If you go swimming at a public pool you can usually count on lifeguards and lifesaving gear being handy.   But many people do their swimming in our local lakes, and that creates different safety worries.  That’s where some swimming lessons on Gull Lake in Gravenhurst come in.

“So, is it good to swim with an adult always in the lake?” a lifeguard asks a child, who nods in agreement.

The little ones are learning quickly. Already they know what to do in the water, and they're comfortable around it.

“We really notice with the younger kids who get nervous with the black water, the sand, the muckiness, not being able to see the bottom,” says head lifeguard Joanne Archibald. “That induces the fear in them of 'Oh my goodness, I don't know where I'm swimming.’”

And that fear can cause panic. That’s something lifeguards don't want to see in the water.

“If they were to fall in, and they were already scared of the water, that can potentially be a big danger because being scared they may not know how to get back to the dock, how to get out of the water,” says lifeguard Mandy Lorenzini.

That's why swimming lessons in a lake are especially good for a lot of kids.

Sandy Papke signed her grandkids up for this swimming session because they spend all summer in the water off her dock.

“We have a rule that they are not allowed to walk down our dock until they can swim,” Papke says. “Until they can jump off the end of the dock, swim in, then they don't have to wear their life jacket on the dock. So that's a goal they all work towards. And certainly swimming lessons help.”

Unlike in pools, conditions can change rapidly in open water.

Calm waters can turn rough and dangerous, and swimmers need to be prepared.

Canada's lifesaving society reports that 73 per cent of all drownings in Canada happen in open water like lakes and ponds. Already this year in Ontario alone there have been 61 "open water" drownings.

“It's so preventable,” Archibald says. “If you learn how to swim as a young child, or even as an adult, it's something that you can get yourself out of that situation.”

“I think they're very important,” swimming student Zoe McMillian says of the lessons. “That you can save yourself, and save other people, and help other people.”

According to the Lifesaving Society, both kids and adults can benefit from professional swimming lessons. By the end of this summer, 200 kids from this program will graduate with the right skills.