Ingenia Holiday Parks – one of Australia’s leading holiday park operators with over 35 sites along the East Coast – is partnering with Surf Life Saving NSW to bring the vital Beach to Bush program to regional communities across New South Wales.
Running for another two weeks, the 2024 Beach to Bush tour will see volunteer lifesavers from Surf Life Saving NSW visit over 100 schools in inland communities, delivering interactive presentations covering key topics including how to identify beach hazards, the importance of swimming behind the flags, basic first aid technique and sun safety tips.
Children from regional and rural parts of NSW are often at higher risk than those from coastal locations because they are less familiar with the beach and unaware of potential surf dangers.
With a network of parks located in some of Australia’s most beautiful coastal and regional destinations, Ingenia Holiday Parks is uniquely positioned to champion surf safety education, helping ensure that families have the knowledge they need to enjoy their beach holidays safely.
Matthew Young, Executive General Manager Tourism at Ingenia Holiday Parks, commented: “As proud sponsors of Surf Life Saving NSW, we are excited to support the Beach to Bush program for another year. With many of our parks located near Australia’s beautiful coastline and waterways, ensuring our guests have both a fun and safe holiday is extremely important to us.
“Given that many of our guests come from rural and regional areas, we understand the crucial role of water safety education. We believe that by supporting this program, we are contributing to the safety and well-being of our community. Our commitment to water safety extends beyond our parks, as we aim to foster a culture of awareness and preparedness among all Australians, starting from a young age.”
Surf Life Saving NSW Community Education Manager, Anika Ferrari, said: “It is Surf Life Saving NSW’s vision that every student has access to important coastal safety information – regardless of the size of their school. Every year more and more families are heading to the coast for holidays. “We have 13 tours this year with our lifesavers meeting students from Old Bonalbo and Mummulgum in the north-west, to Tooraweenah in the Central Western Plains and out to Wakool and Finley in the Western Riverina in southern NSW.”
The Beach to Bush program, now celebrating its 30th year, has become one of Surf Life Saving NSW’s most impactful community outreach efforts. By delivering surf safety lessons to primary schools in regional NSW, the program has already educated over 280,000 children about the potential dangers of the surf and how to stay safe when visiting the beach.
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