VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – While Ventura County Public Works Agency’s (VCPWA) most exciting and educational event of the year, Public Works Day, is no longer able to conduct in-person tours, students and the community can look forward to an interactive virtual tour and activities right at their fingertips.
VCPWA will be providing a virtual tour of its favorite experiences, demonstrations, and materials to be utilized as an educational or social connection piece for students to learn more about the latest innovations in technology, careers, and science at VCPWA while also making it available to the whole community.
The theme of this year’s event, “Embracing Change – A Better Way, Every Day” exemplifies the ability of VCPWA to adapt and grow while maintaining our mission and vision for the community. This year’s event going virtual is just another example how we are all embracing change and making our work better each step of the way.
Students, faculty and the community can look forward to the following highlights during the virtual tour including but not limited to:
- Composting and food waste recycling with worms
- A day in the life of a Hydrologist
- Behind the Scenes of the Moorpark Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Topography-how the lay of the land influences the direction that rainwater flows to the ocean and to underground aquifers
- Pervious Concrete; demonstration of a type of pavement that is porous enough to filter storm water, capture pollutants, reduce flooding and runoff to the ocean and re-charge underground aquifers with much needed water.
- Demonstration of technologies that are put to work within PWA
- Debris removal from a road
- Road repair after a storm
- Information on our public transit in our community
- Drone video and how it is used by VCPWA
- Kits to make your own street signs
- Public Works careers
“We are so excited for the opportunity to create a virtual platform for our favorite event of the year. We understand that times are tough right now, so we thought what better way to re-inspire the students, that are currently learning remotely, than to share our innovations with them virtually,” says Jeff Pratt, Director of the VCPWA.
VCPWA’s National Public Works Week (NPWW) was first launched in 2012 and has grown exponentially over the years from 125 students to over 1,000 students. The Agency hopes to have an even bigger audience with the added virtual feature to engage students throughout the county as they adapt to an ever-changing learning environment.
The entire community is invited to join the VCPWA Public Works Week virtual education tour, which will be shared through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn via a link on the VCPWA webpage.