Students at Ratushniak Elementary School in Maidstone had an informative visitor last week.
Bob Angevine of the Alberta Farm Safety Centre spent time with each class as part of the UFA Safety Smarts school program.
Angevine, an instructor from Kitscoty, Alta. does approximately 90 visits per year throughout east central Alberta. The program was developed as a non-profit by producers in Raymond, Alta. in 1997. In the 1998-99 school year, 2,230 students attended presentations. The program currently reaches about 55,000 students per year in over 500 rural schools.
This is the first year students in Saskatchewan are benefitting from the program that is heavily sponsored by organizations, individuals and corporations in Alberta. Maidstone is one of six Saskatchewan schools to be booked this year.
The program has had a positive statistical effect on the safety of children in Alberta. Angevine explained that in the program's 14 year history they have seen a decrease of 54 per cent in the average number of children suffering farm related injuries. The average number of injuries per year was 255 in the first three years the program ran and has dropped to an average of 103 in the last three years.
He explained it has only moved north of Red Deer in the last four years and even though sales of recreational vehicles have increased in Alberta in recent years the number of injuries has decreased.
The School Smarts program includes age appropriate presentations to teach the children and have them use their own common sense to make safe choices while working on and enjoying the farm. Students receive stickers, handouts and bracelets to take home to remind them of what they have learned.
Angevine used toys as visual aids to explain the dangers involved in the use of farm equipment and recreational vehicles, showing how easy it was for a little figurine to fall off of a toy and land under a wheel or mower blade.
The group's main message is "One Seat - One Rider" and Angevine shared many true stories of children being hurt or killed because of a fall from a vehicle not designed to carry a passenger.
He explained the dangers of quads and how the rear seat is added as a selling feature not a safety feature.
The "One Seat - One" Rider rule applies to all vehicles including quads, dirt bikes, riding mowers, snowmobiles and tractors.
Some of the other teaching methods include the use of puppets and audience participation game shows. The presentations included safety rules to follow around livestock, wearing proper helmets and boots every time they ride horses and how to recognize and avoid hazards on the farm with tips about how to escape from serious situations.
The young people responded well using their own common sense to answer questions about life on the farm and visits to farms. The presentations were fun for the students, but also serious. The risks and responsibilities are serious and consequences can be very serious,but the Safety Smarts program has proven education is a powerful tool to protect the children.
