Safety

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun can start to burn unprotected skin within minutes.

• During the warmer weater, garden in the early morning or late afternoon. Avoid the hottest part of the day, which is about 10am to 2pm (11am to 3pm during daylight savings time).
• Wear a long-sleeved shirt, long trousers and a broad-brimmed hat.
• Apply broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen to unprotected skin, and reapply regularly.
• Ultraviolet radiation may cause temporary blindness and an increased risk of cataracts later in life. Protect your eyes.

Hand safety

Many gardening injuries involve the hands and fingers.

• Always wear gardening gloves to protect your hands against cuts, soil, insect bites and skin irritants.
• Use appropriate tools (shovel or hand shovel) instead of your fingers. Buried objects such as tree roots, glass and tin can injure your hand, wrist or arm while digging.
• Make sure your tetanus vaccination up to date. Cuts and puncture injuries carry a risk of tetanus.
• Choose hand tools that are sized to the hands that use them.
• Keep your hand and wrist in a straight line when using hand tools. Bending the wrist weakens your grip on the tool, which causes you to exert hand and arm muscles with greater force. This can cause fatigue and soft tissue injury.

Keep children safe

Many gardening injuries involve children, particularly in the under-five age group.

• Keep children well clear while you are operating equipment such as lawn mowers or lawn trimmers. Burns account for 11 per cent of lawn mowing injuries. Most victims are curious ‘pre-schoolers’ who touch hot equipment parts.
• Store garden chemicals such as fungicides on high shelves behind locked doors.