Drones eye future

The South West Catchment Council paid a visit to the WA College of Agriculture Harvey on Tuesday afternoon to teach students about remote-piloted drones at the inaugural SWCC Showcase.

With drones being used increasingly frequently in the landcare and agriculture industries, it seemed fitting the SWCC demonstrate the use of drones in their environmental work.

SWCC chief executive Steve Ewings said the incursion was designed so students could apply their understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in new and exciting ways.

“Drones are being used for many positive reasons and are playing an increasingly important role in agriculture and natural resource management,” Mr Ewings said.

“We want to open the students’ eyes to the many applications of drone technology and help them see potential career pathways.

“The sky really is the limit for them.”

Students got hands-on with the drone command activity in which they flew mini Mambo drones weighing 63g in large cages under the careful watch of SWCC staff.

To further hone their drone skills, the students participated in a native seeding simulation, distributing small pellets from a drone around the edge of a representation of Toolibin Lake.

Students also heard from Julian Kruger, director of Astron, Ella Maesepp from Katanning Eco-House, and representatives from landcare groups across the South West region on their latest projects.