The County Fair – A Mystery in 13 pieces: This problem-solving activity is perfect for virtual teambuilding sessions where participants may be remotely located.  Download this PDF document.  Then share the information provided with your group and attempt to solve the mystery together.  Instructions include facilitation tips and debriefing questions.For more Team Building activities from Jim Cain check out: TeamWork & TeamPlay

The “Cold Card” is a concise, easy-to-use decision aid that can be carried in the field by wilderness search and rescue teams or medical responders to advise on assessment and care of cold-exposed patients. It is available for free download and unlimited use for education or in-field instruction by any individual or group. The card should be printed on heavy, waterproof stock (13×18 cm) for use in all weather conditions.For more information, see the 2018 WEM article “Cold Card” to...

The RASM Risk Level Quantifier is a simple Excel Spreadsheet that allows you to configure different Risk Management Probability Levels and Severity Levels to determine the Risk Level. This ia a companion part of the Risk Assessment & Safety Management (RASM) Model.

Outdoor School for All! Diverse Programming and Outcomes in Oregon is a multi-site, participatory evaluation effort building knowledge about current outdoor school programming and its intended outcomes.  The evaluation  project and team strive for cultural responsiveness and employ an iterative design-based approach to evaluation.    Are you interested in the academic and behavioral outcomes of outdoor schools throughout Oregon? Are you engaged in multi-site, participatory or culturally respo...

This presentation is on the Risk Assessment and Safety Management model or RASM presented at the 2019 NIRSA Conference. This model is designed to provide your organization and your staff with a real-world tool to help you prepare for risk, analyze risk in the field, and help reduce it. I hope that you find this information helpful the overall risk management plan for your organization. There are detailed speakers notes to help you be able to present this on your own.Like most models, this mod...

Poster and resource handout from Poster Session at the 2017 Wilderness Risk Management Conference. Download PDF files for full posters.

This is an interactive pdf file that provides an overview of disasters and disaster medicine. It provides a context for people seeking to provide help during disasters and for those who know they are in a disaster-prone area and want to know how to better prepare. The file contains numerous links to organizations that can provide more and relevant details.

Training outdoor leaders within a college/university setting requires a multidisciplinary approach that does not fit well into a standard quarter/semester format due to the type of terrain and time required teach outdoor skills. The purpose of this article is to briefly discuss the design of each program type, list their pros and cons, and provide conceptual templates for those training students to staff their outdoor programs.

Emergent findings in social psychology point to the limitations of cognition and rationality; decision-making, it turns out, is highly over-rated. What this means for us: a focus on non-normal, training to failure, testing and sensemaking are uncommon, unlikely, and proven effective in building competency fast. This workshop was presented at the Association for Outdoor Recreation and Education Conference in November 2015. You can see a full video of this presentation that Jeff gave at the NOL...

Thinking of hiking the John Muir Trail? Did you know that once you’re south of Donahue Pass, the average elevation of the Trail is over 10,000 feet? Are you familiar with high-elevation illness? Do you know the symptoms? Do you know what you should and shouldn’t do? Unofficial Acclimatization Guideline for the John Muir Trail  provides hikers with basic information about the illnesses triggered by the reduced oxygen content of the air at higher elevations and provides recommendati...