Outdoor safety forum in its second year

Media release: Outdoor safety forum in its second year. (11/10/2012)

High school principals, outdoor recreation/adventure tourism organisations, individual operators, adventure operators and school teachers, have all been invited to the Northland Outdoors Forum safety workshop being hosted by NorthTec and Northland Outdoors.

Sam Russek, Certificate in Sport and Outdoor Recreation tutor at NorthTec and Northland Outdoors Manager, believes that this is a very important workshop as awareness of outdoors safety needs to be raised. When Mr Russek grew up in Northland there was no outdoor education offered in schools, only mainstream sports.

“I think that Northland is a great spot for the likes of tramping, sea kayaking, surfing, rock climbing and caving. Schools that do have an outdoor education programme ensure that safety is the top priority, and to support schools to follow best practice in terms of safety, I suggest that they attend this event,” he said. “This is an opportunity for schools and operators to come together to share their knowledge and get advice from the experts.”

Various national bodies will be there to impart their expertise, such as the New Zealand Outdoor Instructor Association (NZIOA), TIANZ Adventure Outdoor Project ‘Support Adventure’, Outdoor New Zealand, Education Outdoors New Zealand and the Department of Labour.

The event is run as a collaborative workshop and is in its second year. Attendees are encouraged to bring copies of their current safety systems so that they can compare, contrast and get advice from the experts.

Mr Russek feels the workshop is important and very applicable, particularly with the recent events at TOPEC with the loss of three students and previous NorthTec Outdoor Education tutor, Bryce Jourdain.

There is still space for those from the industry to attend, as they too could benefit greatly from attending, whether it is to streamline their existing safety plan, to help others with theirs, or just to network.

The forum will be hosted on 26 October at the ASB Leisure Centre in Whangarei from 10am – 6pm. For further details contact Sam Russek - srussek@northtec.ac.nz or 0212722999.

ENDS

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