OPASSE identifies a range of activities that can be done in the outdoors. It is important to ensure that every student can fully participate in the activity and to be aware of the accommodations and modifications that may be required to support their full participation.
All Outdoor Education safety pages can be found on the OPASSE website using the heading of Outdoor Education.
To support the use of the correct safety standards, during the planning process, it is important to identify:
- the duration of the activity (single day, multi-day, extended overnight);
- the distance the activity will take you away from emergency medical assistance (e.g., within 2 hours (for elementary and secondary), more than 2 hours (for secondary activities only);
- the type of shelter students will use (e.g., dorm, tents); and
- whether the activity will include swimming, and if so what type (e.g., instructional swimming in designated areas, leisure swimming in designated/non-designated areas).
Many of the specific activities in the Outdoor Education section of OPASSE provide safety standards based on these conditions.