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

  • A well developed and comprehensive approach to risk management…engaging and effective.

    Dylan Harry

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

  • 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

  • It was great to have a variety of experience and perspectives that made for some great discussions.

    Jen Siliko

    Outdoor Pursuit Center Director, Miami University, Ohio, USA

  • Dr. Todd Davis

    Associate Professor of Health Physical Education & Recreation and Director of Outdoor Recreation, Delta State University, Cleveland Mississippi USA

  • An in-depth resource which can support risk management.

    Jake Hammond

    Head of Outdoor Education, Australian International School, Singapore

  • 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

  • This is one of the most useful courses I have done…gives a real insight to managing risk. Definitely recommend.

    Peter Osongti Ayompe

    Outdoor Education Specialist, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore

  • I feel more confident, motivated, and better prepared to make improvements in our risk management process.

    Daniela Borontiș

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

  • This course consists of great materials to improve your safety culture in the outdoor industry.

    Sulistyo Sapto Winarno (Soel)

    Program Development, Jelajah Outdoor, Jawa Barat, Indonesia

  • 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

  • Provided a good framework to improve our organization’s risk management.

    Sebastian Wong

    Campus Health & Safety Specialist, Singapore American School, Singapore

  • The most comprehensive risk management course I have completed. I highly recommend Viristar’s Risk Management for Outdoor Programs training.

    Phil Austen-Smith

    Expedition Director, Ability Expeditions, Malaysian Borneo

  • Mariya Georgieva

    Program Coordinator, Outward Bound Vietnam, Cát Hải, Bình Định Province, Vietnam

  • 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

  • A must for every outdoor program.

    Monica Barrios

    Owner, Director, Inside Out, North Carolina, USA