By 
0
0
Sixth year pupils at Castle Douglas High School visited Loch Ken last month to take part in our Youth Water Safety Awareness Programme and learn all about water safety during National Drowning Prevention Week
Launched in 2023, our Youth Water Safety Awareness Programme is funded by The Holywood Trust and Drax Group (Drax), owners of the Galloway Hydro Scheme and delivers free water safety training to young people
The scheme has expanded for 2024 with over 100 young people receiving life-saving training.
The sessions include a water safety workshop and cover an introduction to paddleboarding and the water safety code. All participants had the opportunity to try a self-rescue and learned how to help a friend back on to their board.
Andy McNay, Principal Teacher of Health and Wellbeing at Castle Douglas High School said;
“I’d like to thank Loch Ken Trust and Galloway Activity Centre for a wonderful day. The young people all had a great time, while learning important lessons to keep themselves safe on the water.
A number of pupils have volunteered to become Water Safety Ambassadors and will work with younger pupils across the school to highlight the importance of water safety to everyone. These are great skills to learn prior to the Summer break when, hopefully, we will be enjoying some lovely weather.”
Loch Ken Trust Manager Barnaby Fryer said,
“We are delighted to be promoting water safety to our young people, especially at this time of year with the Summer holidays fast approaching. Having this knowledge and skills is vital for young people who are now at an age where they may access the water independently. We are very grateful to our funders and the fantastic team at the Galloway Activity Centre, without whom none of this would be possible. ”
Water safety has always been a priority for Loch Ken Trust, since being formed in June 2020. In 2021 the Trust launched the Loch Ken Ranger Service as one of the first community-owned ranger services in Scotland. The Ranger Service has continued to grow, now carrying out regular patrols on both land and water, throughout the season.
A case study of our water safety training features in National guidance recently published by Water Safety Scotland on experiential learnings. This guidance provides step by step instructions for those interested in creating safe experiential learning events around water. Loch Ken Trust are proud to be recognised as an example of water safety best working practice.
The Loch Ken Trust’s Youth Water Safety Awareness Programme has also recently received national recognition from the Scottish Parliament.
“Water safety is such an important issue for our young people. Our region has an abundance of lochs, rivers and other areas of open water. Having water safety training can literally be a matter of life and death for our young people. To date, over 90 young people in our region have received this training, and are now equipped with skills to keep themselves safe on and around water.”
By 
