Farm Safety Day Sept. 15 at Career Center

An event slated for Sept. 15 aims to teach area children safety lessons in a fun, interactive way.

Farm Safety Day will be held at the new Pickens County Career and Technology Center on Saturday, Sept. 15.

“It consists of several mini-lessons about safety around farms and farmsteads,” said Steve McCannon, Agricultural Instructor at the Career Center.

The event is aimed at children age 4-14.

Registration begins at 8:30am and the event will run until about 2:30pm.

Though the event is called Farm Safety Day, the lessons will tackle a wide range of safety-related topics, including lawn mower safety, sun safety, animal safety, traffic safety and safety around chemicals, McCannon said.

“We're trying to build some caution to make sure children think and don't become a victim by accident,” he said.

Advance registration is available for $5 until Sept. 10. After Sept. 10, the registration fee rises to $10.

“If someone really wants their child to participate in this but doesn't have the money, we'll work with them,” McCannon said.

Register by visiting www.cedarridgefarm.com.

Participants will go home with some goodies, McCannon said.

“Every kid that participates in this will receive a T-shirt,” he said. “We'll also pay for their lunch and some snacks.”

The children will go home with a “goody bag,” McCannon said.

“It'll be a collection of safety-related items and things like that,” he said. “For example, one of the lessons is on sun safety, so we may send them home with a small thing of sunscreen.”

He said organizers try to make the Farm Safety Day lessons as interactive as possible.

“We may have them make a bracelet with UV-sensitive beads,” McCannon said. “We'll tell them, 'When the beads change from white to colors, you need to put on sunscreen.'”

The event, which began in 2003, is sponsored by area Farm Bureaus, the Cattlemen's Association, area Soil and Water Conservation Districts and others.

“Businesses that are supportive of agriculture,” McCannon said.

For more information about the upcoming Farm Safety Day, call McCannon at 864-505-4069.