Textbook

Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: A Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure

The acclaimed textbook Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: A Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure is available for purchase in paperback and eBook format.

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Your outdoor, experiential or travel program provides fun, personal growth, adventure. It changes lives. But are your safety systems up to standards? If something happens, are you prepared to respond?


Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: A Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure provides essential knowledge for any adventure or outdoor professional. Program managers, executives, volunteers and group leaders will learn critical approaches and strategies for successfully anticipating and addressing risks.

Packed with real-life stories, current research findings, and good practice guidance, Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: a Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure gives expert advice on:

  • Approaches to Risk Management
  • Standards
  • Legal Considerations
  • Safety Culture
  • Activities and Program Areas
  • Staff
  • Equipment
  • Participants
  • Subcontractors
  • Transportation
  • Business Administration
  • Risk Transfer
  • Incident Management
  • Incident Reporting
  • Incident Reviews
  • Risk Management Committee
  • Medical Screening
  • Risk Management Reviews
  • Media Relations
  • Documentation
  • Accreditation
  • Seeing Systems

Use the button below to download a 15-page sample of the book, including Contents, Preface, and Introduction.

Download sample

Price: ‎USD 59

Author: Jeff A. Baierlein
Publisher: ‎Viristar (March 21, 2019)
Sold by: Amazon

Language: English

Paperback
Length: 218 pages
Item Weight: ‎ .75 kg | 1.65 pounds
Dimensions: ‎ 21.6 x 1.4 x 28 cm | 8.5 x 0.54 x 11 inches
ISBN-10: 1733349111
ISBN-13: 978-1733349116
OCLC Number: 1273556703

eBook

The e-book edition, a Kindle e-book download, is available for virtually all devices, including

Android, iPhone, tablets, Mac and PC, with the free Kindle app.

Features of this print replica edition include:

  • Notes and highlights
  • Search, copy and paste
  • Zoom and pan
  • Pop-out linked table-of-contents
  • Page numbers matching print edition

Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: A Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure is used in university classrooms, educational travel programs, adventure tourism operations, search and rescue, adventure centers, outdoor education and forest schools, camps, wilderness therapy programs, park and recreation settings, and more.

About the Author

Jeff Baierlein (he/him) is the director of the consultancy Viristar, providing safety, curriculum, and strategy services to outdoor, adventure, travel, and experiential programs worldwide.

Jeff began working as an outdoor and adventure professional in 1987.  He has over 1000 field days leading mountaineering, sailing, whitewater and flatwater canoeing, backpacking, whitewater and sea kayaking, rock climbing, canyoning and caving expeditions up to three months in length. 

Jeff is the former Executive Director of Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School and of the Boojum Institute for Experiential Education. He has worked as an EMT and on Search and Rescue teams, leading rescues in North America and Asia.

Jeff has provided risk management reviews, expert witness services, incident reviews, and safety trainings for organizations in over 60 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Africa.

Jeff lives on the traditional lands of the Coast Salish people in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Testimonials

  • This training is life changing.

    Erin Pauls

    Executive Director, First Nation School Board, Yukon Territory, Canada

  • Viristar’s Risk Management Review of our program was very comprehensive and will allow us to improve health and safety…very professional and helpful.

    Natalie DiNenno

    Executive Director, Klamath Outdoor Science School, Oregon, USA

  • Excellent…extremely helpful.

    Charlotte Hyde

    Education and Outreach Program Director, Applegate Partnership & Watershed Council, Oregon, USA

  • A must-do course for all outdoor risk managers.

    Sebastian Wong

    Campus Health & Safety Specialist, Singapore American School, Singapore

  • Very thought provoking…you come away with a concrete, actionable plan that will help you develop risk management further within your organization.

    Roisin Pearson

    Deputy Head, Safeguarding & Well-being Education Specialist, British School Manila, Manila, Philippines

  • The textbook is a great resource for creating or revising your Risk Management Plan! I reference it all the time.

    Christina Shores

    Adventure Program Coordinator, Renaissance Secondary School, Castle Rock, Colorado, USA

  • The Viristar textbook is easy to understand…the summary in each chapter helped me to understand the key points.

    Hjh Sofinaz Hj Abd Majid

    Training Officer, Outward Bound Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

  • Billy Teeton

    Director of Outdoor Education, Woodridge College and Preparatory, South Africa

  • Viristar’s risk management course is recommended to anyone working or volunteering in outdoor education or outdoor activities. Highly effective and an excellent opportunity to upskill!

    David Powell

    Managing Director, Ability Expeditions, Malaysian Borneo

  • This course helped me see different perspectives of the industry that will help me become better at evaluating risks.

    Victor Simone

    Adventure Program Coordinator, Tashkent International School, Tashkent, Úsbekistan

  • Jessi Sunkel

    Executive Director, South African Adventure Industry Association, Pretoria, South Africa

  • This is the most immersive and rewarding risk management course I’ve ever taken.

    Wenqi Xu

    Associate Professor, Wuhan Sports University, Georgia, USA

  • It was clear, practical, and very relevant to our work. We’ve already started applying what we learned, and it’s making a real difference.

    Miriam van de Plassche

    De Palm Island General Manager & Director of Sustainability, De Palm Tours, Oranjestad, Aruba

  • Ashwin Thomas

    Founder, Coho Earth Adventures, India

  • This course covers everything you need to know.

    Nick Chaddock

    Outdoor Education Coordinator, North London Collegiate School Jeju, Jeju-Do, South Korea