Beach to Bush teaches kids surf skills

Students dove into the Murgon swimming pool enthusiastically and learnt freshwater safety.

Over the months of November and December, Noosa Heads SLSC educated 35 excited St Joseph Catholic Primary School and Cherbourg State School students as a part of the Beach to Bush Surf Education program.

The Cherbourg Beach to Bush partnership has been running since 2018 and has been growing each year.

Noosa Heads SLSC members and club president Ross Fisher, travelled to Murgon and Cherbourg in November to teach lifesaving skills in the pool which was welcomed whole heartedly by the students and the community.

Ross remarked that the students dove into the beautiful full sized Murgon swimming pool enthusiastically and learnt tube rescues, board paddling, freshwater safety and signs and flag identification.

Teachers marvelled at the smiles on the students faces commenting they were the happiest they have seen some of the students all year.

Ross went on to say that it was a program that the club was extremely proud of and reconnects the club with the regions where many of lifesavers in the ’60s and ’70s came down from to patrol at Noosa and keep the club alive.

Some are also now Life Members of the Club and are still involved.

Recently, Murgon’s St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School students travelled to Noosa for the Beach side of the Beach to Bush program.

St Thomas More Catholic Primary School accommodated students overnight before they arrived at Noosa Heads SLSC for a day of beach education and fun.

On Tuesday 6 December, six teachers and Elders chaperoned students from Cherbourg State School to Noosa Heads SLSC to participant in surf awareness, beach games and a club tour including the patrol tower where they learnt all about our patrolling equipment.

Students laughed their way through beach games, became creative geniuses while crafting sandcastles and listened studiously while being taught beach awareness and safety skills.

Everyone associated with the program thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The weather couldn’t have been any better for both programs and these days will be remembered by all who attended for a very long time.

This special partnership is supported by the community with St Thomas More Catholic Primary School accommodating St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School students, Dennis Massoud from Sand In Your Eyes teaching specialised sandcastle building techniques, Betty’s Burgers assisting with burgers for lunch and Noosa Heads SLSC facilitating the days and the overall program.