“How does water go from the dam to my kitchen tap? What happens to our rubbish after the garbage truck picks it up? Does all of the grass in Townsville look like the grass in our backyard?”
If you’re a parent, chances are you’ve heard questions like these – especially during the last few weeks.
Now there’s an easy way to answer these queries and take a trip through some of Townsville City Council’s most interesting natural and built assets from your very own home.
Seven brand new virtual tours have been added to Council’s website encourage members of the public to learn about the water cycle, waste and recycling as part of Council’s eco-certified catchment tours.
Water and Waste committee chairperson, Councillor Russ Cook, said it was important for all residents to be educated about the water cycle, waste and recycling in their city.
“These new virtual tours take you through areas like the Ross Dam, the Rowes Bay Sustainability Centre and the Douglas Water Treatment Plant. It’s a special way to take a look behind the scenes of the resources that help make our city tick,” Cr Cook said.
“These tours can be used at home with the family, but we’re also encouraging teachers and students to jump online and access these free tours to learn more about what happens to their water, waste water and their rubbish.”
Cr Cook said the tours were more than just a virtual look at the area.
“There is plenty of information in these tours about what happens there, which makes them even more exciting,” he said.
“Going on a tour is easy. You just head to the Council website’s Sustainability Tours page, select the location you’d like to tour, and navigate through with the click of a button. From there you can take a virtual walk around the location and click on the information points to learn more.
“Council is committed to delivering water, waste and recycling education and awareness for the Townsville community. All of the spaces we’re providing virtual tours of are learnscapes – places where learning is designed to allow people to interact with the built and natural environment. This is an innovative way to continue our programs while we halt physical tours to help slow the spread of COVID-19.”
The virtual tour locations include Ross Dam, Douglas Water Treatment Plant, the Rowes Bay Sustainability Centre, the Rowes Bay Boardwalk, Loam Island, and Anderson Gardens. More virtual tours are under development.
To access the tours, head to our Sustainability Tours webpage.
