Hawera High score hat trick for farm safety

The 2009 Secondary Schools Agricultural Safety Team Challenge provided another opportunity for Hawera High School to demonstrate that they have what it takes when it comes to farm safety.

This year’s competition, which is in its twelfth year, had the highest ever number of entries with 8 schools taking part. However, despite the additional competition, Hawera High took away the trophy for the third year running.

The Team Challenge, which was organised by Agriculture NZ and funded by NPiS, included a number of practical safety challenges including cattle handling, tractor driving, chemical handling, firearms, working at heights, ATV driving, first aid and fire safety. School teams were awarded points for their safety knowledge skills and practice. Judges were extremely impressed with the quality of this years’ competition teams, two of whom had never taken part in the challenge before (Sacred Heart and New Plymouth Girls High).

The student’s team work was matched by the great team effort of those partners who led the activities including Department of Labour, New Plymouth Police, NZ Fire Service, NZ Red Cross, Taratahi, Agriculture New Zealand and Francis Douglas Memorial College. In addition to the activities, guest speaker Kevin Richards spoke to students about the impact of a farm injury on his life, providing a sober reminder of what the annual safety challenge event is all about.