When three primary schools came together to learn about farm safety last term the students were all ears.

Several fatal accidents in the region – including one where the children killed were riding in the back of a ute – meant students knew the issue was literally a matter of life and death.

Gravesend Public School, east of Moree, hosted the Farm Safety Field Day for 82 students, some pictured right, from Gravesend, Pallamallawa and Croppa Creek public schools. The joint Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety (ACAHS) and Farmsafe North West event covered safety around tractors, motorbikes, horses, water, electricity, and first aid.

Pallamallawa Public School principal Julie Schwartz said the day was relevant for her 30 students, most of whom live on farms or visit farms. She said the vehicle safety talk was particularly pertinent.

“These kids then went home and said, ‘These children wouldn’t have been hurt if …’ so they’ve reflected back on that,” Mrs Schwartz said.

The school is now working through a Growing Kids on Farms resource kit that includes an activity on the dangers of submerged logs and tyres in dams.

ACAHS project officer Kate Boughton said separate farm safety days were held annually for the area’s primary and high school students. A 2005 study showed that, on average, 30 children aged under 15 die on Australian farms each year because of a farm injury.

A third of these fatalities involved children visiting farms. “We know the responsibility for safety sits primarily with adults but it’s good to have kids reinforce that,” Ms Boughton said.