#OnlyOneEarth: World Environment Day – play your part with AquAid

#OnlyOneEarth: World Environment Day – play your part with AquAid

With World Environment Day coming up and a theme of #OnlyOneEarth, here at AquAid we thought it pertinent to highlight the systems we have in place which help make sure we reduce our impact on the environment, while we continue to supply a wide range of high-quality water dispensers and bottled-at-source and spring water to our customers across the UK.

Kinder to the environment

By using a water cooler dispenser, you help protect our environment. We use billions of individual plastic water bottles each year and millions end up in our rubbish each day. By drinking water from a re-usable water bottle and refilling our water bottles from a water cooler, we significantly reduce this number. This means that you can still enjoy the convenience of having water with you at all times and be safe in the knowledge that you are reducing the harmful impact on the environment.

More branches local to you

With 23 branches positioned across the UK, our multiple distribution centres allow us to be nearer to our customers – shorter delivery distances reduce fuel usage and associated carbon emissions.

Water from source

Our three sources of mineral and spring water, one each in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, were all selected in large part due their central locations, which reduces the carbon footprint associated with the deliveries to our depots.

Creates opportunity and hope

At AquAid, an integral component of our business is helping those in need. This core belief is illustrated in each installation of our Mainsfed Water Coolers and each purchase of Bottled Water. We donate a portion of these revenues to charities that implement safe, sustainable water resources throughout Africa.

Whatever your water cooler requirements, AquAid have over twenty three years of experience in the provision of the right water cooler for your work space – wherever you’re situated and whatever space you occupy throughout England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Why there’s such a Buzz about Bees and Water

Why there’s such a Buzz about Bees and Water

Thankfully, the importance of bees has been highlighted for years now. In case you’ve missed the buzz, here are a few facts:

  • According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, approximately 80% of all flowering plants are specialised for pollination by animals, mostly insects (which includes bees). Pollination is crucial because many of our vegetables, fruits and the crops that feed our livestock rely on it to be fertilised, so without it, we could go hungry. Vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus and cucumber rely on the pollination of bees, as do apricots, strawberries, apples, tomatoes and almonds.
  • While there are other methods of pollination, including by the wind, birds, bats and other insects, wild bees are among the most important pollinators because they are capable of pollinating on a much bigger scale. It is estimated that it would cost farmers in the UK an incredible £1.8 billion per year to manually pollinate their crops, which just further emphasises the importance of bees.

Aside from the critical role bees play in food and crop pollination globally, water is, as with all creatures, vital to the bees’ survival.

No matter your environment, you too can help create a bee friendly zone and provide safe access to water. As bees cannot swim, a shallow water container outside loaded with pebbles or corks on which the bee can perch and drink would be ideal.

The intelligence of bees is undisputed; they even have a code they share when they find a good source of food and water. Known as the ‘waggle dance’, it’s a clever way of communicating between themselves to tell their nest mates where to go to find the best source of food and water. It took the researchers at Sussex University two years to decode the waggle dance.

Now you have this information on board, you can do your bit to create a hydration station for these furry, striped, winged miracle workers and look after yourselves by making sure you replenish your drinking water often at your water cooler station.

sources: The Bee GardenerWWF ; Woodland Trust

The Synergy between AquAid Water Coolers and The Africa Trust Elephant Pumps

The Synergy between AquAid Water Coolers and The Africa Trust Elephant Pumps

AquAid’s high-volume bottle fed and mains fed water coolers are the perfect solution where there is a high demand for a constant supply of fresh drinking water – wherever the location: football grounds; offices; worksites, warehouses; medical rooms; colleges; workshops; hotels; varsities or schools.

Every AquAid Large Capacity Mains Fed Water Dispenser is designed for ease of operation and to run efficiently.

For illustrative purposes, we are looking at the High Capacity Mains-Fed Hydrator Water Cooler, as it has an extra-large reservoir – a point-of-use water dispenser specially designed for serving a large number of people.

With a dispense gap of 230mm, easily accommodating varying sizes of water containers, the Hydrator can dispense up to 40ℓ of chilled water each hour, a sufficient volume to fill 120 x 330ml bottles.

The Hydrator’s sturdy design, developed for use in high usage areas, also boasts Hygiene Guard silver impregnated dispense tap reduces bacteria transfer and a flood guard anti-leak device for added security.

And there you have it, cool drinking water on tap. All the clever little (and large) mechanisms silently operating behind the scenes, all the while ensuring that you – thirsty Thelma or Thaddeus – remain properly hydrated and super productive throughout your working day or night.

Synergy

Every installation of an AquAid mainsfed water cooler and each bottle of water replenished brings with it donations that are used to build more water wells – referred to as Elephant Pumps – for communities in water scarce regions across sub-Saharan Africa.

So, the next time you press a button and fill your water bottle, mug or glass, think about the fact that not only are you keeping yourself healthy and hydrated but also with that simple push, you will have directly contributed towards:

Another draught of clean drinking water pumped into a bucket or onto a banana plantation that will pay for school fees and;

Another child now has access to safe drinking water, which will help them better concentrate in school and;

Another community with readily available potable, productive water for use every day, for all generations, for many decades.

Rather marvellous, don’t you think?

Groundwater – World Water Day 2022

Groundwater – World Water Day 2022

The theme for World Water Day 2022 is Groundwater.

From the World Water Day website:

  • Groundwater is invisible, but its impact is visible everywhere.
  • Out of sight, under our feet, groundwater is a hidden treasure that enriches our lives
  • Almost all of the liquid freshwater in the world is groundwater.
  • As climate change gets worse, groundwater will become more and more critical.
  • We need to work together to sustainably manage this precious resource.
  • Groundwater may be out of sight, but it must not be out of mind.

The good news is that even if you are not directly involved in this year’s World Water Day, as an AquAid customer, you are already helping with the continued implementation of sustainable water projects utilising ground water, to provide potable water, water to grow crops and water for productive use for thousands of communities in water poor regions across Africa.

With each Mains Fed Water Cooler installation and every bottle of water purchased, we donate a portion of those sales to the charities we have supported for more than twenty-three years: Christian Aid, since 1998 and The Africa Trust – an AquAid founded charity – since 2010.

If you are not yet an AquAid customer, but appreciate how we work, we will be more than happy to help introduce you to our range of water dispensers, Touch-Free water coolers and water boilers.

AquAid – How does Hydration Aid Education?

AquAid – How does Hydration Aid Education?

With 24 January being International Day of Education, we thought it important to highlight an often overlooked yet crucial solution which aids children’s education.

Dehydration in children can be difficult to spot

Most children show no obvious visible signs of dehydration, as symptoms such as lethargy, irritability and lack of concentration may be considered normal during class, more often in the afternoon however, we now know that these signs may be due, at least in part, to the effects of dehydration.

The brain cannot store water

No matter the age of the schoolgoer, learning requires the brain’s engagement. Because the brain has no way to store water, drinking water continually throughout the day is vital. When the body loses more water than is being replaced, dehydration occurs and brain function can be affected.

However, when the brain is operating with plenty of water, children are able to have greater clarity, creativity, focus and quicker thought processes.

Well-maintained hydration can boost learning

When we are thirsty, mental performance including memory, attention and concentration can decrease by up to 15 percent. Children are better able to concentrate as they are not as distracted by dehydration effects such as thirst, tiredness and irritability.

The role of nurseries, schools and learning centres

Children will achieve more when both their health and learning needs are met. Ensuring free access to water and promoting a regular water intake throughout the school day is a vital role for schools in promoting health and providing a healthy learning environment.

For more than two decades, AquAid has been involved in campaigns spearheading the importance of drinking water. We understand a hydrated child is a much happier child. Consequently, we have always encouraged our school customers to provide readily available drinking water for both the children and the entire school contingent.

Drawing from our wide range of high quality water dispensers, we offer a selection of Mains-Fed water coolers for large schools where the water consumption is high as well as Bottle-Fed water coolers for either smaller educational facilities or where there are no water mains available at a drinking water area.

We provide Touch-Free water coolers. Our water coolers are equipped with anti-bacterial taps for increased hygienic water dispensing and various drainage options to reduce overflow and spillage wherever possible.

Moreover, to help create and instil better hydration habits, we also offer free refillable drinking water bottles and free school posters to help keep water top of mind during the school day.

Sustainable Water Provision and your AquAid Water Dispenser

Sustainable Water Provision and your AquAid Water Dispenser

Irrespective of your take on climate change, radically changing weather patterns year on year or the crucial drop in natural water supply globally, there is no denying that the stats speak volumes:

771 Million people lack access to potable water.*

1.7 Billion People lack access to improved sanitation.

Approximately 60% of the global population lives without access to a toilet.

*stats from Water.org

The ramifications of these statistics and the volume of people it affects can seem quite daunting in terms of how to address this global issue.  The good news, though, is that there are multiple organisations that continue, year on year, to provide sustainable solutions to the lack of water and adequate sanitation to those in need.

Sustainability may seem like a 21st century buzzword – bandied about without much meaning, but the truth of it is – sustainability is vital in the provision of water and sanitation to those for who access to water is an ongoing fight for actual survival.

Sustainable water projects are those that include both short term and long-term solutions that pave the way forward by enabling a community to begin water related projects that may provide them with a capacity to earn an income or to trade their produce or services to others.

There’s much truth in the adage, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime’, but before we implement this philosophy, help is needed to provide water to communities that more often than not, do not have the most basic of infrastructures for a steady supply of water.

That’s why here at AquAid Water Coolers we have, since our humble beginnings over two decades ago, partnered with charities that not only provide emergency relief but also sustainable solutions to poverty around the globe, as is the case with Christian Aid and in the case of The Africa Trust, throughout Africa.

To learn more about the work that these organisations carry out, visit us at our website, and see how your water and water dispenser purchases are making a visible difference to others.