Epic seaplane expedition hits South West to inspire careers in STEM fields

An epic seaplane expedition landed in Bunbury on Thursday to inspire people young and old to engage with STEM and raise the profile of charities. Pilots from Australian Seaplane Adventures gathered support and sponsorship from the community to circumnavigate Australia and take part in community engagement activities such as encouraging women and girls to enter science, technology, engineering and maths careers. Pilot Cathy Babis said she enjoyed being able to make kids smile. “We are trying to contact and connect with school children as much as possible,” she said. “It’s a statistic that boys and girls have the same interest and aptitude until age 12, and somehow magically, at age 12, girls get steered in another direction or possibly steer themselves due to social norms and mores. “I started flying when I was 15½, and I’m still flying at 70.” Pilot David Geers said the expedition also raised the profile of charities such as Roses in the Ocean for suicide prevention. He said highlights of circumnavigating the coast, particularly the South West, was the scenery and the connections they made after landing at each stop. “The highlight for me is just the help and friendship that we get every time we land,” he said. “Somebody’s always offering us a car to use or accommodation. “The scenery is just amazing, especially this part of the world. The coastline is just so pretty — words can’t describe it. “The word spectacular gets used a lot in our plane”.