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

  • Great training that gave me the opportunity to look at risk assessment with a common sense lens.

    Jeff Koops

    Athletic Director, British International School of Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaysia

  • 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

  • The material was very thought provoking, giving insights into the short falls of our own organization.

    Wayne King

    Experiential & Service Learning Coordinator, International School of Beijing, Beijing, China

  • Our instructor was fantastic and extremely knowledgeable. This course was a great start for me to build the risk management approach for my organization.

    Noam Pratzer

    Founder, Get Out Adventures, Toronto, Canada

  • [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

  • Invaluable.

    Christina Shores

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

  • This course fundamentally changed how I think about risk management…highly recommended for anyone responsible for safety in experiential programming.

    Shayne Fitz-Coy

    CEO, Rustic Pathways, California, USA

  • This course has given me a much more comprehensive view of risk management.

    Alan Champkins

    Head of Centre, Ndubaluba Outdoor Centre, Mkushi, Zambia

  • This course has changed how l view things.

    Priscah Nyagumbo

    Board of Directors, Lawrencedale Outdoors, Zimbabwe

  • Paul Yuen

    Programme Manager, Camp Beaumont Hong Kong, Hong Kong

  • The textbook is one of the best manuals I have read about risk management.

    Daniela Borontiș

    Educational Programs Coordinator, Scout Leader, Romanian Scouts, Mehedinți, Romania

  • I highly recommend this program to anyone looking for an unforgettable outdoor risk management course.

    Samson Lumbwe

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

  • Kenny Peavy

    Head of Risk & Safety, Green School Bali & Green Camp Bali, Bali, Indonesia

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

    Tiffany Cavanagh

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

  • 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