Healthy Families: Water essential for wellbeing

A new water fountain was established at Cooks Gardens in December

LAST WEEK was Te Wiki ō Te Reo Māori, and our kupu (word) for the column this month is wai (water).

Wai is important to all of us: we swim, wash, drink and play in it, it's an essential part of our infrastructure, our waterways impact our environment, it makes up 60 per cent of our body and we're surrounded by it.

In Whanganui, wai holds an especially significant place with the recognition of our awa as its own legal personality, formally acknowledged as an indivisible and living whole, comprising the Whanganui River from the mountains to the sea, incorporating its tributaries and all its physical and metaphysical elements.

From an indigenous perspective, wai is intrinsically linked to the wellbeing of the people.

Given wai is so important and such a valuable commodity, there are a number of opportunities for all sectors of our community to look at possibilities for healthy change in relation to water.

Healthy Families Whanganui Rangitīkei Ruapehu have been working with collaborative stakeholders to activate systems-level change right across our communities.

And the tide is turning, with 37-water only events in the first half of this year reaching over 11,500 people, 10 new water fountains either installed already, or soon to be installed in council parks and playgrounds.

We have focused on positioning water as the first choice of drink because we know that increased consumption of sugar sweetened beverages contributes to poor health and is detrimental to oral health, particularly for our children.

Making drinking water more readily available across the community with the water only schools initiative, the increase in water only events and the installation of drinking fountains in recreation spaces is all contributing to making the healthy choice easier.

To further understand the potential for change within our water system, we need to work with the key players such as local and regional councils, iwi, farmers, industry, local business, tourism, retailers, community groups, as well as whānau and individuals.

If, as a community, we can increase the value proposition of water, having a greater understanding of its importance from both traditional and holistic wellbeing perspectives, opportunities and solutions for creating healthy change across our wider water system will become evident.

Healthy Families Whanganui Rangitīkei Ruapehu want to work with stakeholders and community to understand how can we improve our water quality, increase access to water across our region, encourage consumption of water and explore opportunities to preserve it for essential use.

If water is life, as the saying goes, how important is water to you?

■If you are interested in ways to make healthy change in your life, check out the Healthy Families Whanganui Rangitikei Ruapehu website and join the movement to create a culture where the healthy choice is the easy choice where we live, learn, work and play.