Risk Management For Outdoor Programs

Your outdoor 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 outdoor professional. Program managers, executives, volunteers and group leaders will learn the critical approaches and strategies for successfully anticipating and addressing outdoor program risks. Packed with real-life stories, current research findings, and best practices, 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

Essential reading for students and practitioners involved in outdoor education, sport, recreation and tourism. Dickson, University of Canberra; Gray, University of Wollongong, Australia.

The wide range of knowledge about the outdoors among your participants, combined with the unpredictability of nature, can make outdoor and adventure leadership a complex, challenging and sometimes dangerous job. With this book, you can learn how to systematically examine a hazardous situation and implement appropriate risk management strategies to prevent or reduce potential for injury.

Here, outdoor leaders will discover an abundance of ideas that can make their jobs easier, enrich their teaching knowledge and broaden their current programmes. A CD-ROM also accompanies the book and allows users to search for and print only the lessons they plan to use.

Risk Management in the Outdoors is essential reading for students and practitioners involved in outdoor education, sport, recreation and tourism. Written by an expert author team, it explores the value of the outdoors in a society that is increasingly risk- adverse, but at the same time pushes the commodification of high risk and extreme activities. Drawing upon the risk management process from the International Standard on Risk Management, ISO 31000, this text adopts a whole-of-organisation approach to risk management. It covers: • organisational sustainability • legal issues • program design • activities • severe weather scenarios • incident analysis . Risk Management in the Outdoors provides direction on how best to manage the 'down-side' of risk taking while maximising the potential benefits. Each chapter contains focus questions, case studies, action points for practitioners, plus further questions and activities.

′"Bureaucracy is the reason for the decline in school trips". A statement often quoted. But it is a myth that there is a decline in school visits... It′s competent people, not paperwork, that make visits safer′ - Ian Park, ex-Chairman, Outdoor Education Advisers′ Panel ′Every man and woman who is involved in the development or education of young people - however slightly - should be chained to one of the Barns of Bynack and not released until they have read this book cover to cover′ - Alan Bantick, wildlife conservationist, lecturer, photographer and guide ′Bob Barton′s balanced and well thought out book will help anyone involved with the planning and management of outdoor activities for young people. Bob explores the issues that need to be considered when developing and implementing outdoor policies and procedures, in an interesting and thought provoking style, drawing on his wealth of outdoor experience′ - Peter Westgarth, Chief Executive, The Duke of Edinburgh′s Award ′This book fills a gap which sorely needed filling. The safety versus adventure debate is discussed in a thoroughly refreshing way and should inspire a new generation of teachers and youth workers to take their charges into the great outdoors. The book should be required reading for every Health and Safety Officer throughout the land to improve their understanding of what Adventure Educators are trying to achieve′ - Doug Jones, County Officer, Outdoor Education and Adventure Activities, Bedfordshire County Council ′A distillation of years of experience in adventure activities and an essential guide to getting the proper balance between adventure and safety′ - Nick Barrett, Chief Executive of the Outward Bound Trust Providers of outdoor education must strike the right balance between adventure and security. Effective risk management enables providers to deliver lasting educational value without breaching their moral and legal duties of care. This practical guide shows how genuinely adventurous outdoor activities can be provided to acceptable standards of safety. Drawing on the author′s own experience as an expert mountaineer, instructor and consultant, the systems and processes of successful outdoor adventure are clearly explained using real life examples and case studies. Bob Barton is Safety Adviser to the Outward Bound Trust and works as a consultant on the management of adventure activities.

The ability to manage risk continually challenges those who oversee, manage and instruct outdoor activities. This second edition incorporates many new developments from a variety of sources including current legislation, management tools, and experiences from teaching the subject to students. This manual is for leaders, including voluntary or commercial outdoor instructors, aspiring instructors, teachers, youth group leaders, club trip leaders and guides.