Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) is hosting water-saving workshops to help turn children into shrewd water users. Coordinated by SDRC’s Sustainability Officer Catherine Travers, the free workshops will teach the region’s young water savers and keen gardeners tools and tips to conserve water at home now and into the future.
SDRC invites primary school aged children between grades one and four to the Warwick and Stanthorpe Libraries for Water Detective, a new Council program which teaches children to think about how they and their families use water at home. The hands-on activities allow children to learn to be their household’s water manager, as well as timing how long it takes a normal showerhead to fill a bucket with water compared to water-efficient showerheads.
SDRC is also teaming with Warwick gardening expert Duanne Karle from The Weeping Mulberry to offer workshops in Stanthorpe and Warwick that show green thumbs tips and tricks to keep their gardens thriving while keeping water use to a minimum. SDRC Mayor Tracy Dobie said everyone had a part to play in monitoring water use at home and in the garden. “Long-term forecasts indicate our region will be hotter and drier than in the past,” Cr Dobie said. “Offering water-saving workshops will give residents the tools they need to make informed choices on the most efficient ways to use water into the future,” she continued. “Water Detectives is a great way for children to become involved and to teach our next generation how important it is to conserve our most precious resource. With current high-level water restrictions, everyone needs to consider ways to reach the current target of 170 litres of water per person per day – around 19 household buckets,” Cr Dobie said.
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