Health and Safely Guidelines Part 2

Weather condition
In sunny or hot weather make sure that people wear hats and sunscreen to avoid sunstroke and burning. It is also important to have an adequate supply of fresh drinking water to avoid dehydration. If possible work in a more shady area of the garden. It is still possible to garden in cold, wet weather when wearing appropriate warm, waterproof clothes, with possibly an extra pair of socks and Wellington boots. If the weather is too rough, there are indoor activities that can be done instead, eg cleaning pots or making labels.

Land contamination
There are very few areas in the UK where this is a concern. If you suspect a problem, contact your Local Authority who are responsible for this. If land is contaminated, this does not prevent a school from having a garden as Garden Organic support schools to grow using containers as an alternative.

Using food grown in the school garden for school dinners
We recommend hand washing facilities are available. Separate facilities with running water are required for cleaning produce. There is no need to wash garden produce in any type of sterilisation fluid.

Composting food waste
Do not compost meat, dairy or cooked food as this can attract vermin. There is little evidence of risk to human health by exposure to bioaerosols (see B7.2 for definition) from domestic composting. However, if someone is susceptible (eg suffers from asthma), make sure they are not close by when turning or disturbing a compost heap.

Vermin
Good housekeeping should help to prevent this problem. Keep growing and composting areas tidy
and don’t leave rubbish lying about. If you suspect that rats are present contact your Local Authority Environment office. Ensure that compost bins are maintained correctly. Rats, dogs and foxes may visit a compost heap if they are already in the area but composting does not generally attract vermin in the first place. If rats or mice are nesting in your compost heap, this may be a sign that the heap is too dry. Add water until it has the consistency of a wrung-out sponge. You may still find instances where they nest and rummage in wet heaps but this is not common.

Weil’s Disease, also known as Leptospirosis, is a rare, but serious, disease carried by rats. It can be contracted by exposure to water or wet surfaces that are contaminated by rats’ urine. It is highly unlikely that pupils would come into contact with such contaminated environments whilst going about their normal gardening activities. Young people should be reminded regularly to wash their hands thoroughly and not to put their fingers in or near their mouth. The incubation period is usually 7-12 days. Symptoms include fever, chills, muscular aches and pains, loss of appetite and nausea. In the later stages there may be bruising of the skin, sore eyes, anaemia, nose bleeds and jaundice. If symptoms appear, contact a doctor.