March 2011 Recipients
A grant to an outdoor pursuits centre in South Canterbury will enable more young people to participate in river safety training.
Peel Forest’s $3,819 grant will be used to purchase a raft for the river safety education programme for intermediate students.
“Year 7 and 8 students are a crucial age group for river safety education,” says Robyn Murch, Funding Officer for Peel Forest. “Drowning is the third highest cause of accidental death in this country according to Water Safety New Zealand statistics and this grant will go a long way towards educating our young people about being safe out on the water.”
Peel Forest runs a series of programmes which are all designed to help young people to experience, learn and grow their potential through outdoor pursuits activities.
The organisation’s river safety programme blends theory with practical based sessions and teaches students to identify river hazards and features and ways of dealing with these hazards. Practical training covers a range of river situations including swimming, kayaking, rafting and river crossing.
