BEFORE an Outdoor Education Activity

The term “risk management” is often heard when discussing how to ensure group safety during activities that take place either on or off the school site. These sample guiding questions may be used with students to start a conversation about risk and risk management.

• What do you think we mean by “risk management”?
• What are common risks that you may encounter during outdoor education?
• What are possible risks related to “x” (define the activity)?
• How can you minimize these risks?
• What are possible consequences of not participating in this activity?
• What can you do to ensure that all safety precautions are taken?
• What can you do as an individual to ensure that the activity is safe?
• What can you do as a group to ensure that the activity is safe?

Present the Lemon Theory of risk management. In his booklet Wilderness Crisis Management, author James Raffan examines a three week canoe trip from Lake Timiskaming to James Bay. In June of 1978, twenty-seven boys aged 12−14 and four teachers set off in four 22-foot canoes, voyageur style. Early one afternoon, a storm developed, and by the end of the day, 12 students and one teacher had died.

Raffan argues that these deaths were completely preventable given the factors that led up to them. Raffan uses a “slot machine metaphor” (show students a photo of a slot machine) in which each factor leading to an accident is a “lemon.” Once three or more lemons have been accumulated in a situation, a “jackpot,” is hit which means an accident. Talk to the students about brainstorming possible lemons for an outdoor activity in order to create a culture of risk identification and mitigation during any outdoor activity.

One goal of any trip or activity might be to challenge each person to develop his or her skills, confidence, and abilities. What each person recognizes as a challenge or risk during a trip or activity will vary, and what one person perceives as a risk may not pose a real risk (for example, sleeping with a spider in the tent).

How can everyone ensure each other’s emotional and physical safety, as each person explores the edge experiences to help them grow and thrive?

Each person has a different skill and comfort level for a given outdoor activity.

• Consider your personal skill and comfort level. What safety equipment would you have with you at all times during a trip, in case of an emergency?
• Would the same items apply for each type of trip, or would items change depending on the type of trip?
• What “soft skills” would be useful to the group, and how can they help in an emergency or prevent an emergency from occurring?
• What is the trip guide’s role in risk management? How might this role change for a student who is acting as the “leader for the day”?

There are often differences between real risk and perceived risk.

• What do you think are the real and perceived risks of this activity or trip?
• How can we reduce the real risks?
• How can we manage perceived risks?

An important way to understand the real risks involved in an activity is to look at data. For example, hundreds of people die from drowning in Canada each year. One common perceived risk is a person’s ability to swim, however, there are a number of other real risk factors, or “lemons,” that can lead to drowning. Understanding the real risks helps participants make better decisions and reduce risk.

Examining key publicly available data can contribute to making informed decisions about risk management regarding aquatic activities.

Risks Factors by Activity

The risk of drowning increases by the percentage below for each factor. For example, not wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) increases a person’s chance of drowning during an aquatic activity by 88%.

While boating:

• Not wearing a PFD: 88%
• Consuming alcohol: 40%
• Capsizing: 35%
• Going on the water solo: 33%
• Falling overboard: 30%

While swimming:

• Unable to swim: 42%
• Swimming solo: 32%
• Consuming alcohol: 30%
• Heart attack or heart condition: 22%

(Data: Drowning Prevention Research Centre Canada, 2016)

According to the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario (2010), 96% of people driving a boat (with or without a motor) who drowned were not wearing a PFD. Among those whose swimming level was known, 40% were non-swimmers, and 34% of drowning victims were born outside Canada.

What the Data Reveal

Wearing a personal flotation device or a properly fitted life jacket is one of the best ways to reduce drowning risks while boating. Using a buddy system while swimming can also reduce the risk of drowning for those who know how to swim. Knowing how each factor increases the risk of injury or drowning can be used to develop relevant guidelines and determine the necessary equipment required to prevent drowning during outdoor education activities.

For example, students who have grown up without access to swimming lessons and pools or other bodies of water may need more awareness training regarding risks associated with aquatic activities. Determining appropriate safety equipment and strategies for outdoor education activities must also reflect the knowledge, experiences and abilities of the students.

Importance of Supervision When Near Water

From 1991 through 2014, more than 12,000 water-related deaths occurred in Canada.

Analysis of these data has revealed that only about 1% of the fatal drownings occurred under direct supervision of one or more lifeguards or instructors. Given these data, supervision provided by a qualified person is one of the key prevention practices that can be taken in order to increase water safety.

(Subsection: Canadian Drowning Prevention Coalition, 2017)

St. John’s School − Lake Timiskaming Canoeing Tragedy (1978)

Background

The school’s philosophy was to build character through challenges and tests. One activity organized by the school was a three-week canoe trip on Lake Timiskaming up to James Bay. Twenty-seven boys aged 12−14 and four teachers set off in four 22-foot voyageur style canoes. Early one afternoon, a storm developed, and by the end of the day, 12 students and one teacher had died.

Causes of the Tragedy

• The teachers had no itineraries for the trip and had never completed this trip before. One teacher had no canoeing experience.
• The group had no lifesaving equipment or emergency procedures in place.
• Some of the boys did not know how to swim, and the teachers did not know which boys knew how to swim. One teacher did not know how to swim well.
• The last time anyone on the trip had done any canoeing was the previous autumn.
• There was no physical preparation or training for the trip.
• No one had received any first aid, canoe rescue, or lifeguard training.
• The new 22-foot canoes had been modified to allow for increased weight, which changed the center of gravity and balance of the canoes. This made them more unstable and difficult to manage.
• The trip started in the early morning after a night of travel, and the group did not eat a hot meal for breakfast or lunch.

What Can Be Learned

The coroner’s report concluded, “we feel that for boys from 12−14 years of age, this entire expedition constituted an exaggerated and pointless challenge.” There are a few lessons that can be learned from this tragedy:

• Challenges need to be designed that are appropriate for the age group and skill level of all the participants.
• It is important to keep the goal in mind throughout an activity. While completing the journey is great, it is far more important for participants to experience the outdoors and learn at their own pace.
• Precautionary measures such as training, equipment, and safety plans geared to the age of participants and location of the activity are key to increasing safety.

Reflections on the Tragedy

• Informed reflection and communication are foundational to effective risk management.
• It is important for teachers and students to learn from past tragedies, near misses, and lived experiences. Current risk management policies and practices have strong roots in this case.
• Never assume that adhering to guidelines, certifications, and policies will keep all participants safe. Good judgement, communication, reflection, local knowledge, and experience are key factors in the execution of effective risk mitigation prior to and during outdoor education activities.

Risk Management Scenarios for Discussion with the Students and Monitors

Backpacking/Hiking − Backcountry

Jarod is excited to go hiking for four days in the wilderness. He missed the training hike, but he is confident that he is ready for the trip. Her Scouts group used to walk the trails near his home, so he feels like he has the necessary experience, and he has brand new hiking boots and a backpack he got for his birthday. He will finally have the chance to show off his new gear to his friends!

Backpacking/Hiking − Local

Britt and Yuseff are looking forward to the training hike tomorrow. It will be amazing! After all, it is the same trail used by the track team for training. They know they can finish before the rest of the class and go to the local cafe for a snack while the rest of the class catches up. They will be back to the trailhead before the leaders notice that they are gone, and no one will ever know! The teacher mentioned that during the hike, each hiker should be within calling distance of people in front of and behind them. But if Britt and Yuseff walk just quickly enough at the beginning to get ahead, they can say they didn’t hear anyone calling them. After all, it’s not their fault everyone else
is so slow.

Camping

Two students tell their teacher that they smelled popcorn while passing in front of another students’ tent. They are on an island in Algonquin Park. When the teacher approaches the tent, they can hear a few students talking inside. When the teacher questions them about food in their tent, they respond indignantly, “Do you REALLY think that a bear will swim over to
the island, smell the food in this tent, and try to come in?!”

Camping − Winter

A class is conducting their winter camping training on school grounds. In the afternoon, the temperature is around −5 °C when the students build their quinzees. Everything goes well, and the students eagerly go into their shelters at bedtime. They comment that the temperature “isn’t too bad” and they’re comfortable with a few layers of clothing. Around 11:00 p.m., the temperature begins to rise because of an approaching storm. At 2:00 a.m., it starts raining lightly and the temperature is about 2 °C. At 6:30 a.m., when the teacher begins to wake up, rain has been falling for several hours. The snow on the ground is melting, and the quinzees near their tent are collapsing. At 7:00 a.m., two students stop at the teachers’s tent. They say they’re going to the school to use the bathroom, and their classmate is still sleeping in their quinzee. Upon their return, they see their semi-collapsed quinzee, leaving little space for their friend inside. When they wake them, they sit up quickly, and the quinzee collapses around them.

Kayaking

Lilian is packing for her kayaking trip, and is bringing her nicest t-shirts and shorts so that she looks good for photos that she plans to post later on social media. She worries that her personal flotation device (PFD) will give her ridiculous tan lines just before prom. She plans to wear tank tops at the campsite, to even out any tan lines. She isn’t planning on wearing a hat either, despite her teacher’s insistence that it is required while on the water. She looks ugly wearing a hat, and if she gets hot, she’ll just splash herself with some water. The new tanning products she bought will give her a nice tan before prom. Her mom packs a hat in her bag the night before the trip, but Lilian takes it out after her mom says goodnight. She will never know.

• Drowning Prevention Research Centre Canada. (2016). Canadian Drowning Report (2016 Edition).
• Canadian Drowning Prevention Coalition. (2017). Canadian Drowning Prevention Plan.