Beach to Bush the 30 year history
Since 1994, NSW surf lifesavers have been visiting schools in rural and remote areas in regional NSW to educate primary school students about beach, coastal and water safety.
1994 - 2003
Beach to Bush was launched in 1994 by Max Waters (life member Port Macquarie SLSC). As the Mid North Coast Director of Lifesaving, Max worked with SLSNSW to conduct a survey which led to the trial and implementation of the first surf education program for rural NSW students. Max, along with Robert Smith OAM spoke to over 2,000 regional and remote school children about beach and water safety. In that first year, they visited 30 schools over two weeks.
- Reached 66,510 students
- Visited 532 schools
- 128 volunteer presenters
- Delivered 969 presentation sessions
2004 - 2013
In 2006 the first ever official launch of the Telstra Beach to Bush program took place on Monday 13 November at Queenscliff Beach.
The launch received national and statewide TV coverage via a live crossover with Channel 9’s Today Show. Brett Williamson from Surf Life Saving Australia spoke about the importance of the program and the strong partnership between Telstra and Surf Life Saving. Staff from SLSNSW also took a group of children from the Far Royal West Home located in Manly through a brief surf safety lesson.
As part of Channel 9’s syndication, this broadcast to over 40 stations nationwide and reached over 1.6 million viewers.
- Reached 116,178 students
- Visited 794 schools
- 173 volunteer Presenters
- Delivered 1,296 presentation sessions
2014 - 2023
The 2014 Beach to Bush program was the largest program in five years, with eight tours reaching 14,000 students from 72 schools. In 2020 for the first time in the history of the program, the B2B safety messages were delivered virtually by presenters from SLS Clubs along the NSW coast due to restrictions visiting schools during the COVID 19 pandemic.
- Reached 91,379 students
- Visited 637 schools
- 252 volunteer presenters
- Delivered 1,052 presentation sessions
1994 - 2023
274,067
Students reached
1,963
Schools visited
3,317
Presentations delivered
553
Volunteer presenters
Beach to Bush
Each year our volunteer lifesavers go "bush" to educate students about beach and water safety.
Learning Resources
Bring Surf Lifesaving into your classroom using our free tools and resources for primary & secondary teachers.