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

  • The textbook was concise and written in a manner that is easy to read and understand.

    Jake Taylor

    Safety Manager, Camp Beaumont, Hong Kong

  • Awesome textbook by Viristar–clear and detailed.

    Ira Christian

    Director of Outdoor Studies, Manzanita School and Institute, California, USA

  • Anindita Chatterjee

    Field Leader, iEXP 360, Maharashtra, India

  • Viristar provided an excellent instructor, along with a thorough and well-structured course and materials.

    Sandi Taruni

    Founder & CEO, Jelajah Outdoor, Bogor, Indonesia

  • [Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs textbook is] a useful, systematic, comprehensive and practical reference.

    Wenqi Xu

    Associate Professor, Wuhan Sports University, Georgia, 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

  • Ryan Moss

    Live Adventure Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

  • Serae Neidigh

    Camp Manager, Happy Hollow Children’s Camp, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

  • Ross McHenry

    Program Coordinator, The Hutong, Beijing, China

  • This course helped me see different perspectives of the industry that will help me become better at evaluating risks.

    Victor Simone

    Adventure Program Coordinator, Tashkent International School, Tashkent, Úsbekistan

  • Samantha Wilde

    Program Specialist, Ocean Wise Conservation Association, British Columbia, Canada

  • This course was comprehensive, and the most informative part were the weekly self-assessments to reflect on where our organization was in terms of risk management.

    Beta Eaton

    Director of Global & Experiential Learning, Kents Hill School, Maine, USA

  • [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

  • [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

  • Amanda Preperato

    Grinnell Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) Director, Grinnell College, Iowa, USA