Jan Juc SLSC Nippers are upskilled in Cliff Safety Awareness

Jan Juc SLSC Nippers are upskilled in Cliff Safety Awareness
2 January 2022

Our Education Support Officer Kim Byrne delivered an important environmental education session to over 200 Nippers to age groups ranging from under 7’s to under 13’s as part of the Jun Juc Surf Life Saving Nippers Surf Education program.

The session involved discussions of weather patterns from naturally occurring oscillation events of La Nina and El Nino and the impacts these have on the siltstone cliffs along the Great Ocean Road.

Images were shown to explain and demonstrate the effects of a cliff collapse and the ramifications if people were under them.

Information on our management through education, signage, and closure of beaches due to high-risk areas such as Demons Bluff in Anglesea.

As groups, we discussed how we could minimize these impacts and how as future Surf Lifesavers, we can protect beach visitors and approach them to educate them on the risks of sitting under the cliffs and walking off tracks and paths.

Key takeaway messages:

•             Stay clear of the cliffs

•             Stay on the paths and tracks to protect yourself and the environment

•             Look for and read the signs

•             Spread the word to all that use the beach

“I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the upcoming leaders and surf lifesavers of the Jan Juc Surf Lifesaving Club and assisting in creating awareness around cliff safety.

“The Nippers were attentive and knowledgeable with great ideas to get the beachgoer’s attention such as different coloured signs at different beaches so that it grabs their attention more, to having foot patrols along the beach to inform people under cliffs why it is dangerous.”

Quotes attributed to Kim Byrne Education Support Officer