The Swim Safe YYC Initiative is committed to ending preventable drowning through education, advocacy, and community outreach, honouring the life of Yagazie Ike-Peters & Caelan Escalante by turning tragedy into purpose.
Yagazie was a bright, compassionate young man whose tragic drowning in Calgary in August 2025 exposed a painful truth, that many people still underestimate the dangers of water and the importance of safety education. His passing became the turning point that inspired this initiative, transforming grief into action.
Today, his legacy drives a growing movement to make water safety awareness a shared responsibility. Your support helps turn awareness into impact — urging HOAs and city leaders to adopt real water safety reforms, push for stronger safety policies, and promote life-saving education.
No lifeguards at most community lakes
No mandatory lifejacket rules and very dangerous deep ends
Unsafe practices like dock-jumping and unsupervised swimming
Inadequate fire safety tools or warning signs
Here is how you can get involved and make a change
Partner with us
Collaborate with us on the movement to Mandate the presence of lifeguards and trained first aid responders at all recreational water sites. Together, we can inforce this safety and drowning prevention initiative.
Sign our petition
By adding your voice to this movement, you’re standing with grieving families. You’re standing for prevention. You’re standing for a Calgary that values life above all else. our signature brings us one step closer to saving lives.
Donate to us
Your support funds awareness campaigns and advocacy, and youth training initiatives. Every donation helps turn awareness into real, life-saving action.
Attend an event
Join us at community awareness sessions, council meetings, and advocacy walks across Calgary. Your presence amplifies the message.
This movement began as a memorial to Yagazie Ike-Peters and Caelan Escalante, two young lives full of promise, lost too soon to drowning at Mahogany Lake. Today, your generosity ensures their story creates lasting change. Every donation helps us reach more communities drive more life-saving advocacy programs.
Every event is a step forward. Come as you are — whether you’re grieving, curious, or ready to act.
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Every signature, every share, every donation brings us closer to safer waters in Calgary.
Voices demanding safer water policies
Awareness sessions held across Calgary
Local governments engaged on policy reform
Lives touched by our awareness campaigns
Yagazie Ike-Peters and Caelan Escalante were more than statistics. They were sons, friends, dreamers. The community that loved them has turned that love into action.
The Ike-Peters Family
Parents of Yagazie
Water safety education
Yagazie’s story reminds us that knowledge is the first lifeguard. Share these with your community.
A free, shareable PDF covering all six safety rules — designed for schools, community centres, and HOAs.
Always swim with a buddy
Never swim alone — even in familiar water. A buddy can respond within seconds if something goes wrong. Most drowning incidents happen when people are alone or out of sight of others.
Wear your lifejacket
A properly fitted lifejacket or PFD is the single most effective drowning prevention tool. Wear it whenever on or near open water — not just when required. It only works when it’s on.
Know before you go
Research water conditions before entering. Understand current speed, depth, and temperature. Cold water shock can incapacitate a strong swimmer in seconds. If in doubt, stay out.
Respect closing times
Many lakes and swimming areas have enforced hours for good reason — visibility drops and rescue response slows after dark. Never swim at an unsupervised site after posted closing hours.
Learn CPR — it saves lives
Bystander CPR can double or triple a drowning victim’s chance of survival. The Calgary Red Cross and City of Calgary offer free or low-cost CPR training. Get certified this summer.
Supervise actively
Active supervision means eyes on the water at all times — no phones, no distractions. Appoint a dedicated water watcher at every group swim. Designate, don’t assume someone is watching.
Know your limits
Open water is unpredictable. Currents, weeds, and cold temperatures make even calm-looking lakes dangerous. Swim within your ability and never overestimate your endurance.
Teach children early
Formal swimming lessons from age 4 can reduce a child’s drowning risk by up to 88%. Enrol your child in water safety education — and make sure they understand that water can be dangerous, not just fun.