Victorian students have drawn on their creativity to send a message about the importance of farm safety, contributing to a new safety campaign to be rolled out State-wide next year.
Minister for Agriculture, Jaclyn Symes announced the winners of KidSafe Victoria’s Farm Safety Creative Competition which called on students to come up with their own farm safety designs based on the theme, ‘Reducing Harm on the Farm’.
Ms Symes said the winners included posters and videos made by students at Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School, Penshurst Primary School, Tarneit P-9 College, Willaura Primary School and Camelot Rise Primary School.
“These outstanding videos and posters remind us that we all have a role to play in farm safety,” Ms Symes said, “it’s never too early to teach children about farms as workplaces as well as homes.”
“With summer holidays about to begin, it’s important to remember that while farms can be wonderful places for children to visit and grow up, taking safety seriously saves lives and prevents serious injuries,” she said.
“KidSafe Victoria will use the winning entries in a social media campaign in 2021 to raise awareness of farm safety among parents and carers.”
Ms Symes said the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) found that children aged younger than 15 in Victoria’s outer regional areas were four times more likely to die due to injury than children in major cities.
“Data shows that the major causes of hospital presentations and admissions for this age group are associated with transport, such as motorbikes and horses, and falls for the very young,” the Minister said.
She said MUARC recommended addressing the problem through increased education and awareness of known injury hazards such as dams, farm equipment and off-road motorbike use.
