A small figurine swallowed in a swirl of grain, an ultraviolet light showing the germs on your skin and a hands-on detection device used to find underground utility lines.
These were some of the tools and displays used to teach roughly 100 students in grades 5 and 6 from Ecole Deer Meadow School about agricultural safety as part of a Safety Day event at the Caluori Pavillion in Olds on March 11.
The event was part of Canadian Agricultural Safety Week in Alberta and was sponsored by Ag for Life, a not-for-profit organization that works to help teach people the importance of agriculture, along with a number of companies and organizations that set up safety displays and presentations at the Cow Palace.
Maisie, a Grade 6 student, said her favourite presentation was a demonstration about baler safety.
ìIt teaches you the parts that are most dangerous and if you were to step on it you have to wipe your boots off so you don't slip and fall,î she said, adding she also learned about electricity and fire safety and she took to heart some messages about being safe on the farm.
ìThat it's not very safe to play in grain and you have to be careful around farm equipment and animals.î
Because she spends a great deal of time in the rural area around Olds, Maisie said she can apply much of what she learned at the Safety Day event to her recreational activities.
ìI'm usually out on farms because a lot of my friends live on farms and we're usually out there every day,î she said, adding she often comes across farm equipment while riding dirt bikes with friends. ìNow we know what to play on and what not to play on.î
Bryon Schwartz, a customer service supervisor with ATCO Electric, spent the afternoon teaching the students about farm safety and what to do if they come in contact with a power line, how to stay away from power lines and how to get out of a vehicle if it comes in contact with a power line.
ìIf you do happen to hit a power line, it lands on your vehicle, the most important thing to do is stay in the vehicle,î he said. ìSomeone will probably eventually come. You can pick up your cellphone, dial 911. And then if, let's say the vehicle starts on fire, you have to get out of the vehicle, I'm showing them how to get out safely.î
Along with questions about how to stay safe around electricity infrastructure, Schwartz said he also fielded some inquiries based on sheer curiosity, including a question about why it's safe for a bird to land on a power line.
ìThe answer for that is, the bird isn't touching the ground. Our bodies are the best path for electricity to flow through. If we touch a power line and the ground at the same time, electricity instantly flows through us, our bodies get burned and possibly kills us.î
Other demonstrations focused on hearing safety and chemical safety and the Olds Fire Department was on hand to teach students about how to stay safe around fire.
The Olds Agricultural Society was also a partner in the event and student volunteers from Olds College were on hand to help organizers and students.
Luree Williamson, a spokeswoman for Ag for Life, said the organization also used the Safety Day event in Olds, along with events in Iron Springs and Grande Prairie, to encourage local businesses and community organizations to hold their own agricultural safety days throughout the year.
