The Role of Standards in Outdoor Safety

Start Date

06/20/2025

End Date

06/20/2027

Description

How safe is safe enough? How do we know if our risk management practices are adequate? Who gets to decide? Answering these questions is where standards in outdoor safety come in.
We’ll look at four types of standards—laws, regulations, compulsory standards, and voluntary codes, how they differ from one another, and how each one influences procedures in outdoor recreation and education.
We’ll look at case studies in Singapore and the eastern European nation of Georgia to see how major outdoor incidents led to the development of voluntary and required safety standards. And we’ll consider how this might influence outdoor safety standards in the USA and elsewhere around the world.

Distance Learning

Yes

Course Equivalency

Subjects

Parks & Recreation

Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Hours

1.0

Learning Outcomes

Differentiate Types of Standards – Understand the distinctions between laws, regulations, compulsory standards, and voluntary codes, and how they shape outdoor safety practices.
Evaluate Risk Management Adequacy – Explore key considerations in determining whether existing risk management practices meet appropriate safety standards in outdoor recreation and education.
Analyze Global Case Studies – Examine how major outdoor incidents in Singapore and Georgia influenced the development of safety standards and consider their implications for other regions.
Apply Lessons to Outdoor Safety Policy – Assess how international safety standards might inform or impact outdoor safety regulations and best practices in the USA and beyond.

Instructors

Jeff Baierlein, Director, Viristar

Course Codes

Provider

American Trails

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