This app could save your life
5th April 2021
“What3words has become an absolutely essential part of the modern farmer’s toolkit,” says Rhonda Thompson, the NFU’s Lincolnshire county adviser.
”The NFU has worked in close collaboration with what3words,” says Rhonda, who also works closely with Lincolnshire Police and Lincolnshire Fire Services on rural crime matters, both services have adopted the use of what3words and are keen to use its capability when dealing with issues.
What3words has divided the world up into 57 trillion 3m squares, every square has been given a unique combination of three words: a what3words address. Now you can find, share and navigate to precise meeting points on the farm or landmarks anywhere in the world using three simple words. For example, one of the highest peaks in Snowdonia can be found at ///mixture.picturing.museum.
The app has been credited for its capability of saving lives, with emergency services urging the public to download the app in order to facilitate a more efficient response. It is used by over 80% of the UK’s emergency services.
What3words also works offline, making it ideal for use in rural areas of the UK that may have an unreliable data connection.
Rhonda is passionate about the countryside and rural matters and is also working with the newly formed Environmental Crime Partnership Working Group for Lincolnshire where rural crime will be a key focus. “Farming, unfortunately, is one of the most dangerous industries to work in and the most obvious benefit of the app is when there’s an emergency on-farm. So knowing you can pinpoint your location is very reassuring,” Rhonda commented.
