COVENTRY -- Many donned jackets with bright yellow and blue straps. Others wore types that, when cords are pulled, puff out. Another wore one that looked like a shiny orange space suit.
Tiogue Elementary School students modeled a variety of life jackets, both fitted and inflated, during a school assembly yesterday on the environment and water safety, presented by the state Department of Environmental Management.
As many as 400 students at the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school received a crash course on why it's important to protect the environment. The session included tips on boating and water safety.
Students such as Matthew Forde, 11, who sails often during the warmer months with his family, knew life jackets are important, but Matthew didn't realize there were so many types.
"Some of them I've never seen before. We basically have everything, like the ones that go around the neck. But I didn't know about the suit, so that was really cool," he said.
David Thatcher, acting deputy chief of the DEM's Office of Criminal Investigation, led the session.
With him came two environmental officers who had the students dress up in different kinds of life jackets -- a.k.a. personal flotation devices. Later, the students were timed to see how long it took to put the jackets on.
The children also took an oath to become environmental deputies. All received badges and bookmarks.
"You cannot have enforcement without education," Thatcher said. "You have to have a balance."
The department launched the Junior Deputy Environmental Watchdog program in 2004. It is presented in schools throughout Rhode Island, offering information on the effects of pollution and littering.
The program also features lessons on water safety and why it's important to wear life jackets.
When in a car, "the seat belt will keep you locked and secure in the seat," Jennifer Connors, a uniformed environmental officer, told the students. "In a boat, you basically don't have a seat belt. When you are thrown out of a boat, you are in the water. If you don't have a life jacket on, you are fighting Mother Nature."
She added that even in the case of a good swimmer, the water, the cold temperatures and waves "will wear you down."
Many people, especially when sailing on smaller boats, don't believe they need life jackets. Being caught without can make one liable to a $100 fine, Officer Mark Saunders said.
Thatcher said he has met with as many as 1,000 schoolchildren this year. He plans to continue the program throughout the summer in the more urban areas.
"The youngest group is the 5-year-olds. Even at that age they have something to learn," Thatcher said, adding that everyone has to take an interest in the environment. "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."