Wanda the Water Warrior boosts children’s water literacy

Wanda the Water Warrior is supporting children's water literacy through storytelling, fun resources and school-friendly teaching tools

There are plenty of things kids ignore their parents about—vegetables, bedtime, the importance of sustainable water management—but every so often, the tables turn. A curious child asks a question, and a parent gives an answer, setting a story in motion.

Zoe Walsh never planned to work in water. Despite growing up with her father, Mike Walsh, a veteran of the sector, she admits she never really grasped what he did.

“When I was a kid, if someone asked what my dad did, I would say, ‘something in water’,” she said. “I couldn’t tell you if he worked for Mount Franklin or the local pool.”

It wasn’t until the Victorian Desalination Plant became a public flashpoint in the media that her interest was piqued—and even then, discomfort, not admiration, first stirred her curiosity. But time, perspective, and parenthood have changed that.

“Looking back now, it never crossed my mind how important that work was for my future,” she said. “And for my daughter’s future.”

That personal transformation now underpins her work, combining family legacy with a professional mission to broaden public understanding of Australia’s water future. Walsh said that having a parent in the industry shaped her indirectly.

“Even if I didn’t understand it, the exposure was always there. I just needed the right trigger to care.”

Now, with Wanda the Water Warrior, she’s helping create that trigger for other families, using storytime to spark intergenerational conversations about water.

From brand comms to behaviour change

Walsh joined the water sector in January 2023, after 15 years in consumer PR and marketing. Initially, she planned to assist Sequana with a rebranding effort and enhance its external profile. But as she became more involved in committees, volunteering, and cross-sector engagement, her focus shifted from brand strategy to behaviour change.

She said she quickly felt a sense of responsibility to apply her skills toward something more meaningful.

“The sector is full of brilliant people doing important work, but so much of it flies under the radar,” she said. “The more I learned, the more I realised I could help make that invisible work visible.”

Walsh joined several industry committees, including the Australian Water Authority (AWA) Victorian Branch, and became active in the Water Literacy & Education Specialist Network. The more she engaged, the more she saw a gap: the technical experts were there, but the messaging often didn’t connect with everyday people.

That realisation coincided with a shift in her personal life. Her daughter, Stella, was beginning to ask questions about the world. During National Water Week, those questions sparked something unexpected: a rhyme.

Wanda is born

“I made up a silly little rhyming story for Stella, just for fun,” Walsh said. “Then I read it out to a few colleagues on a bus ride to the Victorian Desalination Plant. They said, ‘You have to do something with this.'”

That something turned into Wanda the Water Warrior, a children’s book that introduces young readers to water literacy through rhyme, story and colourful illustrations. It wasn’t always going to be a warrior. The original character was Wanda the Water Fairy.

“One of the publishers suggested that might limit who the character would resonate with,” Walsh said. “So, I changed her to a water warrior – and had to redo all the rhymes.”

Finding the right publisher was key. Walsh said she wanted a local partner that aligned with

her values. She landed on Boolarong Press, a Brisbane-based independent and family-owned publisher focused on supporting Australian authors.

From there, she collaborated with Melbourne-based illustrator Cat MacInnes, known for her work on children’s books such as What Noise Does the Baby Make? and My Aussie Plants and Animals. Together, they brought Wanda to life over the course of several months.

“I went through all of Stella’s favourite books to find a visual style that felt right,” Walsh said. “Illustration is everything for kids that age.”

Simplifying the science

Making complex topics, such as desalination and recycled water, understandable to children is no small feat. Walsh relied on Sequana’s subject matter experts to validate the content and ensure accuracy.

“I needed to make sure it was factually correct, that it rhymed, and that it still worked as a story,” she said. “It was like a three-part puzzle.”

She said writing a rhyming book made edits more complicated. Any change in wording meant rewriting entire stanzas. Still, she said the challenge was worthwhile for the sake of accessibility.

The book also touches on pivotal moments such as the Millennium Drought. Walsh said she included it not just for historical context, but to show children what can happen without good water management.

“I still remember having a timer in the shower as a kid,” she said. “That was the reality, and it’s important for kids today to understand that history.”

Walsh said introducing terms like desalination early helps remove fear or confusion later. “If a child hears that their water comes from a desal plant, it won’t be scary. They’ll have a framework for understanding it.”

To support learning, the book ends with a two-page spread on water-saving tips and “Water Wisdom” facts, tying the story to real-world action.

The ecosystem around the book

The book could have been a standalone project. But Walsh, driven by her marketing instincts and background in brand development, wanted to create something bigger.

She has created a complete digital ecosystem around Wanda. The website features downloadable colouring-in sheets, quizzes, water-saving posters, and a teaching pack aligned with the Australian school curriculum.

“It’s about meeting kids and parents where they already are,” she said. “Story time. Bedtime routines. Simple conversations while brushing teeth or washing hands.”

The book is designed for children aged three to eight, but Walsh said its impact reaches further.

“It surprised me that some adults reading it told me they had never heard of desalination,” she said. “That just shows how far we still have to go.”

The teaching pack was developed with an experienced educator and aligns water literacy with curriculum areas such as writing, science, maths, and art. Walsh said this helps teachers integrate the topic without needing deep technical knowledge.

“We want to make it easy for teachers and fun for kids,” she said. “And it’s not just for schools. These posters can go on the fridge at home.”

There are also stickers, reusable water bottles, and jumpers for children, which help reinforce the message with tangible everyday tools.

“When Stella wears her jumper that says, ‘I’m a Water Warrior’, she gets so excited,” Walsh said. “She sees herself in Wanda. And we want every child to feel that.”

Supporting a greater cause

To amplify its impact, Wanda the Water Warrior is tied to a philanthropic mission. Every copy sold makes a donation to WaterAid Australia, a global not-for-profit organisation working to provide access to clean water in communities that still lack it.

“It was never about making money,” Walsh said. “We wanted to create something beautiful, high-quality and educational, and use it to support clean water access globally.”

She said the decision to align with WaterAid made sense personally and professionally. Sequana has supported WaterAid for years, and Walsh’s father, Mike, has long championed philanthropic projects across his career.

“My dad always supported others, often behind the scenes,” she said. “This project felt like a natural extension of that mindset.”

Walsh said the partnership also offers children a broader perspective. The book includes a page explaining that not everyone in the world has clean water.

“It’s about helping kids see that water isn’t just a household issue. It’s global.”

She believes this early introduction to equity and global issues can sow seeds of empathy.

“Understanding that clean water is a privilege can influence how children value it,” she said. “It can shape their behaviours long-term.”

All merchandise, including books, bottles and jumpers, contributes to this effort. As Walsh explained, it was essential to tie action to education.

“If we’re teaching kids that water matters, we should model that by supporting communities where it’s not yet guaranteed.”

Connecting across sectors

Sequana has also used community partnerships as a bridge into wider conversations. The organisation partners with groups outside the water industry, including the women’s sports club, the Darebin Falcons, and the Museum of Australian Photography.

“It’s about finding common ground,” Walsh said. “Gender diversity in sport. Climate change in photography. Wherever the overlap is, there’s an opportunity to start a water conversation.”

She argued that these partnerships help water education reach further, engaging audiences who might not otherwise be interested in technical material. “Sometimes people are more open to learning when it comes from a place they already connect with,” she said.

An International Women’s Day panel co-hosted with the Falcons highlighted this crossover. The event featured women in engineering and professional sport discussing leadership and inclusion.

“There are real parallels between sport and water careers,” Walsh said. “Both have traditionally been male-dominated. Both require teamwork, strategy and long-term thinking.”

She said these moments create opportunities for different industries to learn from one another and break down silos. They also help raise awareness of the water sector and the kinds of careers it offers.

“If someone sees our logo at a football match and looks us up, maybe they start thinking about water differently,” she said. “That’s the ripple effect.”

Walsh said Sequana will continue looking for these partnerships, especially ones that support underrepresented groups or highlight environmental themes.

“The goal is to keep broadening the conversation,” she said. “Because water connects to everything.”

Changing the culture, not just the classroom

Walsh thinks the key to lasting behaviour change is consistent, everyday messaging. She said that responsibility for water education shouldn’t rest solely with water utilities or formal education teams.

“We can achieve so much more when marketing, comms and education teams work together,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be boring. It doesn’t have to be a worksheet.”

She pointed to creative initiatives like Sydney Water’s collaboration with The Wiggles or Melbourne Water’s 3D digital map experience as examples of how engagement can be both fun and informative.

“When you bring joy to learning, it sticks,” she said. “Gamified content. Cartoons. Storybooks. They all make the learning subconscious.”

She also praised programs like Yarra Valley Water’s Water Watchers, which blends science fiction storytelling with real-world water awareness. Kids follow a squad of space-faring heroes who monitor Earth’s water supply, learning to save water through engaging narratives.

“It’s clever,” she said. “It creates emotional investment. That’s what turns information into action.”

Walsh believes that excellent educational resources often go underutilised because they are siloed or lack promotion.

She suggested a national lens could help streamline efforts, reduce duplication and ensure consistent messaging across the country.

“There’s so much great stuff out there,” she said. “But if no one knows about it, it can’t do its job.

“We can localise where needed, but having one centralised approach frees up time and energy to actually engage the community.”

Looking ahead

Wanda may not remain a solo act forever. Walsh said she’s already thinking about expanding the Water Warrior universe to include more characters, themes and stories.

“We could go deeper into topics like desalination, stormwater, rivers,” she said. “I’m always jotting down rhymes. If someone has an idea, I’m happy to collaborate.”

She imagines future titles or digital extensions that focus on other critical areas of water education. The goal is to build on what Wanda has started and make it easier for families and schools to introduce these topics.

“It’s about making it part of the everyday,” she said. “From Book Week costumes to lunchbox stickers.”

Wanda made her exhibition debut at the Australian Water Association’s Ozwater’25 in Adelaide, speaking on a water literacy panel alongside representatives from Sydney Water, SA Water, and Water Corporation.

“We’ll have 200 books available for sale, with 100 per cent of proceeds donated to WaterAid,” Walsh said. “Plus, free posters and stickers for parents and teachers.”

She hopes the conference will help spark even more collaborations.

“If other organisations want to use Wanda or create something similar, I’m here for it,” she said. “It’s not about ownership. It’s about impact.

“We can’t survive without water. It could not be more important. So, we need to drive the behaviour change ourselves, with small but powerful actions.”

For more information, visit sequana.co and wandawaterwarrior.com.au

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