First Aid, Health and Safety and Herbicide training

First Aid level 1

The first aid training was conducted by Verity Arendse from Coalition Training and Skills Development. The training took place in late October 2021 and was funded by the the Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment.
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What is First Aid?
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First aid is the provision of immediate assistance or care to a person who has become suddenly ill or injured. It is the care given by a person as soon as possible after an accident or illness, and a first aider is someone who has completed a training course in administering first aid at work and has a first aid certificate.

Some content of the training

The first aid training included theory as well as practical. The participants were made aware of the functions of the body for them to comprehend the body and how it functions. The instructor went into detail about the brain and heart (blood and circulation). The participants were educated on the various types of injuries that can occur and how to treat these injuries safely.
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CPR was performed as part of the practical assessment, with participants performing CPR on a doll. They also practiced bandaging a fracture or an injury. These drills also prepared them to remain calm if a colleague is injured or in trouble, to calm them down, and to communicate calmly to the injured as well as the rest of the team that may be stressed after an injury.

Teams practicing CPR on dolls.

Myths
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During the training, they also addressed some myths that are prevalent and should be avoided when treating an injury. For example, applying butter to a burn can make it difficult for the doctor to treat the burn and increase the risk of infection. It’s better to not apply butter at all. Cold water or ice is always preferable for a burn injury. When we believe these myths, we can exacerbate the situation. The participants worked through these myths throughout the training to understand what needs to be done and what one should not do during an injury. 

Food

Yolanda Cupido and Adriana Miggels (contractors) made delicious food for the participants. The participants enjoyed the delicious food and looked forward to it as they attended the training each day.

The First Aid training went very well, and you could see from afar that the participants enjoyed it. We were happy as we always are with the quality of training and the way our workers are being accommodated. Well done to all our participant that attended and did well in the training and are now trained first aiders!

Herbicide Applicator

Herbicide training was also conducted by Verity Arendse under Coalition Training and Skills development. The training took place in October 2021 and was funded by the the Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment.
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What is Herbicide?
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Herbicide is a mixture of a chemical designed to safely control unwanted weeds and invasive. The type of herbicide and the way that it is applied is crucial for the success of the product aswell as the health and safety of those using it.  

Content of the training?
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Care must be taken when using herbicide as desired plants could be harmed through negligent use of herbicide. And this was focused on as the participants were made aware of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and colorants. The participants worked through plants listed as alien invasive species and the categories that they fall under such as category 1, category 2 and category 3.
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The participants discussed the difference between selective herbicides and non-selective herbicide. A selective herbicide affects some plants and not others and non-selective herbicides are toxic to all plants, for example, glyphosate. The participants needed to be aware of the right equipment for the herbicide application. The participants were taught how to mix the herbicide and the safety measures for applying the herbicide. 

Storage of herbicide

During the practical, participants were shown the herbicide room at the conservancy office, where they could see the herbicide storage, read the stickers on the herbicide, and see the door with danger stickers on it. Aside from learning and discussing herbicide storage, the trainees were also made aware of herbicide transportation. The team discussed how the herbicide should be transported safely, as well as the extra-legal obligations associated with transporting the herbicide. The facilitator also went over some of the dangers of working with herbicides.

Outdoors
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Following some theoretical work, the team went outside to conduct their practical. They went over the theory that they had learned, such as the Personal Protectove Equipment (PPE) that is required. They mixed the herbicide, according to the proper measurement that they had learnt, and they had the proper spray bottles and/or Knapjack to do the job. They enjoyed the training as the facilitator made jokes and made them laugh.
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We are now overjoyed to have our trained herbicide applicators, and we are confident that they will do us proud and keep themselves and the environment safe. Congratulations to everyone who took part.

Health and safety in forestry

The instructor for health and safety was Lee-Roy Dirks, under Coalition Training and Skills Development. The health and safety training happened in December 2021 and was funded by the Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment.

Toolbox Talks

During health and safety training it was important to speak about the toolbox talks. These talks are health and safety briefs in the workplaces. The talks are used to address terrain, weather, or any other changing conditions in the veld. If there is an emergency, there is more clarity on what needs to be done and assurance that issues have been addressed to avoid accidents.

PPE

There are risks and hazards in forestry operations and some accidents can be fatal. Some accidents can be caused by machinery like chainsaws, others can be caused by adverse weather conditions. The health and safety representative is responsible for advising the team on how to be safe in dangerous situations. PPE (Personal protective equipment) is very important when working in forestry operations. The PPE is dependent on the kind of work a person does. For example, a chainsaw operator must wear gloves and an herbicide operator must wear a mask.
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Induction

The team discussed how important worker induction is in forestry operations, in terms of safe working procedures. Induction covers a variety of topics, including emergency procedures, forestry hazards, hazard reporting, issue resolution processes, and more. At a later stage, safe working practices and procedures were discussed. Another important topic that was discussed was machine safety.
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The training went well, and we were glad that we could train another team of health and safety representatives.
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The team finished with training