Cameron McFarlane says that with the recent spate of drownings on beaches up and down the coast there is no better time for kids to learn what he is teaching.
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Cameron, who has been an aquatic lifeguard for the last 22 years and is also a Royal Lifesaving Society trainer assessor, created a program in 2011 teaching stage three (years five and six) students CPR.
In that time, he has taught more than 30,000 students the life saving skill.
"I feel it is a really important skill for stage three students to have. They participate really well; they're just at the right age to do the full on compressions and the breathing," Cameron said.
"It's just a good education to have before they go to high school."
Based in Tamworth, Cameron has been delivering the program annually to schools in the New England area, Upper Hunter and now the Mid North Coast.
In 2016 he took long service leave and spent eight weeks delivering the program around the State, covering around 8000 students, he says.
And in 2018 he took the program to Vietnam, and covered covered around 15 schools, about 850 students, teachers and some lifeguards.
"We had the Education Minister fly in from the Hue Province and he said he'd like to see (the program) rolled out into many local schools in Vietnam. That was all sponsored by Qantas and Vietnam airlines, Rotary Club, Royal Lifesaving Society - there are a lot of sponsors behind us to make this happen," Cameron said
Likewise, Cameron would like to see his program rolled out into as many schools in NSW as possible.
He has twice met with Education Ministers over the past few years, pushing to get his programs implemented in the school curriculum.
"It's a long road, but it's certainly something I'll keep lobbying for because I'm getting the feedback from principals, and I've been to quite a few principal forums, and the schools are asking why isn't this in our curriculum?"
Cameron is visiting the Mid Coast for three weeks, and in that time will visit schools in Taree and Old Bar, Lake Cathie, Laurieton, North Haven, Kempsey, and Coolongolook and Krambach.
Julia Driscoll
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
