Teign Greens CIC Safe Volunteering Instructions
We want your visits to Teign Greens to be both rewarding and safe. To ensure personal safety we ask you to follow these instructions. They are designed to protect you from the risks arising from:
Uneven ground conditions
Moving machinery
Bacteria in the soil
Repetitive limb movements
Cross-contamination
Please adhere to the following instructions to help you keep safe on the farm:
When visiting the site to volunteer you must wear footwear to take account of ground conditions. After rain, work boots or wellington boots should be worn. Please wear covered shoes if doing heavy lifting or if in the kitchen.
On entering the site, you must contact one of the Teign Greens core team to report your arrival. You must also tell them when you are leaving.
As food producers, it’s important all staff and volunteers follow food hygiene procedures. You should wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, (or use hand sanitizer):
Before starting to volunteer
Before handling produce
After handling produce
After handling compost or any waste
After cleaning duties
After using the toilet
After blowing nose, sneezing, or coughing
Before and after eating, drinking, or smoking
Before leaving the site
If you have diarrhoea or vomiting you should stay at home and not come to the site. You should not return until you have had no symptoms for 48 hours. If you develop these symptoms while at the farm you must inform one of the team immediately and go home straight away.
You should cover any cuts, abrasions, or sores with a plaster dressing provided in the first aid box.
Where practicable, gloves must be worn if your hands touch soil, compost, weeds, or groundwater.
Before starting any physical task you must:
Select the correct tool for the job (if in doubt ask one of the team)
Adopt the correct posture to avoid unnecessary strain on your back or limbs
You should go at a comfortable pace which suits you and stop at regular intervals when repetitive actions are required. If you need to stop or change a task, talk to one of the team.
When lifting any heavy or awkward item you must assess whether you can do so safely. If not, seek assistance. Keep your back straight and bend knees when lifting.
When you have temporarily stopped or completed a task you must make sure any tools you have been using are stored safely and are not creating a trip hazard.
Machinery and equipment may be present at any time. The operator will tell you of any machinery and equipment movements or the area where it will be used. You must stop when mechanical equipment will pass within one meter of you. You must also stand clear of machinery being operated by hand. If you are accompanied by a child you must make sure they stay clear of machinery and equipment at all times.
If you are required to operate handheld equipment or machinery you must:
Receive instruction in its safe use from a grower
Know how to stop the equipment before using it
Where relevant, check all guards are fitted and working correctly
Wear appropriate personal protective equipment
Not exceed the manufacturer’s recommended continuous usage time
You must not use or get onto any machinery unless authorised by the Teign Greens staff member on site.
You should take care when walking in or around the polytunnels to avoid tripping over hoses laid on the ground.
Please take care around the sheep and any other animals on the farm. Always wash your hands after touching animals or any animal pens. Take particular care if you are pregnant or in contact with anyone who is pregnant and do not go anywhere near lambing ewes and lambs.
If there is an accident or emergency, you should contact the emergency services using the phone in the farmhouse, or on a mobile phone if you have signal (signal can be found up the hill). These are the location details:
Oxen Park Farm, Ashton, Exeter, Devon, EX6 7QW. There is a defibrillator available on the outside wall of the packing shed.
Teign Greens
May 2024