Farm safety: An important lesson for Alberta students

Farm worker safety workshops offered outside the classroom

By Kate Ayers

Staff Reporter

Students of Taber, Alta. can attend a Farm Worker Safety Workshop on Friday.

Agriculture for Life, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, and Lethbridge College have teamed up to offer the health and safety course to high school students in grades 10 to 12.

An average of eight deaths of individuals between the ages of 15 and 59 occur per year in the agricultural industry, with 94 per cent of deaths being work related, according to the Injury Prevention Centre. Workplace safety education may help to lower, or eliminate, these fatalities. 

“I think these workshops tackle both attitude and practical safety. We have practical safety aspects throughout the day but, overall, our goal is to create an attitude and culture of safety within students about workplaces where people know it’s OK to ask questions and be safe,” Sarah Linde, rural and farm safety coordinator with Agriculture for Life, said in a Lethbridge Herald article today.

Students will experience hands-on learning to better prepare them for careers in agriculture.

Local teachers and safety experts will cover hazard assessment and control, fire safety, electrical safety, personal protective equipment, emergency response planning and heavy machinery operation.

In addition to learning about safety, students will earn a 3000 credit by participating in the workshop, the article said. The credit contributes to the Green Certificate program, which provides in-the-barn training to help engage youth in the agricultural industry.

“Last year, we had a lot of feedback about how great the hands-on learning opportunities were and the ability of completing credits for the certificate is a good opportunity for students,” said Linde.