Clad in bright green shirts, public works employees welcomed hundreds of students to the department’s main shop to show off heavy equipment and discuss the work crews perform in Moose Jaw.
May 19 to 25 was declared Public Works Week, and to celebrate, Moose Jaw’s public works department held its fourth annual open house on May 22. Several machines used for maintenance — such as graders, grass mowers, bobcats, backhoes and excavators — were on display at the public works yard on 1010 High Street West.
More than 300 Catholic and public students from six schools descended upon the yard, along with young families and children in daycare. The students were given sheets to fill with stickers to indicate they had visited the equipment and taken part in the fun activities.
Kyle Lichtenwald, a Grade 5 teacher at Sacred Heart, brought his students to the open house since he believes it’s good for them to learn about the different jobs the municipality performs. He also thought it was important for them to learn about what happens in the community and to help them connect with the outside world.
“And maybe appreciate the public works (as well),” he added.
Visiting the public works yard fits into the curriculum since students discuss their place in the community, their civic duty, multi-level governance structures, and how things work in the world, Lichtenwald explained. He added that the students are always engaged in the activities and learning opportunities when he brings them to the open house.
Holding a Public Works Day allows the department to bring residents into the yard to show what takes place and to educate them about the many roles employees perform, explained Staci Dobrescu, public works supervisor for water and wastewater.
The department let students sit on the equipment and in the cabs of the vehicles, while employees talked about how each machine is used to clean, maintain and fix the community. Participants also learned about recycling, garbage collection and planting flowers.
Some of the other interactive activities included face painting, games, information booths, a sewer relay, and drawing on snowplow blades. Dobrescu pointed out that when snow falls, the blades will be attached to the machines and the department will take a picture of all the signatures of the youths who signed the blades before the roads are plowed.
Dobrescu has worked for the municipality for 22 years, including the last 12 years with public works.
“My heart is here,” she said. “I believe in public service. So I am a long-term dedicated employee.”
With this being the fourth year the department has held the open house, Dobrescu joked it becomes bigger and better organized every year.
“I love educating the kids. I love to teach them about what we do,” she said.
Dobrescu added that it’s important to get people interested in what public works does since residents don’t always know what employees’ responsibilities are or how certain machines work. Furthermore, since most of the infrastructure public works manages is underground, residents only notice it when there are problems, such as water main breaks.
Other responsibilities public works employees do have include sanitation, streets and roads, bridges, public transportation, parks and green spaces, and buildings.
