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 was great to share best practices and discuss varied points of view for a range of topics and domains.

    Jake Hammond

    Head of Outdoor Education, Australian International School, Singapore

  • [Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs textbook] covered, in much detail, all the conceivable aspects of risk management in outdoor programs.

    Ali Lott

    Assistant Head of Science Faculty, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore

  • [Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs textbook is] very comprehensive, well laid out, easy to follow, and has excellent content and useful examples.

    Paul Delane

    Head of Outdoor Education, Sacred Heart College, Sorrento, Western Australia

  • It was very helpful, and I was able to get a wider perspective on risk management.

    Shi Jinhui

    Founder, Fun & Learn , Chiang Mai, Thailand

  • An in-depth resource which can support risk management.

    Jake Hammond

    Head of Outdoor Education, Australian International School, Singapore

  • An in depth scientific approach to safety management in outdoor programmes.

    Paul-John D’Rozario

    Head of Outdoor Education, Bangkok Patana School, Bangkok, Thailand

  • The instructors were amazing.

    Guadalupe Navarro

    Community Engagement Manager, Sonoma County Regional Parks, California, USA

  • A well developed and comprehensive approach to risk management…engaging and effective.

    Dylan Harry

    Science Teacher, Outdoor Program Director, Fryeburg Academy, Maine, USA

  • 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

  • The content of the course is cutting-edge and has been very well thought-out.

    Victor De Melo

    Teacher, Oberoi International School, Mumbai, India

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

    Sebastian Wong

    Campus Health & Safety Specialist, Singapore American School, Singapore

  • Neil Haarhoff

    Director of Outdoor Education, Stanford Lake College, Limpopo, South Africa

  • 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

  • The course helped me understand what we need to have in place to implement a safe outdoor education program for our students.

    Bill Kralovec

    Director, Tashkent International School, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

  • Neil Haarhoff

    Director of Outdoor Education, Stanford Lake College, Limpopo, South Africa