Feeling safe at the beach & our beach environment

Lesson 2 – 25 minutes

Identify what it means to feel safe
Identify people to talk to if feeling unsafe at the beach
Recognise the diverse human and marine communities that make up a beach ecosystem

Start the lesson by talking about the different feelings that people experience and,
Why they experience these feelings (eg, sad, happy, scared, nervous etc.)

Use the ‘Faces and Feelings worksheet’ or your facial expressions as a discussion starter.
Invite participants to give examples relating to these expressions of how they have felt in different circumstances away from the beach (i.e. a frightened face might be an example of a participant scared to go into large surf)

The types of things that we as lifesavers have at the beach to make people feel safe (i.e. Red & Yellow flags) or alone, (a stranger starts talking to you, etc)
Invite participants to give examples of who they can speak to if they feel unsafe while at the beach (i.e. Lifesaver, Age Manager)
Finish the lesson by asking if the participants have any further questions

Take the participants on a walk along the beach.
As you are walking, ask the following questions:
- What sorts of things do we find at the beach? (sand, sand dunes, water, shells, rocks, surf clubs, pools, flags, etc).
- Who uses the beach?
- What type of animals can you find at the beach?

Sit the participants down in a semi-circle on the sand and discuss the following:

What do the sea/beach animals use the beach for?
How can our actions endanger the animals at the beach (pollution, leaving rubbish, picking up creatures, etc.)
Why is it important that we share the beach with the sea/beach animals? (because they both have a right to be there, we need to look after those that can’t always look after themselves, humans are much bigger than some marine creatures etc)
What will happen if we don’t look after the sea/beach animals (We could wipe out the creatures from our beach, it could affect the natural eco-system at the beach which can even affect humans, i.e. lack of fish to eat, algae blooms, overpopulation of stingers if their predators are wiped out etc)

Ask each participant to think of someone who uses the beach, it can either be a sea/beach animal or a uman. (crab, surfer)
Have the participants act as that beach user would. (a crab would walk on 4 legs sideways, a surfer would pretend to ride wave)
Draw a line in the sand and nominate one side as the ‘yes’ side and the other as the ‘no’.
Ask the following questions to the group and have them move to the side that fits their beach-user
- Do you use the beach for enjoyment?
- Do you live at the beach every day?
- Do you get your food from the beach?
- Do you like to play in the sand?
- Do you like to be wet all the time?
Discuss a couple of participant’s decisions when everyone has finished moving to their side i.e. Why did you choose that?