Environmental Considerations

With the change of seasons, and warmer weather approaching there are important safety tips to remember when you are planning to take students outdoors for physical activity. Activities that may take place outdoors include Safety Standards specific to Environmental Conditions. The Safety Standards in this section stress the importance of: 

• addressing environmental conditions that may pose a risk to student safety (e.g., lightning, high winds, tornadoes, heat, air quality, insects etc.) by referring to school board/school protocols/procedures.; and  
• checking with your school board/regional public health department for the presence of mosquitoes that carry West Nile Virus and ticks that carry Lyme disease prior to using outdoor facilities.  

Additionally, the Tools and Resources section includes a section on Weather that provides educators, coaches and intramurals supervisors with Preparedness Guides for: 

• Hot Weather 
• Ultraviolet (UV) Index 
• Lightning 
• Wind Velocity 

 So, when planning outdoor activities, it is important to check:  

• your school board’s/school’s protocols/procedures for the appropriate environmental condition; 
• the Safety Standards under Environmental Considerations in OPASSE; and  
• the Weather section within OPASSE’s Tools and Resources section.