Guest post by Mark Brown

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (known fondly as ‘Sandhurst’) originates from 1741 and is home to one of the world’s oldest and finest officer training centres. The aim of the college is to maintain its reputation as a national centre of excellence for leadership, similar to West Point in the United States. The college has an astonishing list of alumni ranging from Winston Churchill, Ian Fleming - creator of famous secret agent 007 James Bond and Michael Morpurgo - children’s laureate and author of ‘War Horse’.  More recently Princes William & Harry have completed their training.  

Xylem Watermark volunteers arrived at Sandhurst for the first time on September 26 and 27 to attend as a key employer for a new addition to the Sandhurst calendar supporting STEM Careers – the Army STEM Careers Fair. The event was attended by over 2,000 young people, making it one of the largest STEM events in the UK. The first day was dedicated to the females only and co-ed participants attended on day two. Xylem also had a VIP invite to attend an influencer’s lunch and discussion with the Princess Royal.

The Xylem team had exclusive use of the boathouse to engage participants in the EarthEcho Water Challenge, providing them with an opportunity to become citizen scientists while learning more about the importance of protecting their local watershed. Despite the lashing rain and gale force winds it was a great event!

Editor’s note: We are grateful to Xylem team members Mark Brown, Shabana Pottle, and their colleagues for their work to inspire the next generation of water scientists through the EarthEcho Water Challenge!

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