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It may seem as if disability has nothing to do with farming, but disability and accessibility are actually part of every situation. That’s why I said “Yes!” so eagerly when I was invited to staff the Disability Awareness station at the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day delivered by AgSafe BC and the UFV Food and Agriculture Institute for kids on August 31st, 2022, in Agassiz. Children from the area were invited to this free event to learn about physical and mental health on the farm. The day was divided into workshops, wiggle breaks, games, and snacks, with children rotating through six stations that each provided a workshop on a different topic.
Safety Day was tons of fun, plus we all learned a lot—grownups too! Alongside my Disability Awareness station, there were a variety of stations for the children to circulate through, including tractor safety and hearing safety. I was happy to sit in on several workshops and witness the impact they had on the children who attended—especially the ones that went beyond simply focusing on physical safety on the farm. For example, Kylie Bartel, a registered clinical counsellor who uses animal therapy techniques, ran a station that allowed children to talk about mental health and its complexities while interacting with kittens and focusing on the animals’ physical and emotional needs. This innovative approach allowed many children to feel comfortable sharing different ways they cope with stress. They also asked Kylie plenty of questions about the topic and associated wellness techniques.
As well as her workshop, Kylie also led everyone through a fun—and very challenging!—game that let us burn off energy while subtly learning about boundaries and self-care. Pairing these heavy topics and lessons with hands-on physical activities assisted the children in grasping these concepts in an engaging manner, at a developmentally appropriate level.
At my station, my Disability Awareness workshop covered basic concepts such as preventing the dangers that can cause one to become disabled on a farm or a ranch. Each year in North America, hundreds of children die and thousands more are injured on farms where they live, work, and play. Prevention and awareness are important pieces of the safety puzzle.
But I had more to share. When I started researching and preparing for this workshop, I realized how important it is to make farming more accessible and inclusive to those with varying disabilities and all different types of bodies. That’s because people of all shapes, sizes, and abilities are involved in agriculture—not just those who are fully able-bodied. When farming comes to mind, most of us probably think of it as an arduous process that requires intense manual labour and physical commitment. Though this is true, that assumption can lead people to the false conclusion that farming and agriculture are only for those who are fully able-bodied. In reality this couldn’t be farther from the truth—especially because so many farmers incur injuries that cause disabilities!
That’s why my workshop provided children with the chance to learn about different kinds of disabilities, such as being non-verbal, hard of hearing, a wheelchair user, and of course my own—blindness. With this awareness fresh in their minds, the children brainstormed ways to adapt farms and agricultural equipment to be made more inclusive. For instance, one safety resource about accessibility mentioned that a smoother pathway leading into the farm would make it more accessible for those with movement and mobility challenges. But since the children were already thinking about various disabilities, they made connections and determined that this adaptation would also benefit people who are blind.
In an equally exciting leap, the children also connected their ideas about disabilities in agriculture to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. By recognizing their rights and the rights of disabled children, they became even more invested in the importance of adaptations that could be brought to the farm to make it safer and more accessible for people with disabilities.
Similarly, I also made sure to point out how even someone who is blind can be a farmer. I shared an article from Modern Farmer about Rebecca Blaevoet, a blind women who owns her very own farm in New Brunswick. She is involved in every aspect of running the farm, regardless of her blindness. Children listened to excerpts from this article, which described a real-life application of accessibility adaptations. For Rebecca, an adaptation as simple as putting bells on her livestock goes a long way towards ensuring she can safely manage her own farm.
At the end of the afternoon, Dr. Michelle Superle delivered a workshop that she’d developed as part of her Flood Stories project. Her station helped children appreciate farm safety and mental health in a way that was palpable to a young audience. Superle utilized diverse resources such as books, writing, and art to engage children and help facilitate their personal expression of thoughts and feelings.
Superle read aloud to the children from two pictures books that subtly emphasize the importance of physical and emotional safety. She chose them for the ways they connect with the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child concepts that I had highlighted at my station. For example, The New Baby Calf by Barbara Reid, tells a story about farm life through an anthropomorphic lens, vividly demonstrating a child’s right to be protected and kept safe.
Overall, Safety Day helped children learn about safety on the farm in relation to personal growth and self-care through interactive activities and group discussion. Throughout the span of one day, children learned about healthy relationships, their own healthy limitations, and empathizing with others around them who may have different needs and abilities than their own. Though in the most simplistic terms the day focused on farm safety, children departed with a wealth of knowledge and understanding that they can now apply not only on the farm but also in their local communities.
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