Youth forum offers chance to showcase sustainable practices

More than 70 students from 11 schools across the Maitland local government area have gained valuable insights into issues like water scarcity and sustainable wastewater thanks to Hunter Water’s involvement in the Maitland Environmental Youth Forum.

Hunter Water was invited to attend the annual event at Walka Water Works this month to provide education sessions and hands-on demonstrations, which showcased the benefits of creating more environmentally-friendly practices.

Education Coordinator, Jessica Crow, said the students were highly engaged and enthusiastic during the event.

“These students are our environment’s future protectors.

“Therefore, informing them about the issues early and teaching them about environmentally sustainable practices will hopefully allow us to provide future generations with a healthy and thriving environment for all.

“Hunter Water was delighted to be offered the opportunity to attend this forum by Maitland City Council.

“We were able to discuss environmental issues we are currently facing, as well as solutions we are developing to tackle these issues to make us more sustainable.

“We delved into things like the urban water cycle and water demand and security, while the students had extremely interesting and insightful questions surrounding our Lower Hunter Water Security Plan options,” Ms Crow said.

Participants at the forum also learned about sustainable wastewater practices courtesy of a talk from Hunter Water engineer Jennifer Maverick and by taking part in a hands-on water filtration experiment.

The ‘solids’ retained from this experiment led to a positive discussion on their potential uses for sustainable regrowth in mine rehabilitation and other possible initiatives in the future.