STEM in session for Burnside’s young scientists

SA Water helped more than 50 students from Burnside Primary School celebrate CSIRO’s STEM in Schools event on Wednesday, sharing stories about careers in STEM to spark their passion for the field – which is growing 1.6 times faster than other job categories.

Bringing together STEM professionals, parliamentarians and schools, STEM in Schools is a national event celebrated across the country, highlighting a range of Australia’s global challenges and the dedicated people using innovative science and technology to solve them.

SA Water Manager of Environmental Opportunities Greg Ingleton said it was a privilege to be invited by Burnside Primary School to encourage the next generation of leaders to pursue a career in STEM.

“Our young people are an integral part of building a sustainable future which is underpinned by education and facilitated by equipping them with a range of STEM skills to shape their minds,” Greg said.

“It was great fun to share my career stories and the ways SA Water is contributing to solving global challenges – from enabling premium agriculture through recycled water, to combatting the impacts of climate change with urban cooling, we’re harnessing the diverse capabilities of our people to create a better life.

“I wanted to be a scientist because I could see how science explains what is happening in our world, and most importantly, how we can improve it.”

Greg’s current focus on heat mitigation and liveability is not only helping the community at home, but has proven beneficial for Adelaide Airport, where the smart use of recycled water to irrigate a four hectare Lucerne crop achieved ambient temperature reductions near the runways – with the trial demonstrating the potential to decrease fuel consumption at take-off and energy usage for terminal cooling towers.

Exploring a range of Australia’s global challenges from health and wellbeing to sustainable energy and resources, the students also quizzed Greg for inspiration to help create their own podcast, capturing insights about the future of STEM careers and how they enable positive impacts to communities.

“The students asked big issue questions and clearly have a keen interest in the many applications for STEM in our modern world,” Greg said.

Kicking off with a special national broadcast in the morning, CSIRO’s STEM in Schools is aimed at upper primary and lower secondary school students and involved a range of activities for schools to choose from which also included challenging future innovators and predicting the future of technology.

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