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Dippy Duck's Water Safety Program /
Water Department- Dippy Duck & Canal Safety -
Background
Even though the Imperial Valley's extensive canal system is posted with No Trespassing signs to keep people away, the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors decided early on that more was needed to protect the valley's most precious resource - its children.
A comprehensive water safety program was launched in 1959 to create a psychological fence in youngsters' minds, since a real fence around the system would cost an estimated $5 billion (in pre-inflation dollars) and be long enough to stretch all the way from San Diego to New York and back.
IID's cartoon mascot made his debut in May 1966 and was based on a real duck who survived a trip through a power-plant turbine on the All-American Canal. (Legend has it the plucky little duck came out alive, albeit featherless!) The character originally resembled a police officer with a baton, jacket and Napoleonic hat, but since his debut he has gone through several redesigns and today is a kinder, gentler - but still effective - safety spokesduck. And while Dippy's look may change with the times, through the years his message remains constant: Stay Out - Stay Alive! Presentations and Prizes
Today's Dippy Duck Water Safety Program includes group presentations each spring in preschools and public and private elementary schools throughout the valley. Following the interactive program and a video geared to each grade level, students are inducted into the Dippy Duck Safety Club and given coloring and activity books, stickers and a different souvenir each year. The latter has ranged from Frisbees to rulers to sporty water bottles, all featuring Dippy Duck's likeness and message. Since the program's inception, IID has noted significant results. During 1995-97, not a single school-aged child drowned in the irrigation system. In the past 20 years, the program has been taken to court just once in a drowning-related lawsuit; IID prevailed.
Partnership Opportunities
The program has also provided excellent opportunities for the publicly owned IID to build partnerships with other local governmental agencies, organizations and businesses. Each year, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors declares the month of May Dippy Duck Water Safety Month, a fact which never fails to attract attention from local media. The Board of Supervisors also passed a county ordinance making it unlawful for any person to enter a canal, with imprisonment of up to six months in the county jail and/or a fine of $500. Billboard companies and other media team up to spread Dippy's message through a combination of purchased space and airtime and donated public-service announcements and ads. During the summer of 1997, a valley-wide Cool Summer Committee was formed by IID and community leaders to raise money to help keep local public swimming pools open - to ensure local youngsters of safe places to swim all summer long. Different Grade Levels, Complementary Messages
By the time a typical Imperial Valley youngster leaves elementary school, he or she will have received the Dippy Duck Water Safety Program as many as eight times. To keep the program fresh and to maintain interest season after season, different grade levels are targeted with different, but interlocking and complementary messages. Upon entering junior high school, students will have been exposed to everything from the most basic Stay Out - Stay Alive water safety slogan to more in-depth background on valley history and the canal system.
In its early years, the water safety program's presenters emphasized mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, with students practicing the technique on Rescue Annie, a life-sized mannequin. During the past decade, the focus has shifted to the importance of learning how to swim - and swimming only in safe places. Youngsters in the early primary grades (preschool through 4th) hear more about Dippy Duck, while less emphasis is placed on the mascot at the upper elementary (5th and 6th) levels. Upon request of the principal and at the smaller country schools, students as old as 7th and 8th grade continue to receive the program. At all grade levels, the program lays the foundation for IID's psychological fence. The following is a brief overview of topics covered at each grade level and some of the audio-visual aids and handouts typically used.
Preschool -- Grades K - 2
FOCUS ON DIPPY DUCK'S MESSAGE
Introduce Dippy Duck, IID's water safety mascot: - Dippy Duck's history and origins, Smokey Bear comparison (Smokey helps prevent fires, Dippy helps prevent drownings)
- Dippy Duck's message - no swimming, fishing or playing near canals: Stay Out - Stay Alive!
Introduce importance of swimming only in safe places: - Swim in a pool with a lifeguard present
- Dangers of canals: water looks as though it's moving slowly but there are swift currents underneath
- What to do if someone falls in (get help - don't jump in yourself)
- Real-life examples
- Question/answer period
Video: Dippy Duck--
Handouts: Dippy Duck activity book and prize (varies from year to year)
Grades 3 - 4
Focus on Safe Swimming
Introduce importance of learning to swim: - Take swimming lessons
- Never swim alone; swim only in safe places where lifeguards are present
- Canals are dangerous places to swim/play
- Real-life examples
Introduce concept of psychological fence--: - Additional history of Dippy Duck and the IID water safety program
- Question/answer period
Video(s): - I'm No Fool in Water (Walt Disney film)
- Longfellow's Whales Tales (American Red Cross film)
Handouts: Dippy Duck activity book and prize (varies from year to year)
Grades 5 - 6
Focus on VALLEY HISTORY and IRRIGATION system
Reintroduce students to concept of safe swimming: - Consequences of not taking water seriously
- Encourage youngsters to enroll in Red Cross Junior Lifesaving Program (teaches basic lifesaving skills)
Introduce IID/Valley history: - Why the system was built
- How it works
- What makes canals so dangerous
- County ordinance forbidding swimming in canals
- Question/answer period
Video(s): - Water, the Deceptive Power-- (Red Cross),
- Abundance from the Desert-- (history of IID)
Handouts: Dippy Duck activity book and prize (varies from year to year)
Scheduling and Staffing
School visits are scheduled during May and June, after standardized testing is completed but before the end of school and the beginning of the summer swimming season. The program's presenter, a member of the IID Public Information Department staff, contacts each school to schedule the visit through the principal; because the program has become an eagerly anticipated end-of-the-school-year activity, some call early with their preferred dates. Scheduling is followed up with personal phone calls and reminder letters.
On average, one person can present the program to one large or two small schools/preschools a day and for years the entire program was handled by one bilingual individual (many local schoolchildren speak Spanish). Because the valley's school-age population has mushroomed from just 15,000 children 20 years ago to nearly double that today - with nearly 70 different public and private schools and preschools - two interns were hired to assist with the 1997 program, a practice which continues today.
Community Involvement
Faced with the aforementioned closure of public swimming pools, IID played a lead role in forming a Cool Summer Committee, together with the Imperial Valley Press (the valley's daily newspaper), Pepsi and Valley Independent Bank. The nonprofit committee raised money from individuals and local businesses and, in a matter of weeks, secured $17,500 to offset some of the costs associated with keeping public swimming pools open throughout the summer. Committee members also attended city council and Imperial County Board of Supervisors meetings and garnered editorial support for the project. Other groups got into the act as well: local hospital employees raised money to offer swimming lessons. Because of its overwhelming success, the fund-raising effort is ongoing.
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