MOSSEL BAY NEWS - An educational partnership between the local organisation iOcean Trust and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is teaching local children life-saving water safety knowledge and drowning prevention skills.

The NSRI WaterWise Programme aims to provide learners with practical safety tips, emergency awareness and the confidence to make safer decisions in and around water.

Here in Mossel Bay, NSRI has teamed up with iOcean and sessions are led by Mondray Arries, NSRI WaterWise facilitator.

The role of iOcean is to co-ordinate the participating schools and bring together local marine organisations, emergency services and community volunteers to support each activation.

Andrea Bradfield, the director of iOcean Trust, said these interactive sessions also include discussions on marine conservation, climate change, plastic pollution and the importance of protecting the environment, to reinforce the message that healthy oceans and safe communities go hand in hand.

“The NSRI’s WaterWise programme is an invaluable resource for our schools and communities,” said Bradfield.

“Mondray Arries has a wonderful ability to engage learners with practical, memorable lessons that could one day save lives. Our role is simply to help connect schools with the programme and bring together volunteers and local marine partners who can enrich the learning experience. This is about working together to build safer, more ocean-conscious communities.”

Bradfield said that after the positive response from the first activations, the partners hope to expand the programme to more schools across Mossel Bay and the Garden Route.

The schools visited last week were Hillcrest Secondary School, Ridgeview and Isalathiso primary schools.

Schools interested in hosting an NSRI WaterWise awareness session, supported by iOcean Trust and local marine partners, are encouraged to get in touch by sending an email to [email protected].

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