HUMBOLDT 鈥� An effort to teach school children about the risks that come with being on a farm and other places is making changes to deal with current health restrictions.
This year, Progressive Agriculture Safety Day, organized by Safe Communities Humboldt and Area, will take place over a week and at a distance.
Around 200 students in Grades 1 through 7 will take part in the 12th annual Progressive Agriculture Safety Day in the community.
鈥淲ith respect to the pandemic restrictions, we鈥檙e unable to host the event in person,鈥� said Shari Hinz, executive director and program co-ordinator with Safe Communities Humboldt & Area.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still going to cover the same safety topics that we typically do during the course of our program day but we鈥檒l be delivering them over the course of the week rather than a one-day event.鈥�
From Oct. 5 to 9 students from Muenster, Lake Lenore, Three Lakes and Annaheim schools will be receiving video segments, live question and answer sessions as well as interactive in-class activities to provide the students with as close to a hands-on experience as possible.
The topics that will be discussed over the week include rail safety, fire safety, chemical and poison safety, water safety, ice safety, animal safety, 911 home safety, agriculture equipment and grain safety, then bicycle and pedestrian safety.
鈥淲e are a rural community. Farm activity is prevalent within our region. It鈥檚 important for students whether they live on a farm, help out on a farm, or visit a farm they need to know there are inherent dangers,鈥� Hinz said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really important to not just provide farm safety messaging, but also home safety messaging as well.鈥�
Hinz said that while this is very similar to the in-person events they鈥檝e done in the last, when it is safe to do so they would like to return to an in-person format.
鈥淭he biggest thing with respect to the program is the hands-on component and the different aspect of learning for the students outside of the classroom,鈥� she said.
鈥淯sually when we offer this program the focus is have it be interactive and hands-on and provide the students an alternate method or way of learning information outside of the classroom.鈥�
Until it鈥檚 safe to do in-person Safety Days again, Hinz said the virtual format with supplementation of in-class activities can be carried forward as needed.
Partners involved in delivering the educational material this year include the Humboldt & District Ambulance Service, the Life Saving Society of Saskatchewan, Humboldt Fire Department, Hergott Farm Equipment, Paetsch Veterinary Services P.C. Ltd., Pharmasave Humboldt, CN Police Service and the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute.
