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

  • Scott Bohachyk

    Director of Ocean And Climate Literacy, Ocean Wise Conservation Association, British Columbia, Canada

  • Monica Barrios

    Owner, Director, Inside Out, North Carolina, USA

  • Comprehensive in value-adding to my risk management knowledge.

    Boo Hui Wen

    Senior Instructor, Outward Bound Singapore, Singapore

  • Huang Yahan

    Executive Director, Overseas & Experiential Education Curriculum Planning, Youth Dreams Association, Macau

  • An extremely useful, important and informative course…gave me the confidence to manage recent overseas trips. Very enjoyable and worthwhile.

    Kelvin Fawcett

    EAL Teacher, Windsor House Tutor, Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong, Hong Kong

  • Martin Foakes

    Head of Outdoor Education, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore

  • It’s well thought out and thought-provoking. Thanks to this course we are able to make valuable strides toward mitigating risks more effectively.

    Mike Lewis

    Founder, General Director, YMCE Group, Beijing, China

  • Wildly beneficial.

    Rachel Garrett

    Experiential Education Coordinator, Jackson Hole Community School, Jackson, Wyoming USA

  • 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

  • It’s stimulating, useful and practical. I highly recommend it to field instructors and program managers.

    Dr. Guan-Jang Wu

    Department Chair, Department of Recreation and Leisure Industry Management, National Taiwan Sport University, Taiwan

  • The Viristar team is really passionate about safety in the outdoors–it manifests vividly in their training!

    Shamsiah Ismail

    Director, Bila Bila Odyssey, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  • This is one of the most comprehensive risk management courses for Outdoor Education that I’ve ever done!

    Gijs deJong

    Head of Outdoor Education & Sports, The Global College, Madrid, Spain

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

    Dylan Harry

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

  • 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

  • Well written textbook, with vocabulary suited for the masses, even English Second Language students, with focused understandable content

    Lanny Donde

    Outdoor Education Teacher, Calgary Academy, Alberta, Canada