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

  • 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’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

  • Lucas Song

    Owner & CEO, Taiwan Discovery, Taipei, Taiwan

  • The textbook is very comprehensive, easy to read, and just right in terms of context and examples.

    Victor De Melo

    Teacher, Oberoi International School, Mumbai, India

  • [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

  • An excellent course. It combines theory with practical elements. Really made me think about how we assess and manage risk within our organisation.

    Sue Azam-Ali

    Group Scout Leader, 1st Kuala Lumpur, British Scouting Overseas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  • Excellent curriculum based on well researched, evidence based, current, up to date content.

    Lanny Donde

    Outdoor Education Teacher, Calgary Academy, Alberta, Canada

  • [Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs textbook is] amazingly helpful.

    Lesley Pfeiffer

    Program Supervisor, Sonoma County Regional Parks, California, USA

  • Shantanu Pandit

    Co-Founder, Maha Adventure Council, Mumbai, India

  • Viristar was awesome! The WFA class was engaging and fun and interesting, and I appreciate the relevant information and training.

    Carie Ward

    Lead Teacher, Charles Wright Academy, Washington state, USA

  • 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

  • Neil Haarhoff

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

  • 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

  • Mark A. Ritchie PhD

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

  • Brought the topic of risk management alive. My awareness and knowledge on the topic has expanded into new areas of safety.

    Rich Hunt

    Teacher, Health & Safety Coordinator, British School Manila, Manila, Philippines