Ansonia Rural Safety Education Initiative

Leticia Millikin and Hannah Hartzell giving a safety presentation to a 2nd grade class.

Rylie Marker and Kierra Reichert playing
a recycling game with a 3rd grade class.

Ansonia FFA - On May 17th the Ansonia FFA led an initiative to increase awareness of rural dangers and reduce farm-related accidents for our 2nd and 3rd grade elementary students. This is the 8th year that our students have brought safety resources to our area children.

Smart choices for Life is a 112 page handbook written for children who live and often work on or near a farm. Produced by Community Safety Net whose mission is “Protecting Kids for LIFE”, this family resource contains practical information on everything from electricity to safety around animals, and educates children on many aspects of farm safety. This resource is available through the generous support of our local businesses and organizations.

The National Committee for Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention estimates that more than 100 children die and another 100,000 are seriously injured annually in North American farm accidents. Of those injured, 50% do not actually live on a farm -- a statistic that underscores the need to provide rural safety education for all children living in rural areas.

In order to prepare for this day the agriculture education students prepared presentations on topics ranging from animal safety, safety signs, farm equipment safety, and others. At the end of each presentation the ag students interacted with the elementary students through questions and games and gave out goodie bags to accompany the Rural Safety books.

There is always a lot of positive feedback from the elementary teachers regarding this activity and it also teaches the high school students how to organize and execute an activity that involves others.

Ansonia 3rd grade class learning safety hand signals.