Agri Aware launches 2013 Farm and Countryside Safety Calendar

Safety starts with awareness and that’s never more important than when working or living on a farm.

That was the message from Agri Aware’s Chairman, Bernard Donohue, as Agri Aware launched its 2013Farm and Countryside Safety calendar, at Family Farm, developed by Agri Aware and Dublin Zoo.

The calendar features 12 pictures, drawn or painted by 12 winning students, to promote an awareness of the dangers on farms and in the countryside. The initiative was supported by FBD, the IFA and ESB Networks, and challenged pupils to draw or paint a picture to illustrate the dangers that they may encounter when on a farm or in the countryside.

Pictured at the launch of Agri Aware’s Farm and Countryside Safety calendar for 2013 are (L – R) Back row: ESB Networks Manager Infrastructure, Bart Moriarty; Agri Aware Chairman, Bernard Donohue; Minister of State for Food, Horticulture and Food Safety, Shane McEntee TD; Agri Aware Executive Director, Dr. Vanessa Woods; Chairperson of the IFA Farm Family Committee, Margaret Healy; IFA Farm Family Carlow Representative, Marian Dalton; FBD Sales Manager, Christy Doherty. Front Row - Sophie Guilfoyle, Louise Murray, Roisin Drummy, Sarah Hooney, James Martin, Katie Cashman, Louise Lynn, Sarah Mullaney, Grainne Reynolds.

Agri Aware received 2,500 entries from schools across Ireland and the 12 winning students’ entries will feature in Agri Aware’s Farm and Countryside Safety calendar for 2013, which willbe sent to every primary school in Ireland in time for the new year (3,300 schools in total).

The launch was attended by representatives from FBD, IFA and ESB Networks, in addition to Minister of State for Food, Horticulture and Food Safety, Shane McEntee TD, who launched the event.

Speaking to students, teachers and parents, Minister McEntee said the calendar would be crucial in raising awareness about the potential dangers on farms and in the countryside.

“It will push the message of farm safety into the hearts and minds of children up and down the length and breadth of the country,” he said, “It must become second nature to them, it is like staying safe while crossing the road – we need to make sure children remember the importance of farm safety and that it is put into their minds and thoughts, time and time again.”

That sentiment was echoed by Agri Aware’s Chairman, Bernard Donohue, who said farm safety was a lesson that needed to be learned from an early age.

“If we can instil in student’s minds, from an early age, an awareness of the risks associated with farmyards and the countryside, and help them to form good farm safety habits, that lesson will be with them for a lifetime,” he said.

“And that’s why this calendar, with its farm safety pictures, created by the students themselves, is so important. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a thousand words of farm safety is what we want.”

Agri Aware has urged teachers across Ireland to discuss each new picture in the calendar with students in 2013, as each month changes, to have a continuous safety message instilled in their minds.

List of winning students and schools:

Sarah Hooney, Ballyadams, Co. Laois

Grainne Reynolds, Fatima National School, Co. Leitrim

Roisin Drummy, Garranbane National School, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford

Owen Bantry, Lisavaird National School, Clonakilty, Co. Cork

Caoimhe Flanagan, Marymount National School, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny

Sarah Mullaney, Midfield National School, Swinford, Co. Mayo

Kate Cashman, Mullinahone National School, Co Tipperary

Louise Lynn, Scoil Naomh Bhride, Ballynacargy, Co. Westmeath

Sophie Guilfoyle, Scoil Shinchill, Killeigh, Co. Offaly

Cormac Cassidy, St. Aidan’s National School, Bawnboy, Co. Cavan

James Martin, St. Michael’s National School, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan

Louise Murray, Tulsk National School, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon

Agri Aware, the farming and agri-food educational body, is a charitable trust whose image is to improve the image and understanding of agriculture, farming and the food industry in Ireland. It delivers educational and consumer awareness initiatives in primary and secondary schools and among the general public.

For media queries or interviews, contact Agri Aware on 01 460 1103, or Chairman, Bernard Donohue on 086 2371733, or Executive Director, Dr. Vanessa Woods on 087 6845337.