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

  • Highly recommended course to anyone working in experiential learning of any kind.

    Tiffany Cavanagh

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

  • It provides a useful overview of risk management, accompanied by a relevant level of detail.

    Danyi Prieto

    Biologist, Sustainability Department, Colombia Inedita SAS, FULLSKY, Cundinamarca, Colombia

  • A unique experience – I loved it.

    Manthos Dellatolas

    Owner, Outdoor Explorers, Athens, Greece

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

    Sebastian Wong

    Campus Health & Safety Specialist, Singapore American 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 course provided a systematic approach to safety management.

    Rene Valner

    Coach, Sea Kayaking Estonia, Viljandi, Estonia

  • Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs course was a true game-changer for me.

    Thinuwan Gayantha Nanayakkara

    Freelance Outdoor Educator, Alpha Experiential, Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka

  • 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

  • Viristar does an excellent job guiding experienced outdoor program operators to see areas of improvement we otherwise wouldn’t see.

    Bill Feng

    Senior Manager of Operations, Keru Knowledge, Shanghai, China

  • This was an amazing course that I would highly recommend to anyone looking to deepen their understanding of risk management for outdoor programs.

    Matshediso Kgamane

    Owner, DrK Travel Clinic, Botswana

  • 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

  • Hjh Sofinaz Hj Abd Majid

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

  • Mark A. Ritchie PhD

    Executive Director, International Sustainable Development Studies Institute, Chiang Mai, Thailand

  • An invaluable tool when considering the risk management policies, procedures, and practices for my programming.

    John Lacroix

    Race Director, Human Potential LLC, Colorado, USA

  • Well written textbook–clearly laid out and to the point. A useful reference resource.

    Ben Rowe

    Head Rowing Coach, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Hong Kong