The City of Regina has launched an interactive learning experience they hope will help teach kids how to better manage waste and water.
The new, state-of-the-art “education room” at the city’s Waste Management Centre utilizes interactive video, audio and projection technology and is now open for booking.
“I think you’ll all agree that this is a fun way for kids to discover how the city manages waste and water,” Kim Onrait, Regina’s executive director of citizen services, said Monday morning.
“Kids really are the leaders of tomorrow, and this is a great way to share a vision with them so they can get there.”
In 2009, as part Waste Plan Regina, the city committed to a goal of diverting 65 per cent of household waste away from the landfill.
According to a recently-released update, though, that number is only around 20 per cent was diverted in 2021.
Additionally, the report states that while the average North American produces about 725 kg of waste per year, the average Regina resident produces 907 kg. That’s a 25 per cent difference.
Those behind the education room hope it can inspire the change needed to bring Regina’s number down.
“It’s important for all of us to develop lifelong habits and there’s no better time than when you’re young to develop them, ” said Regina Waste, Water and Environment Director Kurtis Doney.
“And there’s no better way to encourage kids than to make learning fun. This education room has been built with play-based learning in mind.”
The project is approximately two years in the making.
Its projectors and video screens can be toggled to provide content focused on either waste management or water conservation and sewer protection.
“When the room is in waste management mode, participants learn to reduce waste through simple and concrete actions focused on the three Rs,” Doney said.
“When the room is in water mode, we learn about the story of water, where it goes after we’re done with it and where it ends up.”
It cost approximately $300,000, according to the city, and was designed by Graphics eMotion, a Montreal-based company that specializes in large-scale multimedia installations.
Tours and experiences can be booked on the City of Regina website.