Prevent Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke

Besides dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are the two most alarming emergencies that we are preventing at our school garden. Dehydration can lead to heat exhaustion, and then heat stroke. Here are some more tips to follow so that your school garden volunteers, families, and students will be safe.

Safety Tips

• Wear wide brimmed hats.
• Wear light colored, loose fitting clothing.
• Rest regularly in shady areas.
• Avoid strenuous activities for long periods of time.
• Drink sufficient water and sports drinks.
• Don't wait to be thirsty to drink.
• Avoid caffeinated drinks, like coffee or soda.
• Avoid drinks that have high amounts of sugar.
• Avoid heavy meals.

Heat Exhaustion Can Lead to Heat Stroke

Since we live in the Mojave Desert, we are extremely careful when there are heat advisories for our valley.  Most of our summer days are over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  Throughout the summer,  we have adult and child volunteers working and visiting our school garden.  Keeping everyone hydrated is key to preventing heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Remember that when we work in the garden, our body temperature increases.  When this heat production exceeds heat loss, heat exhaustion occurs.  The body temperature will be over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  When the body temperature reaches 105 degrees Fahrenheit, heat exhaustion becomes heat stroke.

Signs of Heat Stroke

• very high body temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit
• fainting
• confusion
• excessive sweating or red, hot, dry skin
• seizures
• loss of consciousness

Treatment of Heat Stroke

• Call 911 immediately.
• Move person to a shady, cool area or an air-conditioned building.
• Remove any unnecessary clothing.
• Loosen clothing.
• Apply cold packs in arm pits.
• Stay with the person.
• Fan the person.
• Sponge the entire body surface with cool water, but don't let the person shiver.

Summer Heat is a a Hazard

When is it too hot to work in the garden? 

Answer: When temperatures rise over 105 degrees Fahrenheit, humidity increases, and there is no breeze of wind, it is too hot to work for prolonged periods of time.  If you are planning to do strenuous work or are in contact with machinery that radiates heat, be careful working in the garden.

A human body needs to maintain a stable, internal temperature.  Therefore, it needs to get rid of excess heat.  In order to get rid of excess heat, a body must sweat to cool off.  When the air temperature is close to or warmer than the normal body temperature, cooling the body becomes more difficult.  If the body cannot get rid of the excess heat, it will store it.  This is when the core body temperature increases and can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Signs of Heat Exhaustion

• body temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit to 102 degrees Fahrenheit
• heavy sweating
• dizziness
• extreme thirst
• dark colored urine
• headache
• pale skin
• rapid breathing
• rapid heartbeat
• fatigue or weakness
• muscle cramps

Treatment for Heat Exhaustion

• Move the person to a cool, shady area or move them inside to an air-conditioned area.
• Drink plenty of cool water or sports drinks.
• Apply cold compresses or ice packs to exposed skin.
• Fan the person to increase evaporation.
• Do not have the person return to work in the garden that day.
• Take the person to the emergency room if symptoms worsen within 30 minutes, because it can progress to heat stroke.

Prevent Dehydration

No matter what time of year it is, we are always concerned about dehydration when working in the garden.  Children and adults need to be aware of how much water is leaving and entering their bodies.

Tips to Prevent Dehydration

• Encourage adults and students to replace fluids at a rate that equals the loss of fluids.
• Avoid exposure during high heat index days.
• Work when temperatures are cooler in the day.
• Wear light colored and loose fitting clothing.
• Find shady areas to work in or rest in.
• Take a lunch or snack break in an air conditioned room, even if it is for half an hour.

Make sure to prepare 5 gallon jugs of water, lemonade, and/or Gatorade filled before students and volunteers arrive in your school garden.  Encourage everyone to bring their own refillable bottles so that waste is reduced. Be prepared for those that don't bring their own bottles and bring twice as much as cups as needed.  Otherwise, ask volunteers or students to bring cases of water and Gatorade to share.  In hot weather, buy bags of ice to keep the drinks cold.

Stay in the shade.

Rotate teams to rest and stay hydrated in the shade.

Keep drinks in a shaded, central location for volunteers.

Beware of Dehydration

Believe it or not, but 75% of our body's weight is water.  Most of the water is found within the cells of the body.  The rest is found in blood, other body fluids, and around the cells. It is very important to drink plenty of water or sports drinks when working in the garden. If not careful, dehydration can occur.

Causes of Dehydration

Dehydration occurs when the amount of water leaving the body is greater than the amount being taken in.  We lose water when we breathe, urinate, and sweat.  Depending upon weather conditions, working in the garden can generate 16 ounces of sweat or more.

Signs of Dehydration

• increased thirst 
• dry mouth
• muscle cramps
• lightheadedness
• decreased urine output
• fainting
• heart palpitations
• urine becomes more yellow in color
• nausea and vomiting
• no tears

Severe Dehydration Symptoms

• confusion and weakness
• coma
• organ failure

Treatment for Dehydration

• Drink drinks that have electrolytes such as Gatorade.
• Sip small amounts of fluid at a time.
• Do not drink large amounts of water at one time.
• Remove excess clothing.
• Take the person to a shaded area in the garden, an air conditioned room inside a building, or near a fan.
• Place wet towels around the person.
• Spray skin surfaces with a spray bottle or mister.
• Do not put ice packs or ice water on the person.  

Possible Complications

• seizure
• permanent brain damage
• death

Seek medical treatment if the person is confused, has low blood pressure, is vomiting, has nausea, or has a fever.  Call 911 or take the person to the emergency room if near by. 

Shovels: Class 3 Levers

Shovels: Class 3 Levers

A simple machine makes work easier.  It distributes the force needed to do work over a longer distance. The most widely used simple machine used at our garden is a shovel.  There are two parts to a shovel: the handle and the blade. We primarily use 3 different types of shovels.  
 

Digging shovel, Kids digging shovel, Drain spade, Square pointed shovel

Digging shovels have a curved scoop blade and are used for digging holes in soft soils and  transplanting trees and shrubs.

Square point shovels are used for scraping, digging hard packed soils, and trenching.

Drain spades are very narrow with slightly curved sides. They are used for clearing trenches, transplanting small shrubs, and adding flowers to an established bed.

Shovels are Class 3 levers because the fulcrum is at one end, and the effort is applied between the fulcrum and the load.  Other examples of class 3 levers are brooms, hoes, and baseball bats.

Class 2 levers have the fulcrum at one end of a lever arm and the load is between the fulcrum and the effort.  Examples of class 2 levers are wheelbarrows, bottle openers, and doors.  

Class 1 levers have the fulcrum located somewhere between the effort and the load.  Examples of class 1 levers are claw hammers, pliers, and scissors.

A great mnemonic device to remember levers is fre123:

• Fulcrum in in the middle for Class 1 levers
• Resistance is in the middle Class 2 levers
• Effort is in the middle for Class 3 levers

Safety is important in a school garden.  The safety rule that we use in our garden is that the blade should never be above the knee when carrying the shovel.  Head injuries can occur when students lift the blade over their shoulders. Children have difficulty balancing the shovel because it is heavy at one end. Another reason why we apply this rule is that students will use the shovel as a baseball bat and swing it or as a sword and tap other shovels in the air, which could lead to injuries.