Ingenia Holiday Parks and Surf Life Saving New South Wales (SLSNSW) have officially wrapped up their three-week Beach to Bush Roadshow, travelling more than 20,000 km across rural and remote areas of NSW to present 145 water safety sessions to school kids.
Commencing on Monday 6 November, more than 11,000 students from 100 schools participated, with the tour taking place in locations such as Northern Tablelands, Hunter Valley and Cootamundra.
This includes 1000 students from the Riverina Anglican College who came together to make the world’s largest human red and yellow flag in recognition of 30 years of the Beach to Bush program.
Anticipating a spike in coastal visitation throughout the summer, the partnership between Ingenia Holiday Parks and SLSNSW provided students access to interactive 60-minute sessions designed to reinforce water safety messages in a fun and interactive way – a timely reminder when visiting beaches, lakes and pools over the school holidays and summer period.
Ingenia Holiday Parks’ Executive General Manager Tourism, Matt Young was glowing in his praise of the program and proud to be playing a part in bringing important water safety messages to young kids.
“As enthusiastic sponsors of Surf Life Saving NSW, we are thrilled to lend our support to the Beach to Bush program in its milestone 30th year,” he said.
“Given the proximity of many of our parks to Australia’s stunning coastline and other waterways, ensuring our guests experience both an enjoyable and safe holiday is of paramount importance to us.
“With a significant number of our guests coming from rural and regional areas of Australia, we recognise the immense value in imparting surf safety education. Some of the children from these towns may never have even been to a beach before.”
Participating schools have praised the program, saying it was important for students to receive real-life and practical information from experienced lifesavers.
St Paul’s Primary School, Moss Vale said the resources and presentations were fantastic, with Collins Creek Public School reporting their students were highly engaged and gave great feedback to their families and the school and commended the presenters’ enthusiasm.
During the Beach to Bush sessions, students attending learned the role of surf lifesavers, why they should always swim between the red and yellow flags, how to spot a rip current, what to do if they get in trouble at the beach and the different types of marine life along the coast as well as the hazards of inland waterways.
The program has taught more than 285,000 students how to stay safe at the beach since its inception in 1994.
To explore park locations, facilities and make a booking, visit: ingeniaholidays.com.au