and help everyone have a great day. It’s also a great way to raise awareness of the services we provide to bases all over the country, and it lets service personnel know who’s taking care of them.
The JetVac team – along with Education and Improvement Lead, Sally-Ann Betts – showed a display comprising of a see-through section of sewer pipe which contained a blockage. The team would then demonstrate to the public how they use cameras to examine problems, and then clear blockages.
For younger visitors there were a variety of games to educate them on the 3 P’s – pee, poo and paper – which are meant to go down the toilet (and which things aren’t!) as well as the health benefits of water. The team also handed out free water to visitors, along with wildflower seeds. One visitor even returned the favour, buying one of the team an ice cream in return!
The team also joined in with the altruism, coming to the rescue of a woman whose phone had fallen into a portaloo! Some less hardy souls may be reluctant to get their hands dirty, (literally and figuratively) but it’s all in a day’s work for our field operatives, who were only too happy to help.
The team regularly carry out events for customers, demonstrating what they do, as well as taking the opportunity to educate customers of all ages. For example, one forthcoming event will see the team providing a tour of a Water Treatment Works – which serves 26,000 military personnel in the North – to teachers, with a view to demonstrating the educational opportunities on offer. It’s important work like this that helps educate the next generation about how to look after our valuable natural resources, as well as helping Severn Trent Services safeguard their assets and continue to provide an invaluable service to MOD personnel throughout the county.
