Taking it to the beach.

In December 2023 Louise and her partner Peter presented their award-winning drowning prevention program, 'Taking it to the beach', at the World Drowning Prevention Conference in Perth, WA. 

Taking it to the Beach - Abstract:

Background: Pearl Beach, on the NSW Central Coast, is an unpatrolled beach and has been identified as a drowning blackspot due to its dangerous beach morphology; surging waves, strong backwash into a deep drop off and recent drownings. There are multiple stake holders who, whilst actively involved in beach safety risk management, are not all part of the same conversation, resulting in an uncoordinated approach to beach safety management and an overlap of resources. 

The aim of our program was to: 

• Engage, Educate and Empower beach goers to understand safety risks at Pearl Beach.
• Provide strategies that could help beachgoers to learn how to be safe at an unpatrolled beach and know how to seek help.
• To connect local beach safety stakeholders 

Description: We worked with Surf Life Saving Central Coast to create a Pearl Beach safety brochure. This was used to launch our series of 7 community education sessions where lifesavers manned an education stall and actively walked the beach approaching beachgoers to invite them to learn about safety at Pearl Beach. Over the 7 sessions our program trialed a variety of education resources. We collected survey data and anecdotal observations.  We also engaged our surf club youth in the process.

Lessons learned: Whilst our program was effective in increasing beachgoers understanding of the dangers at Pearl Beach, we noted there could be improvements to the safety brochure and survey. Also, that a risk assessment of beach conditions on intervention days would be beneficial in interpreting survey responses.  

Conclusions: The program was well received by all participants and local stakeholders. Participants reported they learnt not only about safety at Pearl Beach but felt better equipped to visit any beach. We identified that engaging our youth improved their surf safety knowledge and increased their confidence to deliver education to the general public. Our program helped to create a more coordinated approach to safety at Pearl Beach.

If you would like to know more about 'Taking it to the beach' please send a message via our contact form. 

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