Ambassador Ellie

Kia ora,

I'm Ellie the elephant from Cotswold School in Christchurch. I love playing with my Cotswold caring friends and going on adventures such as to the beach and sailing. I am on the uniform of all my Cotswold friends, as an elephant never forgets.

I can't wait to go to windy Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, as I have never been there before.

See you soon,

Ellie.

Monday 22 May

Kia ora,

Even though I was really excited about starting this field trip I found it difficult to get out of bed because it was so cold. The ground was covered in frost but it made for a great day to travel. We enjoyed spectacular views out of the plane and I managed to spot Aoraki Mount Cook towering above the other maunga.

Wellington is such a cool little capital and even though the sun was out it was still pretty windy along the waterfront. We had fun exploring and I can’t wait until tomorrow when we are going on a journey to follow water from its source to our taps.

See you then,

Ellie.

Tuesday 23 May

I am a bit tired after a big day following the journey of water from the river to our taps. I thought our rivers were clean but at the treatment plant we saw how much dirt has to be removed from the water to make it safe to drink. I was really surprised to see just how much work is needed to clean our water. 

We are so lucky in New Zealand that our water is treated to such a high level and that we have plenty to go around. Did you know that Wellington uses on average about 140 million litres of water every day?

Tomorrow we will find out more about wastewater and stormwater.

See you then,

Ellie.

Wednesday 24 May

Kia ora,

It was a bit of a stink day today – we went to the wastewater treatment plant, or pooh plant and it stunk! The other ambassadors didn’t think it smelt too bad but they obviously don’t have a sensitive nose like me. It was cool to see how dirty the water is when it is first pumped into the plant and how clean it is when it leaves.

I was surprised at how many wet wipes have to be removed from wastewater – like any rubbish other than toilet paper these should not be flushed down the toilet.

We also learnt that small things like not leaving the tap on while brushing your teeth and fixing leaking taps can save a lot of water.

Bye for now,

Ellie.

Thursday 25 May

Kia ora,

It was a beautiful day to finish our field trip to Wellington. The sun was shining and it wasn’t even windy! 

We spent the day finding out more about stormwater. I had never really thought much about stormwater and didn’t think that it ended up in our waterways. If we put rubbish or things like cleaning fluids and oil down the drain it will end up in our rivers and the sea and I wouldn’t want to swim in polluted water.

I know so much more about water now and I will never take it for granted again. It has been such a fun trip and I hope I can go on another field trip soon.

See you all soon,

Ellie.