Natural Resources Minister, and grandfather, Dr Anthony Lynham, was in his element this morning, telling a story - with a message - to Year 2s at Nambour State College.
Dr Lynham was sitting with students as they heard the story of The Golden Tap – set in a make-believe town in which the tap stops running leaving the people without water.
The townspeople then travel on a journey, with the help of students, to restore the town’s water supply.
"You are never too young to learn about conserving water as was shown today with these youngsters.’’
Dr Lynham was at Nambour State College to launch the new school education program to increase water literacy and knowledge.
Coinciding with National Water Week, H20 for Kids is part of Seqwater’s Water Future engagement program to support the development of South East Queensland’s Water Security Program, the region’s 30-year water supply plan.
"The new program will cover how drinking water is delivered today, the importance of caring for catchments and planning for the future,’’ Dr Lynham said.
"This a free program being made available to all schools in SEQ.
"With Seqwater developing the region’s long-term water plan, it was an ideal opportunity to develop a program designed to give students an understanding and appreciation of water as an essential resource and how we are planning for tomorrow.
"The program offers a suite of experiences and resources for teachers and students, from Prep to Year 12, with school excursions, projects, classroom activities and information.
"This year’s National Water Week theme is Water for Me, Water for All, which encourages young people and the wider community to think about how we use water and how we can protect for the future.’’
Seqwater Chief Executive Officer Neil Brennan said providing a safe reliable drinking water supply was critical to the economic prosperity and well-being of SEQ.
"Our assessment to date shows that outside of a severe drought or sharp increase in consumption we will not need another bulk water source in SEQ until after 2030 or closer to 2040. This means we have time to plan and to seek feedback from the community to help shape our plan.
"Drinking water infrastructure is typically built to last for 50-100 years, so in a very real sense the planning we are doing today is very much about the next generation and generations after.’’
Seqwater is currently updating the SEQ Water Security Program with the next version of the plan due to be completed in March 2022.
