THE GOOD PLACE
Road Rules
This Niagara non-profit is making safety fun for kids.
By Sarah Laing
(From top) Niagara Safety Village provides safety education programs to more than 6,500 students every year; Shirley Cordiner. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF NIAGARA SAFETY VILLAGE
THERE ARE SOME FIELD TRIPS that you never forget, and if you’re a kid growing up in the Niagara region, there’s a good chance your trip to the Niagara Safety Village will stick with you. Driving a pedal car around the streets of a miniature village, practicing the rules of the road you just learned from a real-life police officer? Practicing your “stop, drop and roll” in a mock evacuation from a smoke-filled bedroom? Dressing up like a paramedic and using a stethoscope to listen to your “patient’s” heartbeat? It’s the stuff of an elementary student’s dreams — but might also help those kids save a life one day.
“We want to prepare children for emergencies that may arise,” says Shirley Cordiner, executive director of the Niagara Safety Village.
This non-profit, located in Welland on the Niagara College Campus, is notable in that all three emergency services are represented under one roof. “In one visit, students are taught by a police officer, a firefighter and a paramedic, with hands-on curriculum that is based on Ministry of Education guidelines,” says Cordiner. “[And] in all of our classrooms, they talk about when and why to dial 911.”
“We want to prepare children for emergencies that may arise.”
On a typical Grade 2 field trip, kids spend time in a police classroom learning how to safely cross a road and escape a school bus. Then they get to put it all into practice in the miniature village that simulates real-life road scenarios on a kid-friendly scale. In the fire classroom, kids get to watch a firefighter put on all their gear, learn the importance of a fire safety plan at home and spend time in a kitchen, spotting potential fire hazards. (Empty pizza box in the oven? Not safe!) In the paramedic classroom, kids learn more about calling 911, staying safe on the playground or playing sports, and then explore the back of an ambulance.
It’s not only children who benefit from the Village’s safety education. Demand has never been higher for programs geared to seniors and community groups; currently, the org is booking groups into 2026. But perhaps most importantly, this fun and educational experience is having a major positive impact.
“We have calls from teachers and parents after an accident has happened, explaining how their child, after coming to the Safety Village, helped to save a life,” says Cordiner. “We know we are making a difference.” CAA
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(From left) Niagara Safety Village provides safety education programs to more than 6,500 students every year; Shirley Cordiner. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF NIAGARA SAFETY VILLAGE
(From top) Niagara Safety Village provides safety education programs to more than 6,500 students every year; Shirley Cordiner. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF NIAGARA SAFETY VILLAGE
THERE ARE SOME FIELD TRIPS that you never forget, and if you’re a kid growing up in the Niagara region, there’s a good chance your trip to the Niagara Safety Village will stick with you. Driving a pedal car around the streets of a miniature village, practicing the rules of the road you just learned from a real-life police officer? Practicing your “stop, drop and roll” in a mock evacuation from a smoke-filled bedroom? Dressing up like a paramedic and using a stethoscope to listen to your “patient’s” heartbeat? It’s the stuff of an elementary student’s dreams — but might also help those kids save a life one day.
“We want to prepare children for emergencies that may arise,” says Shirley Cordiner, executive director of the Niagara Safety Village.
This non-profit, located in Welland on the Niagara College Campus, is notable in that all three emergency services are represented under one roof. “In one visit, students are taught by a police officer, a firefighter and a paramedic, with hands-on curriculum that is based on Ministry of Education guidelines,” says Cordiner. “[And] in all of our classrooms, they talk about when and why to dial 911.”
“We want to prepare children for emergencies that may arise.”
On a typical Grade 2 field trip, kids spend time in a police classroom learning how to safely cross a road and escape a school bus. Then they get to put it all into practice in the miniature village that simulates real-life road scenarios on a kid-friendly scale. In the fire classroom, kids get to watch a firefighter put on all their gear, learn the importance of a fire safety plan at home and spend time in a kitchen, spotting potential fire hazards. (Empty pizza box in the oven? Not safe!) In the paramedic classroom, kids learn more about calling 911, staying safe on the playground or playing sports, and then explore the back of an ambulance.
It’s not only children who benefit from the Village’s safety education. Demand has never been higher for programs geared to seniors and community groups; currently, the org is booking groups into 2026. But perhaps most importantly, this fun and educational experience is having a major positive impact.
“We have calls from teachers and parents after an accident has happened, explaining how their child, after coming to the Safety Village, helped to save a life,” says Cordiner. “We know we are making a difference.” CAA