One man’s mission to unite colleagues and transform lives

At SES Water, there’s a long history of sponsored walks to raise money for WaterAid. However, the pandemic broke the pattern and it had been years since employees had laced up their boots and headed for the hills.

Jez Heath, Innovation Manager at SES Water, decided it was about time that the walks were restarted. He organised a walk in the Brecon Beacons that raised an impressive £1,322.50 for WaterAid.

Building bridges between colleagues

A lot has changed for SES Water recently, as it joined the Pennon family of water companies back in January 2025. Jez spotted an opportunity to bring new colleagues together and build relationships between people doing similar jobs in the different regions.

This walk brought together 11 employees from SES and South West Water, which provides water services in Devon and Cornwall. Much of the planning and organisation was carried out by employees on the graduate scheme, giving them a great opportunity to develop new skills.

Basic bunks and all-weather clothing

The walk in the Brecon Beacons was designed to be inclusive, with inexperienced walkers mixing with seasoned mountaineers. The walkers slept in a basic bunkhouse, arriving on Friday, walking on Saturday and returning home on Sunday.

Comically, the bunkhouse had an issue with its washroom plumbing. Normally, this would be a negative for guests but this team of water experts had the problem sorted in a flash, with smiles all round. 

On the day of the walk, the team woke to rainy skies. The start of the walk was delayed to avoid a soaking, with the two teams setting off late morning. Even then, waterproofs were necessary as the heavens opened just in time for lunch. Luckily, experienced walkers worked out the direction of the wind and skirted round the hill to a place walkers could munch their sandwiches out of the rain.

Climbing mountains for WaterAid

Between them, the two teams climbed four peaks: Pen y Fan, Corn Du, Waun Fach and Pen Y Gadair Fawr. Unfortunately, there was thick fog at the summits but the teams did manage to get some stunning views of the Brecons on their way back down.

The weekend was rounded off by a well-deserved evening in the pub, where colleagues enjoyed eating together and sharing their experiences.

The funds raised by the walk – an amazing £1322.50 – will enable WaterAid to transform lives by providing clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. Along the way, people from different Pennon businesses got to know each other, strengthening connections between teams.

The path to raising even more

Organiser Jez said: “We plan to do a walk like this every year, involving more and more people from across the business. It’s great to think we could bring people together and raise even more money for WaterAid.”

There has been a lot of interest in the next walk already, promising to make this a regular fixture for all companies in the Pennon family. There’s nothing like a good walk to bring people together - and by raising money for WaterAid, the walks will help transform lives around the world by providing access to clean water, health and sanitation.