Heriot welcomed the Gurt & Pops Think Safe Brain Campaign to its domain yesterday, where more than 200 pupils from four local schools gathered to pick up some "practical, common sense" knowledge and skills about keeping safe in common rural scenarios.
Campaign founder Harriet Bremner-Pinckney, of Jericho Station in Western Southland, said the initiative had gradually evolved during the past five years to a stage where more than 20 events, reaching several thousand primary-age children, had taken place.
"It came about when I started to realise farmers were becoming disengaged with health and safety due to its growing emphasis on box-ticking and bureaucracy.
"That emphasis was actually having the opposite effect to the goals of health and safety in agriculture, which was to make sure your loved ones come home alive and well at the end of each day.
"By turning health and safety on its head with our Think Safe Brain farm safety days, we’re re-engaging rural kids with the practical, hands-on side of safety, and turning them into advocates for their families."
Mrs Bremner-Pinckney said children attending the events rotated around stations manned by volunteers from community organisations and businesses who could demonstrate practical safety in their field.
In Heriot yesterday, stations addressed trailer, boating, fire, farm machinery, firearm, trucking, power line, agrichemical, canine, medical emergency and mental health safety.
"At our agrichemical station, for example, the kids are shown that sheep drench looks almost exactly like strawberry milk, and coolant like Powerade. So our volunteers from Farmlands are showing what to do if you find an open container, or perhaps a younger brother or sister drinks some and gets poisoned."
She said growth of the campaign to date had been by word of mouth.
"We’d like it to become a nationwide initiative, and we’re looking for national sponsorship to help that happen at the moment. We’d like it to be part of a generational change like the seatbelt campaigns of the past, where children carry the message to their families, and practical health and safety just becomes a natural part of everyday life."
Heriot School principal Colin McHutchon said he had been impressed with the level of engagement.
"The kids have been fizzing for [the day]. Even if we can help spread the message to one or two families out there, it’s a domino effect for rural safety."
