PATH

WA

YS

40

PathwaysTHE ONTARIO JOURNAL OF OUTDOOR EDUCATIONAutumn 2004, 16(4)

ISSN: 0840-8114

PATH

WA

YS

41

PathwaysThe Council of Outdoor Educators of

Ontario Board of DirectorsPresident: Grant Linney

Past President: Mary Gyemi-Schulze

Vice President: Shane Kramer

Treasurer: Daena Greig

Secretary: Steve McElroy

Director At Large: Erin Sharpe

Director At Large: Doug Jacques

Director At Large: Brian Lisson

Central Region Co-Rep: Kelly Murphy

Central Region Co-Rep: Vanessa KleinHaar

Eastern Region: Walter Sepic

Western Region: Mike Elrick

Northern Region: Heather Flack

Membership: Glen Hester

Our mailing address:Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario1185 Eglinton Avenue EastToronto, ON M3C 3C6

Our Web site address:www.coeo.org

COEO

Formed in 1972, the Council of Outdoor Educatorsof Ontario (COEO) is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization that promotes safe, qualityoutdoor education experiences for people of allages. This is achieved through publishing thePathways journal, running an annual conferenceand regional workshops, maintaining a Web site,and working with kindred organizations as well asgovernment agencies.

Contributions Welcome

Pathways is always looking for contributions. Ifyou are interested in making a submission, ofeither a written or illustrative nature, we would behappy to hear from you. For a copy of oursubmission guidelines, please contact RandeeHolmes, Managing Editor.

If you are interested in being a guest editor of anissue of Pathways, please request a copy of ourguidelines for guest editors from Randee Holmes,Managing Editor.

If you have any questions regarding Pathways, pleasedirect them to Bob Henderson, Chair of the PathwaysEditorial Board. If you’d like more informationabout COEO and joining the organization, pleaserefer to the inside back cover of this issue orcontact a Board of Directors’ member.

Our advertising policy:Pathways accepts advertisements for products andservices that may be of interest to our readers. Toreceive an advertising information package, pleasecontact Bob Henderson, Chair of the PathwaysEditorial Board. We maintain the right to refuseany advertisement we feel is not in keeping withour mandate and our readers’ interests.

PATH

WA

YS

1

FeaturesUpsetting the Applecart: The Public and the Media.....................….....4

Robert ChisnallBoundless’ Risk Management Journey.............................................8

Steven GottleibEnglish in the Wilderness: An Integrated Outward BoundAcademic Course..........................................................…….…….12

Holly McIntyreThinking Risk on the World’s Highest Mountain................……….…15

Paul Berger and Helle MoellerAccess-ability: Risk Management for Canoe Tripping withYouth with Physical Disabilities...................................…….......…19

David VanderBurgh

ColumnsEditors’ Log Book………………………............…………..……....…….2

Mary Breunig and Tim O’ConnellPresident’s View..……………...…………........…………..……....…….3

Grant LinneyReading the Trail..........………...……........………………..……....…21

Robert ChisnallIn the Field.....................................…………....……………………..22

François Gravelle and Gervais DeschênesBackpocket..................………...…………..........…………..……....…26

Andrew WelchBackpocket..................………...…………...…………..…..……....…28

Linda MacKenzieWild Words.............………………...………………..…............…….29

Bob HendersonOpen the Door.........………………...…………...........…..........…….33

Tom PotterTracking..................………………...……………….................…….34

David ArthurProspect Point..........………………...………………..……........…….36

Simon Beames

PathwaysTHE ONTARIO JOURNAL OF OUTDOOR EDUCATIONAutumn 2004, 16(4)

Pathways Editorial BoardChair: Bob Henderson

Dept. of Kinesiology,McMaster University

Heather Bates

Allison Carrier

Allan Foster

Zabe MacEachrenDuncan MacArthur Hall, Queen’s University

Mike Morris

Tom PotterSchool of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and

Tourism, Lakehead University

Connie RussellFaculty of Education, Lakehead University

Friends of PathwaysClare Magee, Barrie Martin, Barb

McKean and Mark Whitcombe

Managing Editor: Randee Holmes

ISSN: 0840-8114Pathways is printed on recycled paper.

Pathways is published five times a year for the Council of OutdoorEducators of Ontario (COEO) and distributed to COEO members.Membership fees include a subscription to Pathways, as well asadmittance to workshops, courses and conferences. A membershipapplication form is included on the inside back cover of this issue ofPathways.

Opinions expressed in Pathways are those of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect those of the Pathways’ Editorial Board or COEO.Advertising included in Pathways should not be interpreted as anendorsement by COEO of the products or services represented. Allrights reserved.

Articles in Pathways may be reproduced only with permission.Requests must be made in writing and should be directed to BobHenderson, Chair, Pathways Editorial Board.

PATH

WA

YS

2

ditors’ Log BookELast March, we spent four days at TheSedbergh School in Montebello, Quebecwith colleagues from K–12 schools, colleges,and universities, as well as a number of otheroutdoor programs. This gathering of outdoorprofessionals represented the first everWilderness Risk Management Conference forEducators in Canada. This event reminded usof a number of important factors about issuesof risk management in Canada:

• There is a need for ongoing discussionand research of issues related to outdoorprogram safety, risk management, andlegal liability in school-based outdoorprograms across Canada.

• There is a need for outdoor programs tocontinue to develop risk managementpolicies and procedures that specificallyaddress the needs of individual outdoorprograms while reflecting due diligencewithin the broader outdoor profession.

• As outdoor professionals, we need tocontinue to be proactive rather thanreactive about developing riskmanagement policies and procedureswithin our programs.

• As outdoor professionals, we need tocontinue to be attentive to trends withinthe broader profession; we need tocontinue to collect data on near misses,incidents, accidents, and deaths withinthe outdoor profession as a means tobetter inform our professional practice.

This issue is devoted to the topic of riskmanagement. It will attempt, in part, to beginto try and respond to some of the above issuesof safety and risk. In “Thinking Risk on theWorld’s Highest Mountain,” Paul Berger and

Helle Moeller provide some insight into oneman’s quest to climb the world’s sevensummits and his perception of the relatedrisks. In “Boundless’ Risk ManagementJourney,” Steven Gottlieb takes you on athought-provoking and entertaining journeyacross the 21-year history of the evolution ofBoundless’ risk management plan. Renownedclimber and high-angle safety expert, RobChisnall talks about the role of the publicand the media in “Upsetting the Applecart.”A model for personal risk-taking is presentedby Andrew Welch. “Access-ability,” by DavidVanderBurgh, discusses issues of riskmanagement as they relate to canoe trips andyouth with physical disabilities. The finalfeature departs from the risk managementfocus with Holly McIntyre presenting“English in the Wilderness,” a discussion ofan integrated Outward Bound course.

We would like to thank all of the people whohave contributed to this issue. We are gratefulto Bob Henderson and Connie Russell fortheir editorial guidance. We wish to thankour colleagues in the School of OutdoorRecreation, Parks & Tourism at LakeheadUniversity for their support of our ongoingwriting and research related to issues of riskmanagement. We are particularly grateful toMargaret Johnston, Brent Cuthbertson,Rodney Swatton, and Tom Potter.

As we start this new academic year, we wishto extend our heartfelt thoughts to you; wehope that you and your program enjoy a safeand successful year!

Mary Breunig and Tim O’ConnellGuest Editors

Sketch Pad — Art for this issue of Pathways is generously provided by SteveTourney (cover and pages 7, 9, 13 and 26), Josh Gordon (page 28) and CorinnaFetter (page 33).

PATH

WA

YS

3

resident’s ViewP

As we begin a new year with a re-energizedBoard of Directors (see the inside cover), beproud that your membership in COEOpromotes outdoor education in many ways:

1. Pathways: Our Editorial Board continues toproduce an excellent Ontario journal of outdooreducation. While Pathways will publish fiveissues this current membership year, it isexpected to become a quarterly publication bynext September. This is due to the exceptionallyheavy workload placed upon a few volunteers. Theprinting and mailing costs saved will be directedinto many of the new services listed below.

2. Annual Conference: Over 100 COEO membersgathered at Tim Horton Onondaga Farms nearCambridge to celebrate and learn more aboutoutdoor education. Conference proceedingswill be published in the next issue of Pathways.And, go to www.coeo.org/conference.htm fordetails about our 2005 joint conference withEECOM and OSEE, and how you can help out.

3. Regional Workshops: For the first time inmany years, COEO held three successfulregional events, one each in the Eastern, Centraland Northern Regions. Our electronic newsletterwill advertise events for the coming year.

4. New Web site: A significantly expanded andupdated Web site (www.coeo.org), full of agreat variety of captivating images of outdooreducation, was launched in September. It ishoped that this site will not only be of benefit toCOEO members, but will also play a significantrole in promoting outdoor education to others.This site remains a work in progress. It willremain valuable only as long as it experiencesregular updates as well as new additions.

5. COEO Poster: More than 130 copies of abrand new and very attractive 17 x 22" posterpromoting outdoor education in general andCOEO in particular were picked up at our annualconference and are now posted in prominentlocations (e.g., universities, community colleges,outdoor education centres, teacher lounges,libraries) across the province. It is not enoughto reassure ourselves about the great andenduring value of outdoor education. We mustbe much more assertive in conveying ourmessage to others, including policy makers andthose who control purse strings. For more

information on this poster, go towww.coeo.org/publication.htm.

6. Environmental Bill of Rights Initiative:COEO is an active part of a multi-organizationinitiative to have the Ontario Ministry ofEducation prescribed under the OntarioEnvironmental Bill of Rights. Such a movewould oblige the ministry to come up with astatement of environmental values, and thiscould have a far-reaching impact uponprovincial curricula.

7. Renewed Liaison with the ProvincialGovernment and Professional TeachingOrganizations: COEO is once againrepresenting outdoor education on the OntarioTeachers Curriculum Forum. It is also incontact with officials from the OntarioMinistry of Education.

8. Constitutional Revisions: Last month’sAGM approved a number of revisions to ourconstitution, including the addition of twogoals for the organization and a clearstatement of four great values of outdooreducation. For a closer look, go towww.coeo.org/aboutus.htm.

9. Electronic Newsletter: COEO memberssigning up for this service receive regular updateson the organization (e.g., upcoming regionalevents) and on outdoor education in general.Others have the option of signing up for a“Friends of COEO” version of this letter thatdoes not include occasional job offers andother benefits available only to members. The“Friends of COEO” newsletter is also posted onour new Web site.

10. Advocacy: In addition to a statementregarding advocacy and collaboration found onour Web site (www.coeo.org/aboutus.htm),COEO is actively supporting efforts to re-openthe Leslie Frost Natural Resources Centre inDorset. For further information on this issue,go to www.savethefrost.ca.

In closing, I offer hearty thanks to the dedicationand talent of outgoing Board members as wellas many others who have stepped forward tohelp our organization in countless ways. Thanksto your efforts and support, COEO is an activeand effective organization.

Grant Linney

Top Ten Reasons for Being a Member of COEO

PATH

WA

YS

4

eatureF

Some say the future of adventure education isin crisis. However, the problems have beenpersistent and ongoing, changing with thefiscal, political, and social trends of our time.The purpose of my presentation at TheWilderness Risk Management Conference forEducators in Canada (March 28, 2004) was toaddress prevalent dilemmas facing adventureeducators—primarily those working in easternCanada. Many of these issues are widespreadand are, therefore, of broader concern.

Risk and safety-related issues pertaining torock climbing, artificial climbing walls, andchallenge courses were the focus of mysession. The goals were to identify current andfuture issues, raise some thorny philosophicaland technical questions, and stimulatediscussion toward solutions. The purpose ofthis follow-up paper is to pose a number ofquestions as a means to explore some issuesthat relate to the public and the media. Thispaper represents Part I of a series of articlesthat examines issue germane to otherstakeholders, including program instructors,facilitators, planners, managers, overseers,and gatekeepers.

The Public and the Media

The chief problems faced by many outdooreducators may involve the public’s generalperception of risk and, conversely, itsignorance of actual risk. How popular medianurture and feed off such attitudes is alsocritical. Additionally, there may be a lack ofsufficient mainstream entrenchment in thepublic perception regarding adventure pursuits.Four areas of challenge are considered:

Upsetting the Applecart: The Public and theMediaby Robert Chisnall

1. The Challenge of Public Perception

Relative risk is often a matter of perception.As an example, consider the differencesbetween rock climbing and snowmobiling.There are more than 30 snowmobiling deaths(and many more non-fatal accidents) inOntario each year, and there is roughly oneclimbing death every five to ten years in thisprovince. According to a recent CanadianInstitute for Health Information study,snowmobiling has the highest frequency ofaccidents and deaths compared to any otherpursuit in Canada (Moore, 2003). Thisstatistic raises a number of questions:• Why is climbing perceived as dangerous

and extreme while snowmobiling is not?• Is snowmobiling more culturally

entrenched?• Do demographics and economics affect

public perception of risk?• Are people who snowmobile older, more

mature, and more financially stable thanthose who rock climb?

• Are rock climbers typically young,rebellious, irresponsible thrill-seekers?

If a student breaks an arm playing contactsports, it is considered par for the course. But ifa similar injury occurs on a climbing wall orropes course, the activity immediately falls undera legal and administrative microscope. Why?• Are team and contact sports more

culturally entrenched?• What role do tradition and the media

play in this perception?• Are team sports safer than climbing?

Risk management systems analyses andinsurance calculations typically view risk as afunction of• exposure (frequency and duration)• the likelihood of something bad

happening (“the odds”)• the consequences of an accident.

PATH

WA

YS

5

Upsetting the Applecart

2. The Challenge of Reliable and Valid Risk Statistics

Collecting, processing and interpreting data to make global conclusions about relative risk isproblematic—especially when it comes to adventure activities as compared to more mainstreampastimes. Although dated, the following statistics offer a rough idea of the comparative risk ofcertain activities. It is worth noting that it is difficult, if not impossible, to arithmetically link orcombine these figures. The units andcategories utilized and the methods of datacollection are disparate.• So, why do perceived high-risk activities

have a lower number of accidents?• Why is climbing apparently safer than

ropes courses?

Here are some more figures to consider:

According to this study, ropes courses are significantly safer than physical education activitiesand automobile travel.• Is the figure quoted for Outward Bound activities informative or misleading?• How could these figures be compared with those in the previous chart?

Another way of looking at outdoor risk is based on work done by Ewert (1987).

Most Frequent Locations1. Moving water

2. Mountaineering/expeditioning

3. Rock climbing/ropes courses

1. Illness

2. Lacerations/punctures

3. Sprains

4. Frostbite

5. Fractures

6. Burns

7. Sunstroke/heat exhaustion

8. Contusions

9. Hypothermia

10. Other

30%

21%

12%

9%

6%

4%

3%

3%

1%

11%

Most Frequent Types of Injuries (Percent)

According to this source, moving water is more dangerous than climbing, and general illnessis the most frequently occurring emergency medical condition while on trip.• Do you think these activities and location-specific results are accurate and representative?• What do the injury results say about relative risk in different types of programs?• To what extent do various professional and technical standards cause drastic variations in

accident statistics?

Program Exposure

Project Adventure (15-year study)

Project Adventure (10-year study)

Physical Education Classes (National Safety Council Study)

Outward Bound (L. Higgins article)

Automobile Driving (L. Higgins article)

Accident Rate PerMillion Hours

3.67

5.13

9.6

37.5

60

(Project Adventure, 1986)

Activity

Climbing

Ropes Courses

Backpacking

Number of Injuries Per11,624 Participant/Days

1

25

50

PATH

WA

YS

6

Upsetting the Applecart

• Could regional and organizationaldifferences in procedures and equipmentcause disagreement in risk study results?

Beyond questions of measurable risk, thepublic holds and nurtures popular beliefs,often to the detriment of outdoor educationas a whole. What sorts of popular beliefs dopeople have about adventure activities thesedays? There are young people who mightbelieve that adventure activities are cool.There are those who believe that people whoparticipate in adventure activities are thrillseekers and adrenaline junkies.• Are they justified in these beliefs?• Are these popular beliefs?• In today’s competitive atmosphere, do

you have to take outrageous risks to getnoticed and be respected?

These questions lead to issues concerningconsumer responsibility. In terms ofaccepting responsibility for risk-taking, whatdo adventure consumers, clients, participants,and students think is fair and right?• Does the public believe adventure

experiences are nothing more thanthings to be purchased and consumed?

• Are people willing to accept the actualrisks associated with the adventureactivity they wish to try?

Psychologist Paul Slovic (1994) stated, “It’smy sense people desire a risk-freeenvironment. They believe we shouldn’tspare effort or money to attain that. Becauseof our technological advances, we arehealthier and safer and our expectations havegrown apace. . . . As a result, society is startingto stigmatize people, products or systemswhich engage in high-risk behaviour.”• What has caused these attitudes?• What can adventure leaders do about them?

3. The Challenge of Bad Press

One source of public attitude might be thepopular media and its attention to clichésand superlatives, the negative, the tragic, themorbid and the sensationalistic. Populartelevision, film and magazine coverage ofclimbing and mountaineering promulgate anoverblown and unrealistic perspective

regarding risk, reinforcing innate societalfears and phobias.

As intimated in an article from Exploremagazine (2000), “. . . Hollywood flicks stillcan’t get the climbing right.” In most movies,climbing is used to create dangerous situationsin the plot or to kill someone off. In very fewcases are these depictions even remotelyaccurate, and the degree of sensationalismand lack of veracity has increased with laterfilms. There are many more television showsthat have featured climbing or other forms ofmobility at height as incidental plot elementsor easy ways of introducing danger and deathinto the story. Invariably, these depictions areeither partially or totally inaccurate.

Public confusion and misperception mayalso stem from mixed messages. Onewomen’s magazine contained the followinginconsistencies: “If you have to get awayfrom it all to get closer to yourself, climb arock. Growing numbers of enthusiasts areclaiming this sport as their own for its utterlyabsorbing and soul-purifying benefits”(Harrington, 1990). In the same issue, a full-page advertisement for Dare perfume featuredLynn Hill at her peak, including a picture ofher climbing a difficult route (captioned,“Anything is possible if you dare”) andanother of her attired in evening gown andrope, captioned “Lynn Hill, Daring Woman.”

The male perspective is predictablycharacterized by sensationalism, sexism, andvoyeuristic curiosity regarding the macabre.In a Maxim article, entitled “Blood Sports”(2001), the following cut line appeared: “Riskyour life on a 3,000-foot stone slab—for noreason!” In the same issue, a picture of thelate Alex Lowe climbing appeared with thecaption: “You know what? I’m an idiot.” Themagazine then proceeded to detail everythingthat can kill or maim climbers. But whatabout articles with a positive bent? FromAbilities, Canada’s Lifestyle Magazine for PeopleWith Disabilities: “It’s the first time in manyyears where I am in total control, leaving mychair behind. . . . Adventure therapy has oncemore put me where I want to be: outdoors,enjoying life to the fullest” (2003). It isunfortunate that this is a very specialized,

PATH

WA

YS

7

Upsetting the Applecart

low-circulation periodical. The goodmessages are not widely distributed.

What do magazines devoted to adventuresports have to say? The article “Sell It on theMountain” in Rock & Ice (2003) indicts thepopular media for being exploitive and positsthis question: “This spring, Global Extremespromises to bring lights, cameras and fiverelatively inexperienced climbers to a summitattempt on Mount Everest—broadcast live onnational television. Has “reality TV” goneover the brink?” But that periodical playedthe same game in a later issue: “DangerousGames—Epic Tales of Ropeless Ascents” (2003).Here is a cover caption from Climbing, a rivalmagazine: “Epics—double issue: Tragedy onRainier, Marooned in the Arctic, K2catastrophe, plus 27 other true tales” (2000).• Are climbing devotees and armchair

“wannabes” guilty of the same “prurient”interest propounded by popular mediaand consumed by non-climbers?

• How does this form of exposure affectadventure education and challengecourse programming?

Let’s look at some typical examples of front-page and feature coverage regarding adventuresports, like climbing. The Gazette (1987)carried these headlines: “Climbers Risk IcyDeath on the World’s Roof” and “Risking IcyDeath on the Roof of the World.” Readingthese captions always makes me wonder,how would it be if a newspaper ran thefollowing piece: “Teenagers Risk AcademicFailure, Bullying, Ostracism, Illegal DrugUse, and Suicide as They Enter High SchoolThis Fall”? It seems that newspapersautomatically build failure and tragedy intotheir coverage to sell papers.

Often, “positive” coverage is inaccurate oremphasizes the wrong things. “It’s all in thelegs” (The Toronto Star, 2003) highlightedclimbing at The Toronto Climbing Academy.The reporter talked about looking at people’sposteriors in Lycra, and she also dwells a loton the pain and discomfort of climbing shoes,the need to trim finger nails, and thephysical effort required. The technicaldescriptions are equally laughable: “The goodnews is we are lead climbing, not top-roping.

The difference is we areusing ropes attached tofulcrums on the floor andceiling, which means as long asHeather [the reporter’s belayer]holds on to the end, I won’tleave with any bruises.”• What is the fallout of

impressions cultivatedby popular media oneducational climbingprograms and associations made withchallenge courses and similar activities?

• Can adventure educators circumvent orameliorate this kind of publicity?

• How can we increase positive publicity?• Can we educate the media and the public

more effectively?

4. The Challenge of Commodification

Savvy consumers expect and often demandquality, performance, bargain prices, andguarantees. When it comes to new experiences,especially adventure or “extreme” sports and“exotic” courses or outings, they want a safeexperience. But they insist on having anexhilarating time. They want the sensation ofrisk without risk.• What is it exactly they are buying?

Bragging rights?• Has adventure become commodified?• Are the media and general public poorly

informed and biased about these“products”?

• Is sensationalism part of the advertisingand hype, even in educational venues?

Some Closing Thoughts

This is just the tip of the iceberg. For outdoorleaders and adventure educators in the newmillennium, massive challenges haveemerged and are developing with regard toinsurance, site access, staff training,standards conflicts, curriculum justificationand so on. I believe all of these dilemmas areintricately linked and must be treated in aholistic manner with a collective andconcerted effort. Is that effort worthwhile,and are we up to the challenge?

continued on page 11

PATH

WA

YS

8

eatureF

I have met a lot of folks who aspire to createtheir own outdoor companies or who arestudents of risk management. I thought itwould be beneficial for these readers to hear theBoundless Adventure risk management story,and to examine the evolution of our policiesand philosophies from our “yahoo” stage tobeing among the industry leaders in safety.

Boundless is a 21-year old therapeuticadventure program in Ontario. We serve thewidest array of population groups of anyprogram in the world. These include peoplewith physical and mental disabilities, youthat risk, people with brain injuries, people withhearing impairments psychiatric patients,aboriginal people with fetal alcohol syndrome,young families at risk, teenagers withsubstance abuse problems and “street kids.”

If this list makes you dizzy, imagine howBoundless staff feel when they shoulder thesafety responsibilities of taking these groupsinto whitewater, on eco-challenge/climbingadventures and on wilderness river journeys.I’d like to chart the course of our riskmanagement system, starting from ourearliest stage, and then outline some of themost salient risk management principles weuse today.

The “Yahoo” Stage, 1983–1987

I remember with great consternation the earlydays when our clients would “off road” withus on the roof racks of our vans, or dosummersaults off 60-foot eskers. Who neededhelmets? They weren’t industry standard atthe time. We served just one population—youth at risk. We did not have a 600-acrebasecamp as we do today. Things were simpler.

These were the days of flexing our youthfulleadership muscles, relying on commonsense to guide our clients down the Madawaskaand Petawawa rivers. Using ignorance as ourshield against the unknown, we forged a

Boundless’ Risk Management Journeyby Steven Gottleib

rudimentary risk management system thatwas based on trial and error. This is not tosuggest we were careless. With great diligenceand to the best of our neophyte abilities, welooked after the safety interests of our clients.We had no serious injuries (at least if youdon’t count that client who broke his leg onthe esker). We felt that our excellent safetyrecord was our own doing.

Looking back now, we were naive, andcertainly lucky.

Whoa! Let’s Take a Step Back Stage,1988–1993

New generations of Boundless staff thatgraduated from credible outdoor programsbrought with them a wealth of technicalinformation that spawned our first majorevolution in risk management. Questionslike, “What are other programs doing?” werepervasive. We felt the urge to write our policiesdown, and our program manual blossomedfrom ten pages to over 100 by 1993. Weresearched. We did our diligence. As theprogram and numbers of participants weserved grew, we brought in our communitypartners to train us. We freely confessed ourignorance. We claimed to need help. We gotit. Our safety record remained excellent.

Yet we felt sluggish and uncertain. This stagewas marked by a feeling that we were alwayslooking over our shoulders wondering ifwhat we were doing was “industry standard.”What did industry standard suggest abouttaking ex-psychiatric patients down rivers,replete with a bread box filled with anti-psychotic medication of which our staff hadno clue? We were on our own, and out on alimb. This was an era that saw striking leapsinto new programming territory as wereached out to our ever-expanding line-up ofpopulations. We acquired a basecamp in1987 with a square mile of wilderness topatrol. We transitioned to a year-roundprogram. Things grew complicated.

PATH

WA

YS

9

Boundless’ Journey

And we didn’t fool ourselves into thinkingthat we could actually rely on our 100-pagerisk management manual to keep clientssafe. We knew staff didn’t have the thresholdto memorize all that stuff. Nothing took theneed away from exhibiting common sense. Ikept citing the management credo—à la TomPeters —who touted the virtue of a one-sentence policy manual that stated, “Use yourbest judgment at all times.” I sensed amushrooming safety bureaucracy withinBoundless, an ethos that I would soon growto abhor.

The Rigidity State, 1994–1997

This stage was typified by our utter dedicationto the printed word. The ubiquitous policymanual guided every decision. One couldobserve staff walking around camp studyingthe manual before making any judgment call.We would even make staff take a written examon the manual to ensure they were “ready” toimplement safety policy.

I remember one evening on the Dumoinewhen a staff member, sweaty from a hardday, and a lifeguard herself, was unable totake a dip in the calm river because there wasno other staff available to guard her. Imaginea lifeguard unable to take a dip to cool off. Wewere shackled by our inane swimmingpolicy. I recall a staff member denying thefreedom to clients to stroll an obstacle-freepure sandy beach because of our “alwayswear shoes” policy.

Clients were not permitted to contribute tothe team effort by loading luggage onto our vanroof rack because clients were “never allowedon top of vans.” Countless opportunities,

symbols, gestures and metaphors for clientsto chip in were disallowed because of ourthoughtless and automaton-like dedication toa policy manual that stripped our staff from theopportunity to make good judgement calls.

It was as if the manual was predicated on thepoor judgement of all the staff. It was basedon an honest effort to cover our butts from aliability perspective. It led to bizarre decisionmaking reminiscent of a school board tearingdown millions of dollars of perfectly soundplayground equipment, citing liabilityconcerns. The irony here is that I ended upresenting the safety bureaucracy that I had alarge role in creating.

Emerging-As-Leaders Stage, 1998–Present

This stage is exemplified by the evolutionfrom a set of policies designed to cover ourown butts to a set of policies geared towardsprotecting our clients’ butts. The distinctionhere is paramount.

The first approach is about mitigating liabilityat all costs. All risks are lumped together asone common enemy in order to reduce thelikelihood of them occurring. It’s reminiscentof a customs official body-searching aninfirm elderly couple under the guise offighting terrorism. The approach blanketseverything. It assumes staff and clients are allnincompoops, and incapable of acting intheir own best interests. The second approachaims to enable people to make decisions. Itcaptures all the diligence and pragmaticcalculations of the first approach, but it isfree from the encumbering standardizationof safety models that stymie effective andsensitive decision making.

PATH

WA

YS

10

Boundless’ Journey

Protecting our clients’ butts goes way beyondusing a program manual as the bible of safetyinterventions. We never rely on the manualto relay safety information and techniques toour staff. We rely on exhaustive staff trainingto teach staff safe approaches to serving clients.We hire staff based on their innate capacityto make sagacious and sensitive decisions.We empower staff to use their ownjudgement. They have a license to deviatefrom established policy if it is in the bestinterest of the client. Staff are taught toproblem solve with the comradeship andgood judgment of their colleagues. Thisapproach, we believe, is the essence ofprotecting client’s butts, as opposed toworrying incessantly about whether we meet“industry standards,” a term that is rife withambiguity and open to any interpretationunder the sun.

Our safety record here at Boundless continuesto be superb (knock on wood), and we arewidely perceived to be among the industryleaders in safety. The next section outlineswhat our dearest values are as they relate toconducting risk management.

“It’s in the DNA”—Recruiting the Best inCharacter

An organization could spend fortunes in stafftraining, but it wouldn’t mean a darn thing ifit failed to hire people with the innateproblem solving, decision making and workethic characteristics necessary to capitalizeon this training investment. These charactertraits, I humbly submit, would support thetheory that some leaders are born, not made.It behooves a program to find staff that bringthese abilities to the organization on day one.

Boundless carefully screens for these traitsduring the interview process. We look at pastsuccess as the most reliable indicator offuture success. We would rather hire a personwith an uninterrupted history of success inother fields than we would a person with aspotty history in the outdoor field. We tendnot to hire the “hall monitor” or “attendancetaker” types. Our most successful safetycoordinators tend to be risk takers. But, and

this is a big but, they must also have a solidhistory of demonstrating accountability in ateam context. These folks tend to toe the linein safety, but are not afraid to make criticaldecisions when necessary.

Training, Training, Training

If we have done our homework during thehiring process, and are able to woo the folkswith the character traits just described, theninvesting thousands in training feels goodand more than pays for itself. Each staff in atypical summer contract spends one-third oftheir total experience at Boundless in trainingand in professional development initiatives.We spend 18% of our total operating budgeton training. For some, this could be perceivedas an expensive pill to swallow. I can assureyou, however, it yields excellence. Oureternal struggle to fend off mediocrity isbased on training, training and more training.

Good Equipment Costs a Bundle

It’s true that leadership, creativity and efficientresource management are the pillars of anyeffective risk management system. What’salso true is that Boundless must spend a wadof cash on the best equipment available toensure the highest safety standards. There isno short cut here. It costs . . . big time! Yet, liketraining, I can assure you that thisinvestment pays for itself many times over.Bringing clients home safely—all the time—is the biggest testament to an organization’scredibility.

Hire a Gadfly to Keep Your SafetySystem Honest

Socrates likened himself to a gadfly, perpetuallyannoying the horse—ancient Athens in thiscase—challenging it to stay on its toes andkeep asking itself questions in the pursuit oftruth and excellence. Boundless hires a riskmanager to serve as its safety gadfly. Thecurrent risk manager, Adrian Meisner,spearheads an examination that continuallyassesses and adapts our risk managementprotocols on an hourly, daily, weekly,monthly and annual basis.

PATH

WA

YS

11

Recording

Everything must be written down. Thisincludes training regimes, policies,maintenance checks, staff certifications,accident/incident reports . . . the works.

In summary, our risk managementphilosophy, premised on protecting ourclients as opposed to ourselves, depends onthe following: effective hiring, intensivetraining, maintaining top quality equipment,engaging a watchdog to keep the system in astate of perpetual re-assessment andrecording everything. It is predicated onempowering trusted staff members to be freethinkers, licensed to make their own callsaccording to the needs at hand. It assumesthat the term “industry standard” isinherently a nebulous term, and that we atBoundless do have the power to define ourown standards as long as they make senseand are backed up by intensive training andthe best safety resources available.

But more than these valued principles, riskmanagement needs effective leadership. Inmy opinion, an effective safety systemdepends on creating an organizational ethoswhere it’s okay to experiment, even if thereare a few mistakes or screw ups. I’m notreferring to the kind of mistakes where a staffleaves the lights on in a van, loses theemergency credit card, or forgets to ensurehis/her paddling partner has a lifejacket on—these mistakes are severely frowned upon atBoundless. I’m talking about encouraging andcelebrating the kind of projects where anexperiment with a protocol in a propertysearch, or trying a better approach to belayinga ropes course is totally okay in Boundlessculture. This requires great sensitivity andleadership. It presumes that no one is an expertand that we are learning the best practicestogether as a team, covering each other’s back.

Steven Gottlieb is the Founder and ExecutiveDirector of Boundless Adventures. He is also amanagement consultant for the outdooradventure industry and the non-profit sector.He can be reached at boundless@on.aibn.comor at www.boundlessadventures.org.

References

Alhakami, A.S., & Slovic, P. (1994). Apsychological study of the inverserelationship between perceived risk andperceived benefit. Risk Analysis, 14(6),1085–1096.

Hicks, P. (2003). Adventure therapy:Achieving new heights. Abilities, Canada’sLifestyle Magazine for People WithDisabilities, 55(Summer 2003), 6–17.

Crawford, T. (1994). Risk management—ineverything from medicine to banks—is a boomindustry. Toronto Star, November 27: E10.

Ewert, A. (1987). The risk-management plan:Promises and pitfalls. In Joel F. Meier,Taimage W. Morash, & George E. Welton(Eds.) High-adventure outdoor pursuits. pp.412–7421.Columbus, Ohio: PublishingHorizons, Inc.

Harrington, B. (1990). Climb Every Mountain.In New Woman, October.

Moore. (2003). The Globe and Mail, January 15.National Safety Network. (1986). Annual review.Project Adventure. (1986). 15 year safety study.

Cut Lines

The Gazette, Montreal, Saturday, December 5,1987.

“After the fall” (Outside, June 1990).“Why Mathew fell” (Ottawa Citizen,

September 24, 1995).“Teen takes township to court” (The Kingston

Whig Standard, December 17, 1997).Climbing No. 197, Sept. 15, 2000.Explore (November/December 2000).“Blood sports” Maxim for Men, October, 2001.“Sell it on the mountain” Rock & Ice, No.

125, June 1, 2003.Front-page caption Rock & Ice No. 126, July

15, 2003.“It’s all in the legs” (The Toronto Star,

November 18, 2003).

Rob Chisnall is a high-angle safety expert andclimbing instructor living in Kingston, Ontario.

continued from page 7

Boundless’ Journey

PATH

WA

YS

12

This July, the first “English in the Wilderness”course ran at Outward Bound Canada (OBC).The three-week course combined thetraditional OBC curriculum with ENG 3U, agrade 11 English credit. This is the first timean academic, university preparation coursehas been integrated with the core OBCsummer program. This article will discusshow the expectations for ENG 3U wereintegrated with OBC curriculum, theliterature and other resources that were used,and how the English component and theOBC curriculum complemented one another.

Overview of Outward Bound and ENG 3U

Outward Bound Canada is a non-profiteducational organization that promotespersonal growth through shared wildernessexperiences. The core summer program atOBC is the 21-day youth adventure course for15–16-year-old students. This courseincorporates an extended wildernessexpedition with high-impact activity days suchas rock climbing, high ropes and whitewaterkayaking. Another important component ofthe course is service to the community; thestudents typically spend a day doing volunteerwork outside of OBC. Integrating ENG 3Uwith the adventure program seemed a naturalfit—who isn’t inspired to write and exploreliterature when travelling through theincredible northern Ontario wilderness andtesting personal limits?

ENG 3U is an academic, university preparationcourse that focuses on literature, poetry, andessay writing. To cover all course expectations,the students completed several assignmentsat home. Before arriving, they read the novelHalfway Man by Wayland Drew (1989), andanswered questions to explore its themes andsymbols. Because the credit requires work onthe computer (such as media studies andInternet research), one of the assignments

eatureFEnglish in the Wilderness: An IntegratedOutward Bound Academic Courseby Holly McIntyre

was to choose an environmental issue thathad seen limited media coverage, and tosummarize an article on this subject,examining the bias evident in the article.Another pre-course assignment had thestudents researching Kurt Hahn, the founderof Outward Bound, on the Internet. Bycompleting these assignments before arrivingat OBC, the students were prepared fordiscussion of the novel, and several curriculumexpectations were covered that otherwisecouldn’t have been out on the trail. Itrequired, however, that the students possesseda certain amount of self-motivation. This wasalso important after the course, for part oftheir culminating assignment was a literaryessay on Halfway Man, which they wroteafter returning home, and sent in for grading.

Literature, Resources and Curriculum

The main resource was the novel HalfwayMan, which is set in the very wilderness inwhich the students were traveling—“on theshore of Lake Superior and in the Shieldbeyond” (Drew, 1989). This book is full ofsymbolism and themes that are easy forstudents to pick out on their own, making itideal for a course as self-directed as this one.

Other literature studied included poetry byCanadian poets Archibald Lampman, A.J.M.Smith, and Earle Birney, all of whichincluded wilderness themes. A resourcemanual was provided for each student thatincorporated handouts as well as severalrelevant poems, short stories, articles andessays. Around the campfire at night thegroup would often discuss the literature orread short stories aloud, such as A CoyoteColumbus Story by Thomas King (1992).There was also a group reading of the poemDavid by Earle Birney (1942), in which eachstudent was responsible for reading aloudand interpreting six stanzas.

PATH

WA

YS

13

English in the Wilderness

The students were asked to bring a hardcoverjournal with them to write in, and at the endof the course submitted their journals forgrading. Submitting completed journals wasone of their culminating tasks and worth 15%of their final grade. During the course weprovided ample time for journaling. Some oftheir entries were structured, that is, we askedthem to complete an activity in their journalssuch as freewriting or creating proverbsbased on what they learned during thecourse. Most of their journaling wasunstructured. However, they were givenguidelines about what should be included,such as thoughts on group living, theirchanging role in the group, goals andchallenges, and what/how they were learning.They were encouraged to be creative in theirjournals, by including maps, poems, quotes,drawings, etc.

We brought a “library” with us in a drybag. Inthe library were several books ranging frompoetry to nature interpretation, magazines oncurrent events, a dictionary/thesaurus, thestudents’ journals, novels and resourcemanuals. It was important to have a widerange of materials, because the students usedthe library to research and give oralpresentations on topics of their choice. It wasa fun break in the day when a student wouldannounce that it was an appropriate time forthem to give their presentation, and it wasrefreshing to be the ones listening instead oftalking (probably refreshing for the studentstoo). Presentation topics included thunderand lightning, Aikido, deep breathingtechniques, and the freshwater crisis.

We also brought along a bug tent, whichproved invaluable. It would have beenimpossible to cover lessons in the eveningswithout it. It also provided a refuge from thebugs during the day when students were hardat work on their journals or other assignments.Another item that proved to be indispensableto the instructors were “Crazy Creek”-stylechairs. Lots of time grading and sittingaround in circles was made much morebearable with some back support. The chairswith pockets are great; we referred to them asour “briefcases” because we’d tote all ourpapers and books around in them.

English Curriculum Enhanced byOutdoor Education

We found that the OB and Englishcurricula fit together very well. Bychoosing relevant literature, usingreflection as a writing tool, andusing journaling as a main coursecomponent, we were able tocover all of the expectations.The two curricula had analmost symbioticrelationship—each wasenhanced by the other.

We traveled south along the west shore ofLake Nipigon, from the Kopka River all theway back to our base, Homeplace, on BlackSturgeon Lake. This reflected the route takenby the two main characters in Halfway Manwho traveled south to their home on LakeSuperior. The novel’s setting and theme madeit easy for students to find relevancy in whatthey were reading. The story is about a small,Native community that is being threatenedby development. In the story, the hero takesthe president of the development corporationon a long canoe trip north of Superior,hoping that he might be inspired to changehis mind about developing the area. As itwould on an Outward Bound course, thewilderness plays a central role in theeducation of this man, and helps him on hispersonal journey. The students were able toshare in and experience the descriptions ofarduous portages, exhilarating whitewater,and the beauty and spirituality of the North.The novel served as a hub for the rest of thecourse, with links to other literature that wasstudied, as well as to the students’ experiences.

To cover the Outward Bound curriculum aswell as that of the English credit, we oftenincorporated the two together, usingreflection as the primary vehicle. An activitythat worked particularly well was a “poetrydebrief.” At the end of the day, each studentsaid one word that came into their headwhen they thought about the day. Wecompiled a list of these words, and then eachstudent wrote a poem about the day, the onlyrequirement being that all of the words onthe list appeared in the poem. When the

PATH

WA

YS

14

English in the Wilderness

poems were read aloud it was easy for thestudents to see how different moods andfeelings can be conveyed with language, eventhough they were all talking about the sameday and had to use many of the same words.We also used the poems as a debriefing tool,by having each student talk about how theirpoem related to their interpretation of theday. Three “reflection papers” were alsowritten, allowing the students to processwhat they learned from different coursecomponents, and to transfer their learning totheir home environment, while practicingwriting, editing and revising skills.

Challenges

On a wilderness trip you can never be surehow much “free” time you are going to have,so we chose a route that was short for thenumber of days we had. Some days we wouldarrive at our campsite at lunchtime, andspend the rest of the afternoon hard at work.One day we stayed over at the same campsite,which was a welcome break for the students,and a great day of productive work! We werelucky in that the weather cooperated with us,and we were able to make the distance wehad planned. However we always felt like weneeded more time to work on English!Towards the end of the course, wheninstructors usually step back and allow thestudents to be in control, we were unable todo this completely because we had to ensurethat we had time to cover curriculum.

It was challenging to work on essay-writingskills out on the trail. Without computers,writing and revising became a very time-consuming task. We had the students practicevarious parts of essay writing by using otherassignments. For example, they practicedwriting outlines for their oral presentations,and did peer and self-editing for each of theirthree reflection papers. They also participatedin a debate, in which they adopted a characterfrom the novel and argued from his or herperspective on one of the novel’s main issues.In this way they explored the main themes ofthe book, and worked on persuasion. Weincluded lots of handouts in their resourcemanuals dealing with essay-writing, such asan MLA style guide, how to structure an

essay, the components of a thesis statement,different ways to persuade, etc. We feel thatthey were adequately prepared to write theirliterary essays upon returning home. However,it would be beneficial for the students to getconstructive feedback on their essays so thatthey are better prepared for grade 12 Englishand college or university.

Overall Impressions

Overall, it seemed that OB and ENG 3U werea natural fit. There is a plethora of relevantliterature available, making it easy for studentsto “buy into” the course. We were able toexplore topics such as conservation, Nativeland claims, language, and media, all throughthe English curriculum. The students reallyenjoyed learning English in this way, oftenasking us, “Can we work on English today?”Sometimes they didn’t even know that theywere covering curriculum, as we were able tosneak in lessons in disguise (e.g., working onpersuasion by having them find “naturaltoilet paper” and convince the group thattheirs was the best)!

While the course worked well, it is one thatrequired careful planning and preparation forit to run smoothly. With less motivatedstudents, or less cooperative weather, it mayhave been difficult to address all theexpectations. However, we were blessed with alittle bit of beginner’s luck, and hope to carryforward what we learned to next year’s course!

References

Birney, E. (1942). David and other poems.Toronto: Ryerson Press.

Drew, W. (1989). Halfway man. Ottawa:Oberon Press.

King, T. & Monkman, W.C. (1992). A coyoteColumbus story. Toronto: GroundwoodBooks.

Holly McIntyre graduated from the Queen’sUniversity Outdoor and Experiential EducationProgram and is an instructor at Outward BoundCanada. Holly also works as a residential staff/teacher in the integrated semester programOutward Bound Canada College.

PATH

WA

YS

15

eatureF

Thinking Risk on the World’s HighestMountainby Paul Berger and Helle Moeller

On July 30th we interviewed Werner Berger, a67-year-old management consultant, abouthis motivation for climbing Mt. Everest in2005, and the risk involved in climbing. Wepresent edited excerpts, and comment onfactors important in thinking about risk onEverest, and by extension in other activities.The initial interview transcript and thisanalysis were returned to Werner forcomments and approval before submissionfor publication.

Motivation: Joy or Recognition?

P: Climbing Mt. Everest is dangerous andexpensive. What motivates you as a 67-year-old to climb it?

W:Probably just part of my dream ofclimbing the Seven Summits, wanting toexperience it, wanting to challenge myselfon it. When I’m on a mountain I livealmost completely in the present, whichresults in a heightened sense of awareness,a feeling of joy, a feeling of exuberance, afeeling of appreciation, and a feeling ofhumility that I don’t have in my everydaylife. At least not to that extent.

P: I wonder if it has to be the highestmountains?

W:I wouldn’t be quite as interested in climbinglower mountains because at the sametime I want to have a sense of trueaccomplishment, not just experiencingbeing on a mountain. Highest certainly hasan ego element associated with it as well.

P: Will you consider the climb successful ifsomething stops you from getting to the top?

W:If the experience to that point is the way itwas on Denali when we got to the KahiltnaHorn, 200 vertical feet from the top, the

answer is absolutely yes. Just being onEverest is so attractive. I think back to thefirst time you and I went to Nepal. . . It’srather interesting, because even thinkingabout it I become teary again. Andespecially flying away and seeing themountain from the plane in the distance,just being so emotionally linked to thatexperience. Coming off Denali the firsttime, as far as I was concerned, the climbwas phenomenal and I had no regretsabout not having summited.

P: And yet you want to go back for a thirdtime to actually get to the summit?

W:(laughing) Yeah, because I do want to getto the top. I have not stood on the roof ofNorth America, and that was the initialintent.

P: Are there any early experiences that havean impact on the decision to climb Mt.Everest?

W: Absolutely (laughing). As a kid I alwayshad to prove myself. I had to always dothings that other people couldn’t do orwouldn’t do, and I’ve often thought thatmaybe my climbing is related to that. (Later)I’m also just thinking of a pipe crossing avery deep rock-filled trench and everybodywalked around that and I had to walk overthe pipe, which was only about threeinches in diameter. Everything wouldhave been fine if the pipe hadn’t startedswinging.

H: So you do things to be noticed?W: There’s no question that there is some

element of that in the whole equation. Idon’t know how substantial a part, but it’sdefinitely there. The pipe was absolutely toprove to myself that I was okay. Totally.

PATH

WA

YS

16

Thinking Risk

And hopefully everybody would see it aswell. (Laughs) The thing is, nobody cared.

P: What happened when the pipe startedswinging? You fell off into the trench?

W:(Laughing) And I got back up and walkedagain—but this time got across. Everybodywas 100 yards away and didn’t even knowthat I’d crossed it. I had to do it for myself.I had to prove to myself that I could do this.

Motivation may always include enjoyment ofthe activity and wanting to be noticed—noticed by our parents, our friends, strangers—and ourselves. When the need to be noticedis too strong, risk skyrockets. This needpushed Don Starkell to lose his fingerspaddling in the Arctic, it pushes climbers tocontinue when they should turn back, and itleads people to street race.

It may have complex roots, including parents’overuse of praise, total lack of praise, or thelack of acceptance of children for who theyare instead of what they can do. Helpingyoung people choose to participate inactivities for enjoyment rather than the needfor recognition may therefore not be easy.Still, we encourage educators to help studentsbecome aware of what motivates theirchoices. The decision to accept risk should bea conscious one.

Self-Assessment of Risk: How Much toAccept, and is the Assessment Accurate?

W:If you asked me if I would be interested inclimbing K2, my answer would beabsolutely no. I’m not interested inputting myself at extreme risk by going tosomething that’s tough or beyond mycapabilities. What I believe I’m doing iswithin my capabilities. I have control to alarge extent over that. Being adequatelyprepared is really the key.

P: How do you perceive the risk involved inthe climb of Mt. Everest?

W:I see it as reasonably low. The biggestdanger is of course on the Khumbuicefield, where the glacier is moving andsomething could come tumbling down.Now the likelihood of that is very slight.The other risk of course is weatherconditions changing dramatically, but ifone is fairly conscious, and knows one’slimits, I believe that can be minimized.

P: Were there times on previous climbswhen you felt more at risk than at others?

W:Absolutely. On Aconcagua the risk ofhaving to sleep out at night, but I don’t thinkthat was life threatening. And on Elbrusthe discombobulation—but with the guideknowing the mountain as well as she did,I’m not sure the risk was very high.

P: And when you were in the storm onDenali the second time, that wasn’t risky?

W:No. Because we had dug ourselves inproperly. Fortunately the weather brokejust enough for us to get down once ourfood ran out after nine days, but again, Ididn’t perceive that as much of a risk.

P: What do you think of the 2% figure forMt. Everest—that 2% of those who go toclimb the mountain actually die on themountain?

W:I would need to know the causes of death.Is it because of overexertion where theypushed past their limits? Is it because theypushed past turnaround times? Is itbecause of very adverse weather kicking in?

P: How will you be certain to respect yourturnaround time and not end up in thecategory of very high risk because youreally want to get to the summit andyou’ve spent a year training to get there?

W:Tough question to answer from thisposition. There are many things thatwould enter into that decision. First of all,what are the weather conditions like, andis there a possibility that the weather isstable enough to allow another hour’s

PATH

WA

YS

17

Thinking Risk

climb? If there’s any question about that,the answer would have to be ‘down.’

P: What else will you do to ensure that youreturn safely?

W:Certainly going to the mountain as fit as Ipossibly can be . . . having the rightequipment . . . being in a very healthycondition, and also being keenly awarewho I’m climbing with.

P: Many accidents on Mt. Everest happen onthe way down from the summit. How willyou be thinking about that as you’reclimbing?

W:On Elbrus I really experienced someextreme physical fatigue, rested for a bitand ate some stuff, and felt strong again.Now if I’m in that physical condition at apoint on Everest, I would definitely haveto turn back. Exhaustion on the way downis the prime killer.

When analysing the interview we thought ofa number of factors that make Werner’sassessment of risk optimistic. Excellentequipment and top physical form are certainlyprerequisites, but knowledge and judgementare also critical. On guided climbs involvingroped teams on lower mountains, these maybecome the responsibility of the guides. OnEverest things are different. On summit dayclimbers are seldom roped and often notclipped to fixed lines. Guides become spreadout, and many have themselves never climbedon Everest before. The best have made fatalerrors high on Everest. Altitude works to cloudjudgement, and can itself cause death throughcerebral or pulmonary oedema. All climbers,and especially those without extensive highaltitude experience, must accept sharplyincreased risk up high on Everest. Recenthistory suggests that clients climbing Everestguided are probably the most at-risk group onthe mountain.

We feel that it’s important for people engagingin risk activities to consider the level of risk

that they are comfortable taking. But howthen to honestly assess the risk? The tendencyto attribute accidents to mistakes, the beliefthat we ourselves won’t make the samemistakes, and the inability to consider factorsthat our experience does not let us see, cloudour assessment of risk. Increasing difficultyof our activities in small increments to gainthe experience necessary for sound judgementmakes sense. Otherwise, through everymeans possible we need to vicariously gainexperience. If we hope to avoid others’ errors,concrete strategies like setting an absoluteturnaround time might help—though othershave done so, ignored them, and died. Withouta gradual apprenticeship, we must accept thatwe cannot accurately assess the risk, and takethat into consideration.

Invincibility: What if You Think You Are,But You’re Not?

P: It doesn’t sound like you really seeyourself as possibly dying on a climb. Isthat accurate?

W:The perception of dying is very, very low.I’m aware that it definitely is a possibility.

P: I think people can intellectuallyconceptualize death, but they really don’tthink that it’ll be them.

W:Correct, it won’t be me (laughs). If Ithought that I would die, I would not go.

H: When you were on Aconcagua and youslipped and it was dark?

W:What occurred to me more than anythingelse is that we would be trapped where wewere for the night, and that it would beextremely uncomfortable, especially sincewe had run out of water and were reallythirsty, and very, very fatigued. But theidea of death—I did not think that I woulddie there; it wasn’t cold enough.

P: That stream at the bottom? You said to methat if you missed that jump, that was it.

W:Well, that came across to me much more

PATH

WA

YS

18

as a challenge than anything else, becauseI really, really had the sense that I couldmake it. I knew it was a stretch, but again,if I hadn’t been so confident I would havedumped my pack and said to him, youthrow me this thing. I jumped with mypack, which of course was very limiting,and yet really had the sense, ‘I can do this.’

H: It sounds like you think you’re invincible.W:No, that’s not quite accurate. But there are

certain things that I’m fairly sure that Ican do, and there are other things that I’mnot that good at doing. I’ve had manyexperiences that were really on the edgeduring my youth, and I suspect that thereis a perception of ‘I can get through this.’ Imight get hurt, but I can get through this.

P: What ones are you thinking of?W:Almost slipping into the Augrabis Falls in

South Africa. Daring myself to walk on theedge of an open pit mine when everyonewas on the path, and I’m on the edge andslipping, and thinking that I’m going toplunge about a hundred feet down, and atthe last minute jumping to a little ledgeand saving myself. Testing myself on amotorcycle a little bit ridiculously. Now, Ibelieve that greater balance exists in mylife. If I think back to that scree slope inthe Himalayas, over Kongma La, and howafraid and cautious I was—I was reallyscared, no question about it. And verycautious. And grateful when I fell, startedsliding, and that rock jammed into mybum. It hurt like hell, but I stopped(laughing).

P: I wonder if an experience like that is infact very helpful, or if it leaves you feelinglike you will always make it through?

W:What it reminds me of is being on theKahiltna Horn on Denali, and knowing

that the summit was only 20 minutes away,and not tough climbing. Yet internally Iwas so clear that the right thing was to godown, given the circumstances, and thatwas okay. I really expected to have summitfever, and I did not.

It is generally accepted that many youngpeople feel invincible, immortal. Paul used tobelieve that if the plane he was on crashed,he would surely be the sole survivor. Feelingat some level invincible might make theintellectual calculation of risk meaningless. Ifyou don’t think you can die, you really believethe risk is zero. Encouraging students to beconscious of their fear and to pay attention towhat they know may help. Sometimes wemay need iron fast rules to help our intellectswin out and appropriately manage risk. Ruleslike a non-negotiable turnaround time, adecision to never drive a car after even just onebeer, or a decision not to climb more thantwo metres off the ground without a rope.

Conclusion

Helping students to be aware of theirmotivation, and to be honest in theirassessment of risk, will help them act moreconsciously. Being able to identify whensomething is done for recognition more thanenjoyment, when enough experience is notpresent to fully assess the risk, and whenfeelings of invincibility may cloud goodjudgement may be first steps in protectingagainst their unconscious effects.

Paul Berger teaches at the Faculty of Education,Lakehead University. Helle Moeller is a nurse,and is finishing her Master of Anthropologydegree at the University of Copenhagen. Inactivities together their assessment of risk is notalways in agreement!

Thinking Risk

PATH

WA

YS

19

Going on a canoe trip with youth withphysical disabilities challenges concepts ofaccess and ability, and explores boundaries ina wilderness setting. This summer, Iexperienced the challenges and rewards ofthese trips, working as a canoe trip leader foran Easter Seals Camp outside of Perth, Ontario.On our trips, we usually had five temporarilyable-bodied staff, and seven campers aged tento eighteen with physical disabilitiesincluding, but not limited to, cerebral palsy,spina bifida, and muscular dystrophy. Somecampers could walk and could get in and outof canoes themselves. Others usedwheelchairs, and were lifted in and out ofcanoes by staff. Besides special canoe chairsmade to provide back support for our campers,the equipment on our trips was not uniquelyadapted. We traveled in 17-foot fiberglasscanoes and used similar paddles and tents toother camps tripping in Ontario. I think whatwas unique about these trips was the amountof determination, patience and attention tosafety shown by both campers and staff.

In this article I will draw from my personalexperience and focus on three specific waysto address the question, “How do we managerisk differently with youth from a mainstreampopulation when canoe tripping than wemight with youth with physical disabilities?”When I trip with youth with physicaldisabilities, my safety systems for the mostpart go unchanged. But, my attention to thesesystems is heightened as the implications ofeach decision—good and bad—are magnifiedwhen tripping with this population. There isa great deal of thought put into safety onthese trips by the organization, the director,the nurses, and other staff. I manage riskdifferently on a trip with youth with physicaldisabilities than I would on a trip with amainstream population.

eatureFAccess-ability: Risk Management for CanoeTripping with Youth with Physical Disabilitiesby David VanderBurgh

Paddling as a group and close to shore seemlike simple and obvious risk managementpractices. But when leading a trip for youthwith physical disabilities, a common senseroute along a shoreline shifts from a goodidea to a safety necessity. On our trips, ourboats are usually packed well above thegunnels, overflowing with packs, people andtied-in, folded up wheelchairs. Thesebrimming boats, coupled with novicepaddlers who do not have complete controlover their muscle function, heightened thepossibility of tipping.

For me as a leader, it was not the act oftipping that I was most worried about. Manyof the kids would have loved the adventureand stories that would have resulted from anunexpected swim. Rather, I was most worriedabout how we would recover and rescue aswamped canoe, and its paddlers. Whenboats are loaded above the gunnels withwheelchairs, and your swimmers may beunable to help themselves back into a boat, acanoe-over-canoe rescue in deep water is atricky maneuver at best. From a safetyperspective, we hand-railed the shoreline atevery possibility, aware that in the event of adump (which thankfully never happened), wecould tow people quickly to shore, and usesolid ground to recover a canoe and help orlift campers safely back into the righted boat.

While on trip with kids with physicaldisabilities, I looked at the shoreline differently,critiquing campsites and choosing them fortheir accessibility. Once at a campsite, Ilooked at three things in particular: the accessat the water; the distance from the water tothe actual site; and the terrain around the fireand tent sites. The terrain at a takeout ispivotal for safe transfers in and out of thecanoes. Ideal: beach. Not ideal: slippery,sloping rock. To load or unload gear andeight campers into or out of canoes took

PATH

WA

YS

20

Access-ability

anywhere from one to two hours. This wasmainly determined by the campsite access atthe water. A tricky access point would lead tolifts being taken a couple steps at a time andup to four staff working with one camper toensure safety.

The distance from the water to the actual sitewas an important safety consideration forboth campers and staff. The further a site wasfrom the lake, the more chance of an accident,either from a camper falling when walkingover tricky terrain, or from a complication ina camper’s lift. One evening this summer,one of my groups was forced to stay at aninaccessible site. The campsite was about 100metres from the shore, up a sloping rock face(remember: not ideal!). From a riskmanagement perspective, the site posedsafety concerns not only for campers, butalso for staff due to the physical demand ofassisting and carrying campers up this slab.We were able to camp safely at this site, butits inaccessibility was a concern that wemanaged by being slow, methodic and carefulwhile moving campers to and from the water.

Accessibility around tent and fire sites wasalso important when choosing where to sleep.On our trips, we promoted and encouragedindependence in the campers. A flat, rootless,rockless site meant maneuverability andindependence. Although more room to walkor wheel around may lead to the possibilityof an accident, I found this less of a concernthan the emotional impacts of being trappedbetween a rock and a root, and immobilizedon a campsite. Thus, when looking for anideal, safe site for youth with physicaldisabilities, I was looking for one that was flatand smooth around the tent and fire sites.

My final example of how risk managementdiffers when working with youth withphysical disabilities on a canoe trip is howleaders deal with health concerns. With thispopulation, the consequences surroundinghealth complications are heightened. As aleader, I must therefore consider each first aidsituation seriously. One night this summer, agirl was complaining of a severe headache.She had a history of migraines, but to her

this headache was worse than those she’dhad before, and it was focused directly on hershunt—a surgically implanted one-way valvethat channels water off her brain, down acatheter into her stomach. A blocked shuntcan exhibit itself in many ways, includingsevere pain, and can lead to brain damageand death. Was her headache a blockedshunt? Was she nervous on her first night ofthe trip and seeking attention? Using asatellite phone, I was able to call the camp toask for advice. The camp nurse, director, andthe girl’s mother discussed the situation anddecided that the girl’s symptoms wereconsistent with her migraine headaches anda desire for attention. She was able to stay ontrip; her headache cleared up and she enjoyedthe remainder of her experience. Whentripping with youth with physical disabilities, Ihave a heightened sense of precaution aroundhealth concerns because the possibility ofserious consequences is magnified. Therefore,we carry a satellite phone—something Iwould not do on a mainstream populationtrip—and use it to check-in with the nursesat camp. We also treat each health situationwith scrutiny and seriousness, neverassuming that a headache is just a headache.

Thankfully, we did not have any majoraccidents or incidents on canoe trip thissummer. I believe this record is at leastpartially due to strong attention paid to riskmanagement. Although we were diligentabout safety, in no way was the spirit of acanoe trip lost. We paddled, portaged andcooked as any other group might. In someways, my canoe trips from this summer wereunlike any other I had led before. I learned tochallenge conventional concepts aboutaccessibility and ability. But, in other ways,my trips were like any other canoe trip withfirst-timers: the kids complained about therain and wanted to hear ghost stories.

David VanderBurgh has worked as a canoetripper with mainstream populations, youth at-risk, and youth with physical disabilities. Hecurrently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia wherehe continues to work with people who live withcerebral palsy.

PATH

WA

YS

21

Standards and practices are industry-createdand driven by practitioners. They areeventually accepted as normal peer practicesand almost everyone conforms. However, ifyou carefully compare the multiple standardsthat apply to a variety of rope access activities,there is considerable variation, and evendisagreement and inconsistency. Many of theseguidelines and regulations are regionallydeveloped and, therefore, can be self-servingand biased. But all of these standards,fundamentally, describe some sort of safetyframework to protect people at height using rope.

All standards share common threads, and it isimportant for outdoor leaders and practitioners tobe aware of these standards and guidelines. Hence,here is a resource list, a sample of the companies,associations, standards, and regulatoryauthorities whose work directly or indirectlyapplies to outdoor and adventure education, orcould be referenced in a court of law.

Associations, Labels and Institutions• ACC (Alpine Club of Canada, Manitoba

Section; www.alpine-club.mb.ca)—climbing instructor certification

• ACC (Alpine Club of Canada, Thunder BaySection; www.acctbay.ca)

• ACCT (Association for Challenge CourseTechnology; www.acctinfo.org)—aerial andropes courses

• ACMG (Association of Canadian MountainGuides; www.acmg.ca)—mountaineeringand guiding certification

• AMGA (American Mountain GuidesAssociation; www.amga.com)—mountaineering and guiding certification

• ANSI (American National StandardsInstitute; www.webstore.ansi.org)—equipment standards

• ASME (American Society of MechanicalEngineers; www.asme.org)—windowcleaning safety standards

• ASTM (formerly, American Society for Testingand Materials; www.astm.org)—indoor gymwall standards, which are in development

• Canadian federal laws regarding fallprotection (www.fedpubs.com)

• Canadian provincial laws regarding fallprotection (Refer to the “OccupationalHealth and Safety Act;” www.gov.on.ca)

• CE/CEN/EN (Communité European;www.cenorm.be)—climbing equipmentstandards (see UIAA)

eading the TrailR

Technical Standardsby Robert Chisnall

• CNS (Climb Nova Scotia;www.climbnovascotia.ca)—rock climbinginstructor certification

• CSA (Canadian Standards Association;www.csa.ca)—fall protection equipmentstandards

• CUSSCO (College, University and SchoolSafety Council of Ontario; see www.onla.on.ca,the Web site of the Legislative Assembly,for more information about this and otherassociations)

• DIN (Deutsche Industrie Norm)—equipmentstandards and testing (safety equipmentoften bears the DIN label)

• FQME (Féderation Québécoise de laMontagne et de l’Escalade;www.fqme.qc.ca)—access and climbinginstructor certification in Quebec

• ISO (International Organization forStandardization; www.iso.ch)—technologystandards

• IRATA (International Rope Access TradesAssociation; www.irata.org)—rope accessprocedures and certification

• OCA (Ontario Camping Association;www.ontcamp.on.ca)—camp climbing andchallenge course standards

• OPHEA (Outdoor Physical and HealthEducation Association; www.ophea.org)—physical education safety standards; challengecourses, climbing walls, rock climbing

• ORCA (Outdoor Recreation Council ofAmerica)—commercial gym standards(associated with the CGA, the ClimbingGym Association)

• ORCA (Ontario Rock Climbing Association)—rock climbing instructor certification (thecurrent state of this association is uncertain;see the Web sites for Multi-Trek Climbingand Rescue and Equinox Adventures forcommercial schools claiming to offer ORCAcertification courses)

• NFPA (National Fire Protection Association;www.nfpa.org)—rescue procedures andequipment

• PEP (Provincial Emergency Program, BritishColumbia; www.pep.bc.ca)—rescue training

• MSA (Mountain Rescue Association;www.mra.org)

• NSS (National Speleological Society;www.caves.org) —caving practices

• SPRAT (Society of Professional Rope AccessTechnicians; www.cprat.org)—rope accessprocedures and certification

• UI (Underwriters Laboratories Inc.)—testingand certifying safety equipment (safetyequipment often bears the UI label)

• UIAA (Union Internationale des Associationsd’Alpinisme; www.uiaa.ch)—climbingequipment standards (see CE/CEN/EN)

PATH

WA

YS

22

n the FieldI

Outdoor education is a constantly evolvingfield with a broad spectrum of opportunitiesand challenges for participants. Miles andPriest (1999) suggest that outdoor educationhas in the past been conceived of as alearning place (natural environment), asubject to be learnt (ecological processes) anda reason for learning (resource stewardship).These same authors suggest that outdooreducation should exceed these elements as itcan also take place indoors during trippreparation. They insist, as well, that outdooreducation must be more than simplybringing a group of students together in anatural environment to study an ecologicalenvironment, in the hope, for example, ofthe students becoming park rangers. It is ourunderstanding that an outdoor educationexperience needs to be perceived holisticallyto fully appreciate its pedagogical significance.In considering the impact of outdooreducation experiences, in addition to formallearning objectives, one must includeinformal and even accidental learning.

Miles and Priest (1999) define outdooreducation as “an experiential method oflearning with the use of all senses. It takesplace primarily, but not exclusively, throughexposure to the natural environment. Inoutdoor education the emphasis for thesubject of learning is placed on a relationshipconcerning people and natural resources”(p. 111). As part of this learning experiencethe intent of this paper is to explore outdooreducation as an opportunity for participantsto experience spiritual development throughplay within or in relation to the naturalenvironment.

The term spirituality comes from the Greekword “pneuma” and “spiritus” in the Latin

Spiritual Development through Play in theOutdoors: A Look at the Scout Movementby François Gravelle and Gervais Deschênes

language. Etymologically the term “spiritual”is associated with “breath of life” and theconcept of “vitality” with an “awakening ofthe conscience of self.” Consequently, forthe purpose of our paper we will considerspirituality as an “inner-person” experienceleading to a better understanding andongoing transformation of oneself in relationwith the unconditional (i.e., with nature)wherein the transcendence of self andnature through the spirit is considered animportant element (Waaijman, 1939).

As it is obviously difficult to measureobjectively when and how spiritualdevelopment will take place with theindividual, it is our belief that participantsshould be provided with the best possibleconditions for this type of learning to takeplace. Bearing this in mind, we now turn to“play” as possibly being conducive to thespiritual development of the inner-person.

According to Ellis (1973) play is based onfreedom, creativity and personal evaluation.Play is an activity where players can be freer,more creative and not subject to formalevaluation such as in the structured settingsof school or work (Ellis, 1973). In essence,play has an element of culture, which allowsindividuals to be themselves or, according toHuizinga (1955), to learn to be differentwhile exploring fun and pleasure.

Socrates suggested that learning was inmany instances about finding oneself. Play istherefore a prominent learning tool. But forplay to do its magic we need to provideparticipants with the richest possiblelearning environment, one that allows forfreedom, creativity and self-assessment, andwhere the outdoors or natural environment

PATH

WA

YS

23

will not only offer the physical space andliberty for play to take its course, but can alsooffer a liberating environment for spiritualdevelopment as it allows participants thefreedom to explore their inner-person.Play has many advantages to offerparticipants in this regard:• Play can provide participants with varied

learning experiences, as it can beinformal and spontaneous. Lites (1992)suggests that play is a process in which anindividual progresses by making decisionsand being constantly “surprised” by anever-changing environment, thusallowing players to evolve towards whatthey are supposed to be or become.

• Play is a place for imagination, creativityand authenticity, implying a joy of being.

• Play requires taking time to be oneself,discovering new ways of doing things,giving way to grace, gratuity andfreedom, and providing an opportunityto develop personal judgment byinventing rules and adhering to them.

• Play provides an opportunity to explorepersonal possibilities and limits whileinteracting with friends, realizing thattogether they can build and accomplisheven bigger projects.

It is therefore our belief that spiritualdevelopment gained through play in anoutdoor environment will help playersbecome more conscious of the potentialwithin their inner-person. It will notnecessarily lead players to become morereligious in any formal sense, but rather willhelp them understand the depth of their ownspiritual potential.

Spirituality through play will also provideparticipants with the realization on a dailybasis of the importance of others. Play,therefore, favours deep and transcendentexperiences allowing for the development ofcreativity and helping participants to touchbase with their true self through their past,present and even future realities.

Now how can one apply this vision to thereal world? To illustrate our perspective let ustake a quick look at an existing outdooreducation program aimed at promotingspiritual development through interactionwith nature. The Scout Movement of Canadais presently a part of life for over 100,000young people and 30,000 volunteers(www.Scouts.ca). Since 1908 scouting hasbeen an integral part of the Canadian cultureproviding meaningful experiences toyoungsters across the country. In its missionthis organization incorporates play in theoutdoors as key experiences leading tospiritual development (www.Scouts.ca).

The Scout Movement is defined as “avoluntary non-political educational movementfor young people, open to all withoutdistinction of origin, race or creed, inaccordance with the purpose, principles andmethod conceived by the founder Baden-Powell” (World Scout Bureau, 1992). Thus,the purpose of the Scout Movement is tocontribute to the holistic development ofyoung people towards achieving their fullphysical, intellectual, social and spiritualpotential as responsible citizens in their owncommunity (World Scout Bureau, 1992).

The Scout Movement is formally structured,as it leads youngsters through a series ofstages before becoming full members of thiscommunity. Following a probation period,young candidates will choose to make a“Scout’s Promise” leading to a commitmentbased on personal honour. This “promise” islived everyday through the scout’s duty toGod, to others and to self (www.Scouts.ca).

In essence the Scout Movement is perceivedas a school of life widely open to play as apedagogical tool that allows youngsters toprogressively develop into their holistic being(inner-person). The dynamic relationshipstaking place between youngsters and theoutdoors offer opportunities viewed ascornerstones in the Scout Movement, or, as

In the Field

PATH

WA

YS

24

stated by Baden-Powell, a way todiscover their soul.

Inspired by Shackleton, Baden-Powell stated in 1922 that playled to the development of

spiritual thinking not solelyconcerning one’s religion,but rather with the totalperson, both at play and atwork. According toBaden-Powell, the

purpose of outdooreducation is mainly to helpparticipants discover thebeauty and greatness of

nature. To lose sight ofnature is to lose half of the

pleasure of life. Life should beconsidered a game, andteamwork as the greatgame.

The Scouting approach is focused upon actionin natural settings, providing youngsters witha series of clear objectives while leaving roomfor their imagination to develop their senseof the inner-person. It is designed to be achallenge that is self-chosen, motivated,conducted and celebrated by the scoutsthemselves. It envisions a pooling of energyfrom all members and provides both theindividual and the group a chance to growphysically, socially, intellectually andspiritually.

The Scout Movement embraces a pedagogicaltool aimed at activating young scouts. Theemerging process, one that aspires to meetthe needs and expectations of young scouts, isin itself a real life adventure. At the root ofthis adventure lies a dream growing from thescout’s imagination. Dreams are the basis ofvisions leading to actions.

Imagination will transform dreams intoconcrete projects. By accomplishing theseprojects, one often exceeds what is originally

expected. Dreams will often materializewithin the structures of serious play where theimaginary constitutes social learning. Theexperience often evolves into reality, helpingyoung scouts build a community amongthemselves. In essence youngsters are getting,through their imagination, closer to nature,to reality, gaining significant social learningin line with real life situations. At camp,scouts might decide for example to form acouncil and meet around a large oak tree todiscuss the day’s crisis or next day’s strategy.Independently from its form or shape, playwithin the outdoors offers the possibility of“freedom of becoming” (Kelly, 1987 p. 17)and is related to a process rather than thefinal result. Through play activities, actionwill focus on each scout developing a strongerinner-person within a community setting.Play allows for creativity and social interactionleading to enhanced community livingthrough spiritual development in theoutdoors.

Conclusion

In a nutshell it is our firm belief that outdooreducation greatly exceeds formal and pre-planned learning objectives. One mustconsider the importance of informal yet oftenaccidental learning as contributing greatly tothe holistic development of the participants.As mentioned earlier, spiritual developmentis difficult to objectively measure. Thereforespecific attention should be devoted toplanning an environment and conditionsconducive to spiritual development.

Play has many qualities favourable to thedevelopment of spirituality. Through flexible,creative and less evaluative activities, playconstitutes an ideal setting favouringspiritual/holistic development of participants.

The Scout Movement is a great example of awell-structured community that is helpingyoung Canadians pursue their spiritualdevelopment in a structured and yet playful

In the Field

PATH

WA

YS

25

In the Field

outdoor setting. Through the concept of theScouts’ “project” it was demonstrated thatyoungsters could significantly develop sociallyand personally, and, more importantly, couldpursue their spiritual development, leading tothe attainment of their personal autonomy.

It is obvious that the use of technology inscout activities is definitely an added value asfar as spiritual development and outdooreducation is concerned, whether to enhancepre-trip preparation, help maintain a sense ofcommunity between scouts locally andaround the world, or enhance youngsters’dreams at the root of their projects.

Within an outdoor education programspiritual development can be enhanced inmany ways. To set the scene for success inthis matter we recommend the following:

• Play is an extraordinary pedagogical tool.To enhance chances of success inrelation to spiritual development, oneshould leave room for imagination,helping participants develop their ownstory lines as they progress through theiroutdoor experience. Learning is greatlyenhanced if participants engage in a“learning project,” making newknowledge alive in their mind.

• Play allows participants to develop asense of mastery and control within asafe environment. Play activities shouldbe structured in a flexible manner allowingparticipants to use their creative potentialin building their own limitations, rulesand sense of success within these activities.

• The learning project should includetechnology, as it is an extraordinary toolto trigger and sustain imagination,viewed here as an essential ingredient ofspiritual development. Through the useof the Internet, participants can forexample better prepare themselves for anoutdoor activity, discover new techniquesor chat with friends and colleaguessharing similar interests.

• To assess outdoor learning experience,consideration should be put onmeasuring progress of spiritualdevelopment. Questions such as “Howdid you feel during the activity?” “Didyou have fun during the activity?” and“What did you learn about yourselfduring the activity?” could trigger self-evaluation and self-assessment amongparticipants.

Bibliography

Baden-Powell, R. (1922). Rovering to Success.London, Jenkins.

Ellis, M. J., (1973). Why People Play.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Huizinga, J. (1955). Homo ludens: A Study ofPlay Element in Culture. Boston, MA:Beacon Press.

Kelly, J. R. (1987). Freedom to Be:A NewSociology of Leisure. New York: MacmillanPublishing Company.

Lites, W. W. (1992). Play as a Metaphor for theProcess of Perceiving God. Doctoraldissertation, Louisville, The SouthernBaptist Theological Seminary.

Miles, J. C. and Priest, S. (1999). AdventureProgramming. State College Pennsylvania:Venture.

Scouts Canada. (2004). About Us. Retrieved 5May 2004 from http://www.scouts.ca/inside.asp?cmPageID=9

Waaijman, K. (1939). “Toward aphenomenological definition ofspirituality,” Studies in Spirituality, 3.

World Organization of the Scout Movement(1992). Fundamental Principles. Geneva:World Scouts Bureau.

Dr. François Gravelle, PhD, is an associateprofessor in the School of Human Kinetics,(Leisure Studies Program) at the University ofOttawa. Dr. Gervais Deschênes, PhD, isassociate researcher at the University of Ottawa.He is also an active leader in the ScoutMovement in the Scouts Association in Canada.

PATH

WA

YS

26

ackpocketB

The outdoor and experiential educationindustries typically deal with two kinds ofrisk: the risk management inherent inrunning a safe program, and risk-taking as alearning goal. In creating programs thataddressed the second of these topics—personal risk-taking—we at intellact had twoobjectives for our clients:

1. Provide a decision tree approach thatwould encourage positive risk-taking.

2. Develop tips that would increase thelikelihood of positive outcomes fromthose risks.

We began with a definition of risk “Wherethe outcome is not known and the potential

“Risk? Risk!”©—A Model for Risk-takingby Andrew Welch

for the loss of something of value exists”(Challenges Unlimited, Incorporated, 1999).Then we developed a simple model thataddressed both objectives with an easy-to-remember acronym: the “RISK? RISK!”©

model. The first part of the model is a simpledecision tree, to be used by an individualwhen faced with a risk that has already beenpartially vetted as a “good” risk. In otherwords, for simplicity, the model assumes thatthe individual recognizes some soundnessand potential benefit to the risk, but isunclear on her or his commitment or isunwilling to take it. There are four steps tothe decision tree, and four tips for positiveoutcomes. The full model is diagrammed inFigure A.

Figure A. “Risk? Risk!” model (Copyright 2002, 2004 Andrew Welch, intellact).

Responsible, Valuable Risk presented

Imagined

Lower

Yes

No

Take the Risk! Four things to increase chances of achieving successful outcomes: Relax! Imagine Success! State risk and outcome! Keep focused on gains!

Real or imagined?

Real

Higher

Yes

If no

t now

, whe

n?

Investment in learning?

Knock of opportunity?

Switch: Cost of not risking?

No

PATH

WA

YS

27

Real or Imagined?

The loss potential from an “apparent” riskseems just as real as one from an actual risk,when in fact no loss potential may exist. Theloss potential is why we fear taking personalrisks. When evaluating a risk, we (quite rightly)imagine the worst case scenario. But, we mightthen look for evidence to support that outcomemore than any other. Our fear becomes FalseEvidence Appearing Real. Is it “fear of thepotential cost” or “fear of the unknown”?

Investment in Learning?

It is very easy for personal risks, such aschallenging others, acknowledging errors, orquestioning the status quo, to have a negativefeel. The outcome of risk is, by definition,unknown. However the alternative to“success” need not be as negative as “failure.”The loss may simply be a necessary cost ofthe lessons learned. A toddler will not learnto walk without falling—many times. Thatrisk, even with the certain outcome of a fewfalls, is worth it, based on the learning gained.

Switch: What is the Cost of NOT Takingthe Risk?

After evaluating potential costs and gains of arisk, it is often very useful to consider theother alternative: NOT taking the risk. Is thecost of avoidance higher than the potentialcost of the risk?

Knock of Opportunity?

Risks often have a small window ofopportunity—an opportunity that may notcome again. In such cases, either you take therisk when it is offered, or the potential gainsare gone, never to be claimed. If the riskrepresents a unique opportunity, don’t put itoff. Take the risk.

Once the decision has been made to take therisk, there are four things you can do toencourage a positive outcome:

1. Relax! — Deciding whether to take apersonal risk can be stressful. Once you havedecided to take the risk, take a deep breathand relax. There should be less stress once thechoice is made. You made the right choice.

2. Imagine Success! — Envision the bestoutcome you could possibly get from yourrisk, and suppress dwelling on the potentialnegatives. You often have more influence onthat outcome than you are aware—make sureyou are steering everything in the rightdirection. When you need help, people willsupport risks that are expected as successes,not disappointments.

3. State Risk and Desired Outcome! — Itoften helps if you let others know that youare taking a risk. It engages their understanding,support, and even admiration—taking a riskis something to be proud of. You can also letthem know what your desired outcome is. Ifyou are hoping for a particular positiveoutcome, telling others what that is allowsthem to help make it happen.

4. Keep Focused on Gains! — Withpersonal risks, the biggest determinant ofsuccess is YOU, your attitude and your focus.Don’t focus on “Why I Can’t.” Focus on “HowI Can,” and then commit to “How I Will.” Anoptimistic approach is often fundamental toachieving the potential gains, as well as beingcritical to taking the next risk. Successful risktaking requires practice, repetition, and ahigh level of optimism, even in the face of“failure.” Don’t give up!

Reference

Challenges Unlimited Inc. (1999). Level IIChallenge Ropes Course Instructor.Unpublished workshop materials.

Andrew Welch is the principal consultant ofintellact and the founding champion of theannual Canadian Experiential EducationPractitioners Symposium (www.intellact.ca/ceeps).

Backpocket

PATH

WA

YS

28

You and your partner must try to findsomething to fit each category below. Eachitem can only be used once and you mustexplain how it fits the criteria listed. (Pairs ofstudents are given a list, pencil and a bag tocarry their treasures in). The list can beadopted for any age group.

Find something that• is older than you• is brand new• is changing• is an energy producer• reminds you of the season (spring/

summer/ fall/ winter)• is unique to this area• is out of place

ackpocketB

Interpretive Scavenger Huntby Linda MacKenzie

• is useless• is recycled• is edible• is warm/cold• has an unusual texture• is beautiful• reminds you of your partner• is red, blue, yellow (could have colour

chips to match)• contains water• is related to another item (find the two

items)• is recyclable• is of value to you personally

Linda MacKenzie teaches at Project Dare,South River.

PATH

WA

YS

29

Recently I heard an anthropologist make aninsightful comment. He suggested that whileonce word and label association games (i.e.,matching the letters of the alphabet insequence to a label) likely used geographicalplace-names as the theme, nowadays kidswould more likely use movie titles or celebritynames. The intended point was that somethinghas been lost in this change. Place-namesencode an important cultural memory. Theyprovide a story for the particular place. Thestory might be one of indigenous origins, inwhich case the naming likely relates directlyto the land in terms of perhaps shape, event, orspirit. The story might also be one of renamingby European or other immigrant cultures,sometimes with little relation to the land.Finally the story might be one of mistranslation,misnomers or mispronouncing between “oldworld” and “new world” North America.

Whatever the case, a place-name is oftenmore than just a name. It tells a story and tocompletely lose the story is to lose somethingfrom our Canadian culture and move usfurther toward a kind of landlessness thatAmerican conservationist, Aldo Leopold, sofeared. Canadian travel literature scholar ISMacLaren put it this way: “With the loss ofcultural history, we have no choice but tolearn from technological history. Will itsdeep ironies prompt us to realize that thefirst lesson it has to teach is repentance?”

He was talking about the loss of BoatEncampment—the western terminus of theAthabasca Pass—to the Mica Dam flooding ofthe Upper Columbia River. The old “pivotalrendezvous point on the Pacific slope” calledLa Montagne de la Grande Traverse(Athabasca Pass) in the fur trade era is nowunder water. Kinbasket Lake has a surface areaof 450 km2. As MacLaren states succinctly,“Many cultures have not lost places sostoried.” Sometimes what is lost is not justgeographical cultural memory through place-name losses, but the geography itself.

A Look at Canadian Waterway Place-namesby Bob Henderson

Certainly, First Nations peoples shouldmaintain a centrality in Canadian waterwayplace-names. Their “named” Canada involvesancient trails and waterways. It was and is afully named place. It was a very interestinglynamed place too. The Nepisquit River(Winpegigewig in Mi’kmag) in NewBrunswick means troubled river, or roughflowing water in Mi’kmag. The Nepisquit is amajor white water river in New Brunswickrelative to all other New Brunswick rivers.All in a name, as the expression goes.

Tadoussac at the mouth of the Saguenay Riverin Quebec means “breasts” in the Innulanguage. From a distance it is a recognizablelandmark. A particularly favourite place-name is “Tooguya,” Ojibway for “bendingover river,” crudely translated as “open assriver” for a particular branch of the SouthLady Evelyn. Apparently this branch of theriver was laden in shoreline overhangs andtree limbs filling in the passage such that thebow paddle is bent over clearing a passage—plumbers butt, one might say. Anotherfavourite is the La Chine rapids, just west ofMontreal. La Salle named this site in themid-1600s thinking he was enroute toChina. Opengo Lake in Algonquin Park,Ontario means “sandy narrows,” whichcorrectly tells you this is a fine place to campon the big lake. Manitou Lake in theTemagami region of north-eastern Ontarioshould really translate into the English as“Roaring Spirit Lake,” for the loose bouldersthat fall in the spring on the lake’s east side.This is something for campers to rememberfor sure. There are lessons to be learned inexploring place-name meanings. Back toNew Brunswick.

I have a real love affair with New Brunswick(and Maine) place-names. Favourites in NewBrunswick include the Upsalquitch River,which is corrupted from Absetquetchmeaning “small river” (when compared tothe Restigouche River). In part, I love just

ild WordsW

PATH

WA

YS

30

saying the word, but I’ve also stood at PoppleDepot and planned for a future trip that wouldsee me traveling the “troubled” Nepisquit toget to “small river” Upsalquitch to access the“river that divides like the hand” Restigouche.Presumably I’d be traveling into this finalriver via one of its fingers.

Interestingly there is another possible originalof meaning for the Restigouche. Father Richardin the Jesuit Relations, 1642, includes a storyof an unsuccessful Mohawk raid into thisregion of the Mi’kmag. The Mi’kmag leader,Tonel, shouted at the young Mohawk leaderat the moment of his execution, “Listo Gotj”which means, “Disobedience to your father.”According to Mi’kmag elders, Tonel changedthe name of the region to listo gotj incommemoration of this battle. From listogotj we eventually get Restigouche in English.It was a special treat to hear a fuller version ofthe listo gotj Mohawk–Mi’kmag conflict as toldto me by Mi’kmag story teller, Gilbert Sewell.

In the excellent book Ancient Land, AncientSky: Following Canada’s Native Canoe Routes(1999) written from a native perspective, itbecomes clear that: “Everything about the OldOrder—medical knowledge, religious beliefs,artistic achievements, industry, commercialrelations—has been distorted or dismissed. . . .From Cartier’s time to ours . . . it’s twistory.”Let’s explore something of this twistory inexamining Canadian waterway place-names.One could easily teach a university courseentitled Canadian Place-name Studies. I’llkeep it to an outdoor educator’s interest.

In English most place-names appear to benamed for people in a general commemorativeway. Much of Canada has been re-named inthis manner. In native dialects, naming wasbased on some specific quality. These qualitiesmight be divided into categories. There areshape-based namings such as MatagamasiLake (lake divided in two waters comingtogether); event-based namings such asJumping Caribou Lake (a translation forwhere the caribou went into the water or ahunting spot), or Hanging Shit Lake for apassing where the intestines of an animalwere left hanging from a tree; vegetation-

based namings such as Katherine Lake (whichwas originally Kaw-Baw-Zips-Kitay-Be-Gawstanding for “the noise made when yourcanoe passes over lily pads or scraping lake;”spirit-based namings include Chis-kon-abikong for conjuring rock. There are alsolook-alike and sounds-like namings such asSitting Rabbit and Beaver Chewing Lakesrespectively.

Sadly there are also many native soundingwords that have been corrupted over time tobe meaningless. Chiniguichi is one suchexample. “Chini” doesn’t make sense, but“guichi” means “the outlet.” Also, we havelost the original meanings for Lake of Bays,Canoe, Smoke and Burnt Island Lakes all inthe Algonquin Park area, but this shouldn’ttake away from possible interesting stories torenamed place-names. Canoe Lake inAlgonquin Park is so named because, duringthe 1853 geological expedition lead byAlexander Murray, the party was “delayedseveral days to construct a new canoe” for theupriver headwaters travel. The fragility of ourcultural memory is shown in learning that acabin fire meant the loss of an old timer’sjournal. He had recorded place-namemeanings for the Algonquin Muskoka region.

I really like the place-names that explain thegeography itself with the naming. Examplesof this are Traverse, Cross or Oxtonge Lakes(generally Kameejeegami in Ojibway), whichmeans, “there are river outlets across fromeach other.” Annamanipissing Lake means,“where it leaves from the headwaters forNipissing waters.” I, for one, would takeHanging Shit Lake over Bob’s Creek/PilgrimCreek any day. Same goes for Labrador’sKogaluk River rather than its other name—Frank’s Brook. I’m grateful for the preservationof place-names coast to coast, such as theNotokwanon and Naskoupi Rivers in Labrador,and Ninstints (rather than Anthony Island)in Haidi Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands).

The misses in terms of translations,pronunciation and misnomers generally areinteresting too. “Canada,” of course, is ourcountry’s great mistranslation. Cartier confusedthe Iroquoian word “kanata” meaning

Wild Words

PATH

WA

YS

31

Wild Words

village, for the name of the country overall.Similarly, Baie St. Laurent named after thatsaint’s particular day marks a non-descriptbay Cartier had visited and noted on hismap/charts. Problem was, he was short onspace so the notation was placed more on theopen area away from the coast. Back in France,the mapmaker misunderstood and namedthe whole gulf St. Lawrence. Lake of the Woodsin north-western Ontario was known to theCree as Min-es-tic, or Lake of the Islands. TheFrench mistook the Cree word mis-tic (wood).With fourteen thousand islands, this mistakeis most glaring. Nootka Sound on the westcoast of Vancouver Island is a classicmisnomer. When the Nuu-Chah-Nulth peoplemet Cook’s men in 1778, they were shouting,“Nootka it cheme.” This actually means “goaround to the harbour.” The people becamethe Nootka Indians and the place NootkaSound. Wayne Haimila has referred to sucherrors as “death by cartography.”

Native writer, Louise Erdrich is equallypoignant. Writing about “Devil’s Bay” in Lakeof the Woods, she writes:

“Squaw Rock. Devil’s This andDevil’s That. Indian or TomahawkAnything. There’s no use railing. . . .Some day, when there is nothingmore important to do, theAnishinaabeg will demand that allthe names be changed. For it wasobviously the rock painting at theentrance to the bay that inspired thename. It is not a devil, of course, buta spirit in communication with theunknowable.”

One just has to think back to Manitou Lakein Temagami, which really means “RoaringSpirit Lake” for another example to rail about.

Part of the misrepresentations can beexplained by the acute difference betweenEnglish and Native dialects. Ojibwemowinin fact is entered in the Guinness Book ofWorld Records as one of the world’s mostdifficult languages to learn. English, comparedto Ojibway dialects, is a noun-based language.As Louise Erdrich points out, “Ojibwemowinis a language of action. . . . how many things,

nouns, could anyone carry around . . . . two-thirds of the words are verbs.” This is true ofmany native languages generally. So when Ithink the bear paw snowshoe is so calledbecause it looks like a bear paw, the correctunderstanding would be that it is so calledbecause you walk like a bear when wearingthat shoe. This “verbness” quality to languagealso influences place-names. Naming placesfor people seems an arrogant gesture to nativepeoples, as I understand it. My goodness,Euro–Canadians are certainly comfortablewith it. I wonder what Mt. Logan, almostchanged to Mt. Pierre Trudeau, was first called.

This “look” at place-names merely scratchesthe surface. It does suggest that there aremany lessons and stories linked to culturalmemory dating back to pre-European contacttime and naming into the present. Perhaps ifwe all, culturally speaking, began to take thetime to explore the taken-for-granted natureto our canoe-tripping place-name destinations,we might be someday able to play a word orletter association game sitting out a wet dayin the tent or during a long group paddle. Andin this exploration and playing a place-namegame, rather than a celebrity, movie titles, ormusic bands labels game, we would bereturning to the land in a meaningful andwell-storied way. It is good to return to thesestories of place-names.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Craig Macdonald of Dwight, Ontariofor his help with Ontario place-names and

From Ancient Land, Ancient Skies

The neighbouring Mi’kmag called theisland (of Newfoundland) Wee-soc-kadao, or “leftovers”. They believed thatthe Creator had formed it after he hadmade the rest of North America byunceremoniously dumping the remainingjagged rocks, runt trees and bog landinto the North Atlantic. Hmm, now wesimply say, The Rock: a noted touristdestination site.

PATH

WA

YS

32

Wild Words

understanding the Canadian Shield nativedialects. Thanks also to Gilbert Sewell andRod O’Connell for their informationconcerning New Brunswick place-names.

References

Erdrich, L. (2003). Books and Islands inOjibwe Country. Washington, DC: NationalGeographic.

Garland, GD. (1997). Names of Algonquin:Stories behind the lakes and place-names

of Algonquin Provincial Park. AlgonquinPark Technical Bulletin, 10.

McFarlane, P. & Haimila, W. (1999) AncientLand, Ancient Sky: Following Canada’s NativeCanoe Routes. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf.

MacLaren, I.M. (2001). Splendor sine occasu:Salvaging boat encampment. CanadianLiterature 170/171, Autumn/Winter.

Note: A different version of this paper wasprinted as “Naming the Waters” in Kanawa,Spring 2004.

From the days when the big lake with thelongest name in the United States was acentral gathering place for the Nipmuc Indiansand their friends, the great pond—divided bynarrow channels into three bodies of water—has been famed throughout the area.

The Indians had several different names forthe great body of water, as can be learnedfrom early maps and old historical records.However, all of these were similar and hadalmost the same translation, according toIndian language. Among early names wereChabanaguncamogue, Chabanagogum, andChauunagungamaug, the latter nowincorporated in the long name.

One of the tribes on the other side of the lakewas the Monuhchogoks, which was corruptedto the name Manchaug. A map of 1795, showingthe town of Dudley, indicated the lake nameas “Chargoggaggoggmanchoggagogg.” In 1831,field maps from both Dudley and Oxford,which adjoined the lake, listed the name ofthe pond as Chargoggagoggmanchoggagogg,but a survey of the lake completed in 1830lists the name as Chaubaunagungamaugg, theancient name.

Authorities have indicated that the developmentof the name to the present long form stemsfrom the time Samuel Slater began his millsnear the lake, which was nearer the Manchaugvillage. Hence the Indian designationChargoggagoggmanchauggagogg meaning,

History of LakeChargoggagoggmanchauggaggoggchaubunagungamauggby Bob Henderson

“Englishmen at entire designation” becomes“Englishmen at Manchaug at the fishingPlace at the boundary”—or LakeChargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubuna-gungamaugg.

Despite this official knowledge, the lake—now descending too often to the designationof Webster Lake—is known the world over bythe humourous translation, “You Fish onYour Side, I Fish on My side, Nobody Fish inthe Middle.”

As far as is known, the great publicity attainedby this translation and the length of thename stems from a story once written byLarry Daly, editor of the Webster TIMES, andwidely picked up by other papers andmagazines. In his humorous article about thelake and the Nipmucs, and the disagreementover the translation, he submitted his owntranslation—which is now more freelyaccepted than the authentic meaning.

In the days of the Indians, the lake was anoted fishing place. The tribes gathered therefor pow-wows. The coming of the white manchanged that kind of gathering, but,throughout the years, the lake with the longname has continued to attract thousands ofpeople to its shores each summer.

Bob Henderson teaches Outdoor Education atMcMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

PATH

WA

YS

33

I sat on a rock and gazed into the skyRemembering when I was but a small fryWay overhead stood the mighty Big DipperIt reminded me of my Dad’s Old Town TripperThe curve of its handle forming its prowThe joy of paddling it gazing over the bow

Imagine paddling the Dipper across the black nightI can only imagine the fantastic sightTo chase Cassiopeia around the pole starEach night we’d have to paddle quite farThe clouds below would be our whitewaterBack ferries, eddies—what fun for my daughter

The moon would beckon us to follow its beamThe eddies, hydraulics; ahh what a dreamThrough the night sky we would paddle with gleeThe vistas and inspiring perspectives we’d see!Then looking way down to the earth far belowWe’d begin our descent where we knew we must go

Tom Potter teaches Outdoor Education within TheOutdoor Recreation, Parks and TourismProgramme at Lakehead University.

Celestial Paddleby Tom Potter

pen the DoorO

PATH

WA

YS

34

Frost Centre Closure — This July the Ontariogovernment announced the immediate closingof the Leslie Frost Centre. This centre, operatedby the Ministry of Natural Resources for manydecades, was recognized as one of Canada’sleading centres for outdoor education andtraining for government personnel, businesses,students, and the public. Re-focusing on corepriorities and economics were given as thereasons for closure. Please read the article inthe latest issue of Interactions that providesmore background information, what is beingdone to try to save the Frost Centre, and whatyou can do to help.

OSEE 2005 — Planning is underway for theOntario Society for Environmental Education’s(OSEE) spring conference. Following severalsuccessful conferences at Paradise Lake nearWaterloo and this year’s conference at SirSanford Fleming College in Lindsay, OSEEwill hold its 2005 conference in the Torontoarea. A major focus will be on urbanenvironmental issues. More details will beavailable soon. If you would like to join theconference planning committee, pleasecontact conference chair Vera Bigall atVera.Bigall@osee.org.

EECOM 2005 — The 2005 Conference of theCanadian Network for EnvironmentalEducation and Communication (EECOM)promises to be the signature environmentaland outdoor education conference in Ontario.It is scheduled for September 30 to October 2,2005 at Bark Lake Leadership Centre, 2!hours northeast of Toronto. It will attractacademics, teachers, park interpreters andother practitioners from across Canada, alongwith a healthy contingent of American andoverseas educators. This conference will offer arare opportunity for English- and French-speaking educators to learn from one another.OSEE, COEO and EECOM are co-hosting thisevent. Watch for more information in thecoming months.

If you would be willing to help with any of themany tasks in planning EECOM 2005, pleasecontact OSEE co-chair Dave Arthur atdavid.arthur@osee.org.

rackingTCompiled by David Arthur

Canadian Journal of EnvironmentalEducation, Volume 9 — The 2004 edition ofthe Canadian Journal of Environmental Education(CJEE) has been published. The CJEE hasmoved to Lakehead University and is co-editedby Bob Jickling and Connie Russell. This issuefocuses on ethics and asks the question “Howcan we take ethics, and its demandingquestions, and make them a part of everydayactivities—a part of normal behaviour?” Thearticles include papers on cultural myths andwhere the field of EE conceptually stands (ordoesn’t stand) and how it might move forward.

CJEE is included as part of the regular EECOMmembership and is available to associateEECOM members and others by contactingcjeesub@lakeheadu.ca.

EEON Moving Ahead — EnvironmentalEducation Ontario (EEON) is continuing tomeet with a number of ministries, includingEducation, Energy, Health, Environment andthe Energy Conservation Action Committee toencourage adopting the strategies outlined for17 audiences of Ontarians in Greening the WayOntario Learns: A Public Strategic Plan forEnvironmental and Sustainability Education.

Each ministry is receiving a set of prioritiesthat focuses on the major strategies from theplan that are within that ministry’s locus ofcontrol. All educators can access the plan atwww.eeon.org. There are outcomes, needs andstrategies for each audience. These includemany suggestions that may be undertaken byteachers, schools, school boards, andcommunity groups.

Environmental Education in New ZealandSchools Report — A report on current practicesin environmental education in New Zealandschools using a range of methods (e.g., aliterature review of national and internationalpractice, a national survey of schools, and eightcase studies looking at schools/kura whereenvironmental education is a strong focus) isavailable. Included are key findings from eachresearch component. Visit http://www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=9102&data=l for more information.

PATH

WA

YS

35

Tracking

The Canadian Ecology Centre

Centre ecologique de Canada

A CONFERENCE FOCUSED ON

• Winter Ecology Activities andLesson Plans

• Experiential and EnvironmentalEducation Programs

• Winter and WildernessSurvival

• Personal and ProfessionalGrowth

HIGHLIGHTS

• Paddle Making Workshop• Visit a true wind/solar power Eco-Home. Experience

what it’s like to live off the “grid.” Better for theenvironment and better for your health.

• Snowshoeing and Winter Survival Skills• Holistic hand-drumming session• Access to cross-country ski trails• Experience state of the art technology: GPS, Night

Vision Monoculars and digital microscopes• Warm cabins and great food!• Opportunity to meet new friends and make new

connections

Price includes all meals, accommodations andconference fees (taxes included)

$200.00 per person $170.00 (student price)

For more information and to register contact:Laura Kielpinski, Program Coordinator1-888-747-7577 or 705-744-1715 ext. 575laura@canadianecology.ca www.canadianecology.ca

OutdoorEducationConference

Fri. Feb. 11th – Sun.Feb. 13th, 2005

“WIN

TER

GREE

N”

PATH

WA

YS

36

rospect PointP

Living in Britain for the last three years hasshown me that the Brits are serious aboutsafety, whether it’s on a construction site orguiding clients in the mountains. In outdooreducation, much of this rigour was born outof a sea kayaking tragedy in 1993 and thegovernment’s inquiries that followed. MentionLyme Bay to any outdoor educator in the UKand eyebrows will be raised along with aknowing nod. The disaster, which took thelives of four young people, resulted in the firstjail sentence for an outdoor centre manager.Since 1996, the Adventurous ActivitiesLicensing Authority (AALA) has regulated therisk management of all professional outdooreducation organizations. Oddly enough,volunteers such as teachers and scout leadersdo not fall under AALA jurisdiction, thoughthey are expected to have documented riskmanagement plans.

So what does outdoor education riskmanagement comprise in the UK? The firstrequirement is that the leaders are competent.In most cases this means possessingclimbing, hiking, paddling, and first aidqualifications. This formal recognition ofcompetency is not legally required if one candemonstrate adequate experience—not easyto do, as I found out. In practice, mostorganisations simply find it easier andcheaper to hire instructors with the rightpiece of paper, than to exercise some degreeof judgment and assessment of their own.

The second element required by courseproviders involves having written policies.Policies include items such as instructor/student ratios, equipment set-up, and specificways in which activities are delivered. Nomore than a page long, a laminated copy ofthese “safe operating procedures” kept in anequipment box can be a quick and usefulreference for instructors.

Outdoor Risk Management, UK Styleby Simon Beames

The third element, the risk assessment itself,most often comes in the form of a grid thathighlights each hazard (objects falling fromclimbers), who is affected (people on theground), and how the risk is managed(anyone in the climbing zone wears ahelmet). A risk management plan is completeonce a detailed maintenance log of all“personal protection equipment” (e.g., ropes,lifejackets, etc.) has been added to the file.

As society becomes increasingly litigious, fearof personal injury could drive all judgmentout of risk management, leaving us withprescriptive instructions for every aspect ofoutdoor education programming. The wayforward surely lies in finding a middleground where the major hazards have beenconsidered, experienced staff are in charge,and the equipment is good condition—butthe adventurous nature of the program hasnot been overly constrained.

For many of us working outdoors with youngpeople, the words risk and management canrepresent the tedious, administrator-appeasing office work that takes us awayfrom important frontline work. Indeed, inmy younger days, I thought the senior staffwere borderline obsessive about issues of risk,safety, danger, and hazards. Today, assomeone who has developed some riskmanagement plans, I have come toappreciate that having a sound and simpleplan such as the British four-point approachis not only good practice, but helps programsrun more smoothly. I sleep better, too.

Simon Beames is a Canadian who runs outdooreducation programmes for the London Boroughof Hammersmith & Fulham.

PATH

WA

YS

38

Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario

Please send this form with a cheque or money order payable to:The Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario

1185 Eglinton Ave. East, Toronto, ON M3C 3C6

Type of Membership

! Regular $50.00 ! Student $35.00 ! Family $60.00! Library $60.00 (Subscription to Pathways only) ! Organizational $100.00

(Organizational Memberships are for business, conservation authorities, outdoor education centres, etc.This rate will include 1 copy of Pathways, a web link (if requested in writing), maximum of 3 people at amembers rate for conferences and workshops, reduced cost of add space in Pathways and display space atconferences.)

United States orders please add $4.00 International Orders please add $10.00COEO Membership is from September 1–August 31 of any given year

Each member of COEO will be assigned to a region of the provinceaccording to the county in which they live.

Central (CE) Niagara South, Lincoln, Hamilton-Wentworth, Halton, Peel, York, Simcoe, MetroToronto

Eastern (EA) Victoria, Durham, Peterborough, Northumberland, Hastings, Prince Edward,Renfrew, Lennox and Addington, Frontenac, Leeds, Grenville, Ottawa-Carleton,Lanark, Prescott, Russell, Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry

Far North (FN) Patricia, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Algoma, Cochrane, Sudbury, Rainy River,Timiskaming

Northern (NO) Parry Sound, Nipissing, Muskoka, Haliburton, North Bay

Western (WE) Essex, Kent, Elgin, Lambton, Middlesex, Huron, Bruce, Grey, Dufferin, Wellington,Waterloo, Perth, Oxford, Brant, Haldimand-Norfolk

Membership Application Form(Please Print)

Name: (Mr./Mrs./Ms/Miss)

Street Address

City/Town Province Postal Code

Telephone (Home) ( ) Business ( )

E-mail

PATH

WA

YS

39

Return to:

The Council of O

utdoor Educators of Ontario

1185 Eglinton Avenue East

Toronto, ON

M3C

3C6