Happy Birthday AgriKids

This week AgriKids turns 1! As it coincided with my own (dare I reveal) 40th birthday it has been a time of reflection.

The AgriKids’ story goes back to August 2014. On hearing the deaths of two young children I clung extra tight to my young son and shed tears for the lives that had been lost and for the families left to cope. I didn’t know at that time but Ireland was on track to have its worst year ever for farm accidents and fatalities and as news of more tragedies came to light I struggled to comprehend what was going so terribly wrong on our farms. Farm safety awareness was at an all-time high, yet this awareness was failing to translate into actual safety practice. Farms account for just 6% of all workplaces in Ireland yet in 2014 it accounted for 55% of all workplace fatalities, a sobering statistic.

I went back to a time when I worked with Repak and our involvement with the Green Flag programme. I recalled the effectiveness of the programme in growing awareness of reducing, reusing and recycling and how children were motivated and passionately bringing the recycling message from the classroom into their homes. I wanted the same for farm safety. I wanted a concept that would positively engage, educate and empower children to essentially be our farm safety ambassadors.

I immediately reached out to the organisations working in farm safety and after meeting with the Health & Safety Authority realised that my approach of engaging with children was something that could easily find its place in farm safety education. As the main players focussed largely on educating the farmers I wanted to reach out to everyone else – farmer’s wives, families, communities and of course the children.

That January AgriKids was formed and the following June I officially launched the first two titles in the ‘Tales from Riverside Farm’ series of children’s books. Soon followed by some accessories and then in school events. What had started out as a book writing exercise was to find a life of its own in rural communities all across Ireland, north and south.

I have reflected on what I started just 12 months ago, why I started it and where it has taken me. I have found myself on the steps of the Seanad. I have carried out farm safety workshops for over 2000 children, written three books, developed a new website and participated in events all around the country. I have been a finalist and an award winner, I have been challenged and I have been commended. But throughout it all my message has remained the same – when it comes to farm safety we must start from the ground up - engage, educate and empower our children to be farm safety ambassadors.

I remember the children in Ardee who would only talk to me if I agreed CASE was a better tractor than a John Deere and the six year old in Ennis who with great passion and wisdom beyond his years spoke about the process of slurry agitation on his granny’s farm. There was also the child who informed his father to hang more safety signs on their farm and where. I know I have started to make something of a difference and I do take time to acknowledge the achievements of AgriKids, but not for too long, there is still too much to do.

I am not blind to the fact that accidents can and will happen on farms and I understand how a farm is not just a workplace but also a home. I live on one and I grew up on one. But I do think with AgriKids we can all start working to a point where the preventable is prevented, where safety on our farms is discussed at home and in classrooms so that the next generation will not just understand the need for farm safety but will practice it instinctively.

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