School students learn about Council

A group of Queenstown primary school students have spent time learning about the role of Council within their community.

West Coast Council yesterday (29 March) hosted twenty-two grade 3/4  students from St Joseph’s School, providing an overview of Council operations and giving them an opportunity to ask the General Manager questions about Council.

“It was exciting to see the willingness of the students to learn about what Council actually does and our role within their community,” General Manager Dirk Dowling said following the visit.  “They were genuinely surprised at the variety of services we provide, and at how much things like buying a garbage truck and running a sport facility, cost.  There is so much value to visits such as these to raise awareness amongst our community, especially our future leaders, about the valuable services Council deliver for their community,”

As part of the presentation Council utilised the Better Councils Better Communities short videos, developed by the Local Government Association of Tasmania.  Students then worked in groups to list things they believed Council does, along with questions they would like to ask Council.  Groups presented their findings to staff before touring the administration office and viewing a backhoe to demonstrate the diversity of Council operations.

“When adopting the West Coast Community Plan 2025 Council committed to becoming a real leader within our community and to building partnerships that will foster stronger relationships with our residents,” Mayor Phil Vickers said.  “Spending time with our youth and expanding their knowledge about what is happening in the West Coast goes a long way to achieving this.  Initiatives such as this visit builds enthusiasm and promotes student awareness of what is occurring locally and what they can aspire to achieve into the future.”

Council staff are currently developing plans to work in partnership with all West Coast schools to roll out the program annually.