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.

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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 70 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.

  • The textbook is an excellent resource.

    Matshediso Kgamane

    Owner, DrK Travel Clinic, Botswana

  • [Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs textbook is] so good and has all the information I need.

    Peter Osongti Ayompe

    Outdoor Education Specialist, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore

  • Dylan Harry

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

  • [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

  • Viristar’s textbook is truly a great addition to the outdoor industry!

    Boo Hui Wen

    Senior Instructor, Outward Bound Singapore, Singapore

  • The textbook was easy to read, logically set out, and well-illustrated with real-life examples.

    Fiona McDonald

    Chief Executive Officer, Education Outdoors New Zealand, Christchurch, New Zealand

  • The book is comprehensive and well organized, with visuals that capture the text perfectly!

    Monica Barrios

    Owner, Director, Inside Out, North Carolina, USA

  • The Risk Management textbook is comprehensive and well-organized. It is a great reference when creating and improving your company’s Risk Management Plan.

    Molly Alden-Rabenau

    Owner and Director of Operations, Costa Rica Explorations, Utah, USA

  • The textbook offered valuable insights, practical guidance, and thoughtful analysis that will undoubtedly benefit anyone involved in outdoor activities.

    Samson Lumbwe

    Swimming Coach, Lifeguard, Physical Education & Recreation Teacher, Trident Prep Kalumbila, Kalumbila, Zambia

  • [Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs textbook is] like a bible for those who conduct outdoor programs.

    Dr. Kishore Dogra

    Director, Adventure 1 Zone, Maharashtra, India

  • Fantastic practical examples!

    Tiffany Cavanagh

    Head of Girls Boarding, Martin House Trust School, United Kingdom

  • An extremely helpful reference tool that I am going to keep within reach….. full of useful resources and sample formats for documentation.

    Martin Foakes

    Head of Outdoor Education, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore

  • [Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs textbook is] quite thorough and presents knowledge in a well-organized and palatable manner.

    Lisette Gachanja

    Program Director, Urbanite Camps, Nairobi, Kenya

  • I will continue to use this as a resource and reference when reviewing and updating our risk management plans, materials, and trainings.

    Crystal Skahan

    Northeast Passage Education & Training Director, University of New Hampshire, New Hampshire, USA

  • An excellent textbook for learning, but also serves as a useful resource to have readily available for outdoor programs administrators to access.

    Jon Browher

    Outdoor Skills Program Coordinator, Brewster Academy, New Hampshire, USA