Esk students learn about the natural environment

Published on 04 September 2026

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Esk State School students met with Somerset Regional Council’s parks and gardens team at Pipeliner Park to learn how Council manages public spaces.

ESK State School students swapped the classroom for Pipeliner Park on Wednesday, 2 September, meeting Somerset Regional Council’s parks and gardens team to learn what it takes to care for the region’s public spaces.

The visit supported the year one students’ humanities and social science studies, helping them explore their local area and understand why natural and historically significant places need to be protected for the community.

Somerset Councillor Sally Jess joined Council’s parks and gardens team for the interactive presentation.

“The students were so excited to learn about how and why Council manages public spaces like Pipeliner Park and were eager to get behind the wheel of our mowers,” Cr Jess said.

“Our team explained why Council mows public spaces, why we plant native trees and how we keep the space clean and safe for the community.

“The students also learned about the history of Pipeliner Park, Esk Railway Station, and the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail.”

Council’s Engineering Services Manager, Gary Love, answered the year 1 students’ questions.

Esk State School Acting Principal Susane Denman thanked Council for organising the informative chat with the students.

“The kids have thoroughly enjoyed the presentation put on by Council, and they have found out valuable information which will help them with their learning in the classroom about local area and how to look after local places,” Ms Denman said.

“We decided to come to Pipeliner Park, and the Council were very generous to put on a talk for them about why it’s here, who looks after it and how that happens.”

After catching up with Council’s parks and gardens team, the budding environmentalists returned to their classroom to design superheroes who look after Pipeliner Park, including ‘Chloe the Cleaner’, ‘Mikayla Mulcher’, ‘Ruby Rubbish’, and ‘Ralph Repairer’.

The Esk State School year 1 students designed environmental superheroes after their visit to Pipeliner Park.

Cr Jess said Somerset had a diverse parks network, with many opportunities for residents to meet, play, rest and connect with nature.

“We have a wealth of open space with 209 hectares of Council-managed land open to the community, including 55 hectares of local parks plus regional and district recreation parks, sport parks, trails and amenity reserves,” Cr Jess said.

“That’s about 2.17 hectares for every 1,000 people living in Somerset, almost double the offering of some of our neighbouring councils.

“Our team does an incredible job in maintaining this public space, and it was a delight to see young students taking an interest and admiring their work.”

To learn more about why Council manages parks and gardens, visit somerset.qld.gov.au/Why-We

August hopped inside a Council mower and got a taste for a career in local government.

Parks and Gardens Mower Operator Nathan Irwin showed students how the mowers worked.