In the beginning
August 2014 and I have just read of the tragic deaths of two children on Irish farms. With a lump in my throat I try (and fail) to contemplate what their parents are going through; their grief must be unfathomable. I am genuinely heartbroken for them.
I look at my own little fella – blue eyed, blondy with an insatiable appetite for tractors, horses, farms, ploughs and anything relating to Tractor Ted – he’s only two but already knows his charolais from his limousin and his pea harvester from grain.
The previous day we roared laughing as my mother, (who is only 45 years married to a tillage farmer btw) told us that he corrected her when she commented on the lovely ‘hay in the shed’, ‘that’s straw, granny’, came the reply!
Empowering our children to be farm safety ambassadors is a step to a better and safer future for Irish farms.
My heart breaks a little bit more as I listen to the news bulletins and their reports on the country’s most recent farm tragedies. In all 30 people were to lose their lives on Irish farms in 2014, 5 of them were children.
I watch as Eamon plays with his tractors and relays the scenes he has just watched from Tractor Ted and Tractor Tom, his ability to absorb and recount the information is impressive – surely he could do the same if the message was about farm safety! Surely all kids could! What if there was a series of children’s stories that would ignite their imagination as well as their understanding of farm safety. What if I could create that series!
On that August afternoon in 2014 the seed of an idea (or obsession might be more accurate) was planted that was to germinate and grow as the months wore on.
In January AgriKids was formed. It’s ethos, although still in development, is to encourage children and families to enjoy and explore all there is on the farm and in the country but also to educate them to the hazards that are prevalent and bring about a change in behaviour and culture that would last from this generation to the next. Be Farm Safe, Stay Farm Safe.
This June, what was a little idea some ten months prior will be realised as the first two in my ‘Tales from Riverside Farm’ stories are published, but only then does the journey begin!
We all have a role to play in better farm safety practices – my work with Repak and the Green Schools showed me how powerful children could be in encouraging better recycling habits in their homes – through AgriKids I believe empowering our children to be farm safety ambassadors is a step forward to a better and safer future for our farms.
Be Farm Safe Stay Farm Safe
