Wessex Rivers Trust is an environmental charity that delivers conservation and education projects along Wessex’s chalk streams and rivers, including the rivers Avon, Itchen, Stour, and Test, as well as New Forest and East Hampshire rivers. 

Their staff routinely work near or in water, delivering river restoration, catchment management, education, and research and monitoring projects.

Having experienced rapid growth over the past few years, the Trust identified a skills gap and health and safety risk, whereby only two of twenty-five staff had completed formal water safety training. 

After researching training options, the Trust decided that all new and existing staff would complete the RLSS UK’s National Water Safety Management Programme DEFRA (NWSMP DEFRA) Training Module 2 – Water and Flood First Responder; these courses being accredited and suiting the needs of the organisation. The first session occurred in March 2024, followed by another in May 2024, delivered by Bristol Maritime Academy at the River Training Centre near Frome.  

Upon completing the course, the staff members who attended immediately implemented measures to improve water safety for their staff, volunteers, partners, and the schools and groups they educate. These have included updated procedures and risk assessments, practical water safety training such as toolbox talks, planned investment in new equipment, and changes to site setup, such as rescue lines being positioned in easily accessible locations and access and egress points clearly marked at all work and education sites. 

Most importantly, the Trust’s staff members are equipped with the knowledge and skills to avoid and or escape potentially dangerous situations.

Mike Blackmore, Director of Operations at Wessex Rivers Trust, said, “The Bristol Maritime Academy team was excellent. They provided a good balance of theory and practice and instilled confidence in attendees to identify and control risks and act quickly and safely in an emergency.”

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