DURING an Outdoor Education Activity

Dangers cannot always be avoided, but teachers should plan for the greatest number of possible scenarios that may occur during an activity. Students and their parents/guardians must also be aware of the risks inherent in certain activities.

Here are some general questions that teachers can ask students before an activity, so they can better understand possible risks:

• What will we do before today’s activity to promote our safety?
• What safety-related aspects of today’s activity will each individual take responsibility for?
• What safety-related aspects of today’s activity will we look after as a group?
• What safety-related aspects of today’s activity will be the responsibility of the teacher in charge and/or monitors?

Here are a few scenarios that can be used to encourage discussions and reflection on various activities:

Backpacking/Hiking

Kiah and Elisapee worry about the next stage in their five-day hike in Killarney. Until now, they have successfully stayed with the group and feel stronger than they did at the beginning of the trip. The hiking shoes they bought last week before the trip are amazing! Tomorrow, they are climbing a high peak, which is a group goal and will be an amazing photo opportunity. They are starting to feel hot spots on their heels and blisters on their feet and their bags feel much heavier today. They set up their campsite for the day and unpack their bags. They discover that someone has put
a large rock in each of their bags without their knowledge. They are almost certain they know who did it, and they hope it was a joke.

Bee Stings

Frankie is on a canoe trip with their family. They are very allergic to bee stings. While they are exploring their campsite, they step on a beehive in a fallen tree stump. Frankie is stung twice, enough to cause a serious allergic reaction.

Their parents have no iridium or satellite telephone. They give them doses of Benadryl, and they make it through the night without a respiratory emergency, but their breathing is still very laboured and strained. The next day, everybody is tired and unable to leave the campsite. They are happy that they brought extra supplies, because it will probably take an extra day to get back to their starting point.

Cross Country Skiing

A group of outdoor education students are excited about cross country skiing on a local trail system for the day as a school outing. The teachers are out on the trails checking in with students, and the students have been permitted to explore the trail system without direct supervision, provided they ski in groups of three. Late in the afternoon, a group of five skiers have already skied most of the trails and decide to try one last trail to finish off the day. Once out, they realize that the section of trail they have chosen is very hilly, and they have only 45 minutes before the bus comes to pick them up. As they race back, 3 students from the group stay together and quickly make progress. Unfortunately, the 2 other students from the group find the freshly fallen snow sticking heavily to their skis and slowing them down. They reach a fork in the trail and realize they can’t figure out which direction the rest of their group took. The trail is not marked at this spot. They call out to their group and blow their whistles, but they get no answer. They take a guess at which path will take them back to the base and go as quickly as possible. Fortunately, they arrive a few minutes after the rest of their group, but their friends ahead of them had no idea that they were lost on the last part of the trail, which causes some tension at the end of an otherwise fun day.

Heat

Anjalou is participating in a canoe trip with his grade 12 class. It is an exceptionally hot day at the end of September, and the group has paddled in the sun all day. The teachers reminded students to drink water many times during the day and encouraged the students to go swimming to cool down when they reached the campsite. Anjalou, always the joker, has decided that instead of swimming he is going to make an elaborate costume with a cape. He and his friends make the whole group laugh with their joking around. Anjalou is sweating profusely, however, and even though he is carrying his water bottle, his team leader has noticed that he has not had anything to drink. She asks him if he has had some water recently. He answers that he is doing okay. A few minutes later, she reminds him again to take a drink, but he waves it off, saying he doesn’t feel like it. At supper, Anjalou is very quiet, does not want to eat anything, and says he isn’t hungry. After everyone finishes their supper, Anjalou heads towards the “thunder box” (the toilet) saying he doesn’t feel very well. Another teacher goes over to see how he is feeling and discovers that he’s had only half of his water bottle since breakfast, and he is no longer sweating. He feels dizzy and has a severe headache.

Paddle Sports

Your group arrives at the last portage of the day. After completing it you only have a short distance to paddle before reaching an isolated campsite big enough for the whole class. On other nights, your class was divided into two smaller groups. You’ve heard from past students that this site is the best part of the trip and marks the end-of-trip celebration before paddling out on the final day. The paddle for this final stretch starts in a narrow passage, but as your group approaches open water, it is obvious that the winds are picking up significantly. There are whitecaps on the water. In one canoe a girl is trembling with cold and is not communicating very clearly. Everybody is wet after a day in the rain and eager to set up camp for the night. There is a small outcropping nearby where the group can stop and make a decision, but it doesn’t look big enough to fit the whole group. Night will fall in three hours. Your group needs to quickly make several decisions.

Swimming

The class has been kayaking along the Georgian Bay shoreline all day. When they make camp, everyone is tired, hot, and keen to go swimming. The monitors who are designated as water safety supervisors are still setting up their tents when they hear splashing water and the sound of students jumping into the water. They approach the water and are surprised to see a large number of students in the water. When the monitors express their concern, the students say everything is fine, because a student in the group has just received his lifeguarding certificate and cleared the area before students entered the water.