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

  • Invaluable.

    Christina Shores

    Adventure Education Director, Renaissance Secondary School, Sedalia, Colorado USA

  • Broke down the process of effective risk management into digestible and actionable pieces.

    Lara Ruegg

    Experiential Education Director, Seattle Waldorf School, Seattle, Washington USA

  • Dr. Todd Davis

    Assistant Professor & Outdoor Program Director, Delta State University, Cleveland Mississippi USA

  • Very thorough…we now have a framework of where to go from here to ensure safety across our organization.

    Jacob Wall

    Program Director, Society for Wilderness Stewardship, Montana, USA

  • It provides a useful overview of risk management, accompanied by a relevant level of detail when necessary.

    Danyi Prieto

    Biologist, Sustainability Department, Colombia Inedita SAS, FULLSKY, Cundinamarca, Colombia

  • Learning from case studies and classmates’ real-life experiences made for a rich learning experience!

    Tammy VuPham

    Programs Lead, Trainer, Outdoor Asian, Alpine Ascents International, Washington state, USA

  • An invaluable tool when considering the risk management policies, procedures, and practices for my programming.

    John Lacroix

    Race Director, Human Potential LLC, Colorado, USA

  • The risk management textbook from Viristar is a very useful resource.

    Jacob Wall

    Program Director, Society for Wilderness Stewardship, Grand Lake, Colorado USA

  • I feel confident that the knowledge and experience gained during this course will help me stay calm and help no matter how stressful the situation.

    Tjaša Metličar

    Keilir Academy Adventure Studies Program, Reykjanesbaer, Iceland

  • 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

  • Ross McHenry

    Program Coordinator, The Hutong, Beijing, China

  • The most comprehensive and up-to-date textbook on risk management in the outdoor and adventure fields!

    Gabriel Côté-Valiquette

    Auxiliary Faculty, Field Instructor, College of the Rockies, British Columbia, Canada

  • Inspiring…got a new paradigm of first aid knowledge.

    Participant, Wilderness First Aid course

    Odyssey Institute, West Java, Indonesia

  • Very engaging…sequenced incredibly well. Fantastic—can’t recommend Jeff enough.

    Participant

    Strategic Planning Training, Gap Year Association

  • The textbook is a great resource for concepts as well as practical examples you can use for training your staff.

    Mike Lewis

    Founder, General Director, YMCE Group, Beijing, China