Local teenagers aim high in Fly for Good drone program

Council’s ‘Fly for Good’ program will reach new heights on August 25, when 18 local schoolgirls from five high schools across the Coast launch their drones in a quest to make the world a better place.

The five-part program, which is currently underway, is teaching a select group of students from local schools how to fly drones and use them to resolve important environmental and humanitarian problems.

Noosa Council’s Libraries and Galleries Manager Tracey King said there’s a lot more to drones than just recreational use.

“Whether it’s delivering medicines to remote areas, mapping hard-to-reach terrain, re-planting forests or assessing structural damage, drones are being used more and more in important projects around the world.”

Noosa Library Service, in partnership with the Peregian Digital Hub offered the program to females only, in a bid to encourage girls to step forth ahead of their male counterparts who have traditionally dominated STEM-related learning opportunities.

“We are thrilled to have had such a high level of interest from female students across the Coast to participate in the program.

“Drones are certainly on track to facilitate and revolutionise a broad range of industries in the future. It’s great to see our local teenagers embracing these technologies now, in preparation for the future,” she said.

The program, presented by two local Year 12 entrepreneurs and drone experts Connor Middleton and Eamon Kriz, concludes with the Competition Day this Sunday 25 August at the Noosa Leisure Centre from 1pm-3pm.

The Fly for Good program is supported by an Advance Queensland Engaging Science Grant.

20 August 2019