Waterloo Region 4-H is starting a new farm safety club, prompted by the death of 4-H member David Perrin in a silo gas accident last October.
“It was a wakeup call for us that we’ve always got to spread the farm safety awareness message,” said 4-H leader John Drummond.
The club will teach rural and urban youth aged 10-21 about the risks of farm life, covering safety with large animals, tractors and machinery, chemicals and gases and other topics. Drummond said they’ll also be consulting the kids about what they want to learn about.
Although it’s a serious and potentially dry subject, Drummond said he and leader Susan Martin will be doing their best to keep it fun through a range of activities. Martin has experience with farm safety, having helped organize the Children’s Farm Safety Day, put on by the Waterloo Rural Women.
The club will hold its first meeting on Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Floradale Feed Mill. Anyone interested in joining can contact John Drummond at 519-648-3453 or Susan Martin at 519-669-8066, or attend the first meeting.
Drummond said he’s already had a number of calls, and he’s anticipating a good-sized club.
“It just takes a second to do something and not think about it, and it’s too late to think about it afterwards. If it makes kids stop and think before they do something, then we’ll have accomplished what we want to accomplish.”
