Denise Iszczuk
SOUTH HURON – Elementary students across the Ausable Bayfield watershed will learn about the dangers of high water and thin ice, in the annual Spring Water Awareness Program (SWAP).
In the past seven years, more than 16,000 local elementary students have taken part in this program, offered by the Bayfield Ausable Conservation Authority (ABCA).
“The high temperatures of this season’s mild winter have caused rapid melting of snow and that led to some high and fast-flowing water in the area during recent days,”
said Denise Iszczuk, who is a conservation education technician with ABCA. It offers the program on a first-come, first-served basis and usually visits about half of the 22 watershed schools each year. The program runs from early February to early March.
The Spring Water Awareness Program is offered during the time of year when the waterways have the highest level of risk to children playing around them.
“Snow and ice melts in rivers, lakes, ponds and streams in winter,” Iszczuk said. “The water is cold and the banks are slippery. Children learn, through the activities of the SWAP program, why they have to avoid waterways during a season of thin ice and high, fast-flowing water.”
Protecting life and property is part of the conservation authority mandate and SWAP helps students understand for themselves the dangers high water and thin ice can pose. The students don’t just get talked to about the dangers of water at this time of year – they learn through dynamic interactive activities. Education staff delivers three presentations designed for different elementary grade-level groups – primary, junior, and intermediate.
Melting ice and snow, combined with rain, make it especially important for people to stay away from watercourses. Parents, guardians, and teachers can find some safety-around-water information at the ABCA website.
The SWAP program is funded with the support of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation and member municipalities of the Ausable Bayfield watershed.
For more information, or to book the SWAP, please contact the ABCA at 519-235-2610 or 1-888-286-2610 or e-mail [email protected]
