Exmouth children learn seaside safety through community project

Exmouth project teaches 1,000 children seaside safety and care

A project based in Exmouth hopes to educate more than 1,000 schoolchildren on the dangers of water at the coast this year. The campaign, named Sideshore Sea Safety, launched in 2022. Back then just one school and a handful of students took part. Now, 24 schools are participating, and organizers expect hundreds of children to attend.

More than just safety lessons are available through the experience, advertised project manager Bernie Rhodes. “It’s great for your mental health and well-being. It gets the kids outdoors and it teaches them how to be safe.” If they come back with their parents, they would know what to do if things go wrong.”

Environment and Accountability
Other than safety, the project also teaches children how to love and care for the environment. Students are educated about the issue of plastic waste and are able to get involved creatively by converting collected waste into art to help save the ocean.
“We want them to be advocates for the environment when they leave here,” Ms Rhodes said. The kids have had an education on being safe and taking their rubbish home, not dumping it on the beach.”

“And then they can spread that message out very far and very wide,” she said, hoping that as a result of the new awareness and sense of responsibility the children will affect others’ behavior.