MEDIA RELEASE: RACQ FOUNDATION AND TORRES SHIRE PARTNERSHIP

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Published
8th July 2024

On 31 January 2024, Torres Shire Council successfully submitted an Expression of Interest to the RACQ Foundation to partner with them in two exciting projects that have the potential to provide an opportunity to make a difference in the lives and the resilience of our community. The RACQ Foundation team will be on site in our Shire from 8th to 12th July 2024.

 

Horn Island Project - Aquaculture (fish farming) & Hydroponics (plant raising) Farm

RACQ Foundation will work with Council in an in-kind partnership to build an Aquaponics Project on Horn Island. It will involve Aquaponics that is the joining of two fields, Aquaculture (fish farming) & Hydroponics (plant raising), while distinguishing itself from both by being a true eco system. It will also include a greenhouse. It will result in food production.

Council has engaged with Tagai State College on Horn Island regarding this project. This is a demonstration project addressing food security in our shire. This will benefit the school children, families, the school and community in the following ways:

  • Staff and student will have access to the Aquaponics Facilities and project resources for educational programs. The possibility of a curriculum being written to teach students about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Agriculture & Maths subjects work very well with aquaponics, from biology to physics.
  • Tagai students will be able to access the facility during school days and holidays providing there is a local supervisor present.
  • Student involvement in the project may result in the produce being used for the tuckshop and contribute to a generational change in Healthy Eating Habits, Healthy Choices. 

Torres Strait Heritage

RACQ Foundation will assist the museum through the digitisation and cataloguing of original artefacts and documentation to safeguard them from weather events.

 

Thursday Island Project – Revitalisation of Frog Gully

The third Project is the Thursday Island Project – Restoration of Frog Gully Community Gardens Project 

  • The community has been asking Council to re-establish the Frog Gully Community Garden for some time.
  • This facility once provided space, with irrigation and adequate soil for growing fruit and vegetables.
  •  A community garden gets participants active, allows the growing of fresh vegetables (which are very expensive on Thursday Island), aids resilience and allows for social interactions that connect the community.
  • The project involves re-establishing the run-down Frog Gully Community Gardens by replacing or fixing existing infrastructure on site, including an old shed, improving the soil and installing an irrigation system.
  • The land is available and approved for this use.
  • The construction of a very simple shade sail/gazebo will be erected.
  • The process for soil enhancement is well known with the addition of organics and nutrients
  • The community will be engaged and invited to be a part of the restoration works.
  • Council will budget for a Frog Gully Community Gardens Coordinator position and the committee that was established in 2013 will be re-formed to implement and promote the program.

 

Road Safety Education Programmes 

The RACQ Education Team is thrilled to be returning to the Torres Strait to deliver a variety of our road safety educational programs to students across the region between Tuesday 9 July, and Friday 12 July 2024. They will be visiting three schools during our time there, with 12 individual lessons being taught across the four days to Prep-Year 12 students from across 6 campuses. School involved are:

  • Northern Peninsula Area College: Students from all three campuses (Years 5-12)
  • Our Lady of the Sacred Heart: Students from both Waibeni and Kerriri campuses (Prep-Year 6).
  • Tagai Secondary State College: Students from Waibeni campus (Years 10-12).

 

The programs are delivered through age-appropriate interactive demonstrations, activities, videos, and discussions. 

The programs are delivered through age-appropriate interactive demonstrations, activities, videos, and discussions.
RACQ Streets Ahead lessons that will be taught to Prep-Year 9 students will cover essential road safety themes for students, including pedestrian, passenger (ferry/car/bus), and wheel (bicycle/scooter/motorbike) safety.

Year 10 -12 students will engage in the RACQ Driver IQ Learner Program and RACQ Docudrama Program which are road safety awareness initiatives aimed at educating senior secondary students.

Several proactive strategies will be discussed and explored to equip the students with real-world skills for navigating and maximising their time in the learner driver phase and transitioning from learner to provisional driver. Students will also explore the ‘Fatal Five’ road safety issues – Drink and Drug Driving, Fatigue, Not Wearing a Seatbelt, Speeding and Distraction – which are the leading causes of incidents and crashes on our roads. Students will be encouraged to use the strategies discussed and explored, if, and when, they find themselves in a potentially dangerous driving situation.

Mayor Seriat said today, ‘The commitment of the RACQ Foundation to these projects is heartwarming and of good pasin. They are funding and donating equipment, trades and a volunteer workforce for all the projects. They are sponsoring one of the 2024 NAIDOC Awards, and their volunteers will assist Council staff in setting up the NAIDOC awards ceremony event’.

Mayor Seriat continued, ‘Their volunteers and staff will first undertake a cultural awareness program here in the Shire. I welcome this support and their enthusiasm on behalf of our Shire and our people. A big Eso. It is also a great example of Council working in partnership with organisations for the benefit of the entire community’, Mayor Seriat concluded.

End Release.