2 days ago
Grand Haven students learn to ‘flip, float, follow'
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Aiming to reduce the number of drownings in the Great Lakes, the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project has conducted more than 100 water safety presentations so far this year and more than 1,200 in the Midwest since 2011.
On Wednesday, it presented to fifth and sixth graders at White Pines Intermediate School in Grand Haven, teaching students what it looks like to be in trouble while in the water and survival strategies like 'flip, float and follow' to escape a dangerous current.
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The presentation honored the memory of 17-year-old Andy Fox, who drowned in 2003 after being caught in a rip current in Lake Michigan. His mother Vicki Cech now educates others on the dangers of the Great Lakes.
'The big thing was to try and create awareness here,' Cech said. 'Because we didn't know. A lot of people had never heard of rip currents in Lake Michigan. So we wanted to make people aware and the kids what to do and how to be safe and not get into the situation that Andy was in.'
There have been over 1,300 drownings in the five Great Lakes since 2010, according to data compiled by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. Cech said a number is too high.
'Knowledge is everything. These kids, if they know what to do, they're either going to stay out of the water because they know there is a danger there, or they're going to know what to do if they do get into trouble.'
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The group is also using their platform as a means to bring awareness to two bills moving through Michigan's Legislature — Senate Bill 295 and House Bill 4477 — both proposing a statewide water safety program for K-12 students focusing on topics like flotation devices, water conditions and basic rescue and resuscitation techniques as a part of physical education classes.
'We are way behind with water safety education in the United States as well as the Great Lakes region,' program director Dave Benjamin said. 'It is of utmost importance that we have water safety education in schools.'
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