Former CQU staff member Vince Constable led a group of more than 30 University of the Third Age(U3A) members on a tour of CQU Rockhampton on Monday, March 13.

The guests of the University received some lessons from Plant Sciences’ Nanjappa Ashwath on biodiversity, conservation, restoration and revegetation, and plant tissue culture.

“We’re helping farmers in Tasmania who want to grow wasabi (the bright green pungent condiment traditionally served with sushi and sashimi and other Japanese cuisine). So we can recreate that climate here and conduct research that will benefit those farmers,” explained Ashwath.

They also experienced the University’s interactive lecture theatres and were given a “behind-the-scenes” tour of the Information Technology Division.

U3A, which has multiple braches in Central Queensland – including Rockhampton, Mackay and Bundaberg, is an international movement for older people who continue to enjoy learning in later life.

Many guests were parents or grandparents of CQU students and graduates. For most, however, it was their first time at CQU.

Photos: U3A members, visiting CQU Rockhampton, were shown a newly established biodiversity planting bed located between CQU International and the Thozet building, where CQU Plant Sciences in based.