Introduction and Welcome!

Many of our outdoor programs and outdoor recreation offerings have seen recent impacts from severe weather events and the changing climate. This survey was developed in response to recent discussion at the annual Wilderness Risk Management Conference, and we hope to gather sufficient information to develop a snapshot of the current state of the outdoor industry’s response to the impacts of climate change and to monitor trends over time as programs implement tools for resilience.

This survey is intended for any outdoor education, recreation or tourism provider that has a duty of care towards clients or groups in the outdoors. The survey should take about ten (10) minutes. Some questions are biased towards North America, however responses on welcome from any country or region. The research team's rationale is based upon a certain, known legislative and permit framework to North America, however international respondents will see direct applicability.

Participation is voluntary and completely anonymous. Personal identifiers are not collected. You may withdraw from the survey at any time. All survey data will be aggregated, and results may be published in academic journals, posted as a public resource to a website, or be presented to various conferences or audiences. Organization or company names will not be included in any format resulting from this research. There are no harms to be expected by participating in this research.

Definition of terms: severe weather broadly refers to events with the potential to cause significant damage, societal impact, and injury or loss of life. Examples include: wind, rain and hail, hurricanes, tornados, extreme heat or cold, flooding, and forest fires with reduced air quality. Climate change refers to changing patterns over a long period of time which may lead to short term intense or atypical weather events.

Thank you for your valuable insight - your participation is greatly valued! Contact information to view the results of this research can be found at the end of the survey.

If you have any questions about the research, please contact Dr. Jeff Jackson at WildernessClimateActionLab@gmail.com

Climate Action Lab research team:
Dr. Jeff Jackson, Professor, Coordinator, Outdoor Adventure Program, Algonquin College
Shana Tarter, Managing Director, Diploma in Climate Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Brendan Madden, Head of Program Outward Bound Canada
Stuart Slay, Senior Director of Risk and Safety Management, The Student Conservation Association
Sam Daume, Executive Vice President, Education Practice Leader, Assured Partners

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* 1. First, a little about you: what geographic region is your professional opinion referring to? (select all that apply)

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* 2. Does your organization offer: (check all that apply)

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* 3. What is your current work role in the outdoor education or recreation organization you represent?

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* 4. How many years have you worked in the outdoor education or recreation sector?

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* 5. What is the name of your organization (all responses are anonymous, org name helps manage duplicate responses and place context to responses; organizations will not be identified in final reporting)

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* 6. How much is the changing climate impacting your operations?

0 immense positive impact no impact or neutral impact 100 immense negative impact
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i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 7. In the last 5 years, is your program seeing new or greater impacts from the events below? If so rate that impact 0 = not seeing new or greater impact, 1 = minor additional impact, 5 = major impact

  not applicable to my program 0 no new impact above historical normal 1 minor additional impact 2 3 moderate additional impact 4 5 major new or additional impact
Seasonal flooding
Rain or storm event flooding or surges
Extreme heat and/or humidity
Extreme cold
Wildfires
Air quality
Hurricanes
Tornados
Snowpack/snowfall/glacier change
Lake ice consistency
Changes in range of disease carrying plants, animals, insects
Drinking water quality/quantity
Fire ban
Road conditions

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* 8. Approximately how many days last year did you have to revise your plans due to severe weather/fire/smoke/flood etc.

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* 9. If you revised plans due to severe weather (question preceding), approximately how many more times than the previous year? (i.e. are you changing plans more often?)

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* 10. Has your organization established criteria to cancel or postpone outdoor field days or trips due to air quality or smoke? (if Yes, please type the criteria in text box)

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* 11. Has your organization established criteria to cancel or postpone outdoor field days or trips due to extreme heat? (if Yes, please type the criteria in text box)

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* 12. Has your organization established criteria to cancel or postpone outdoor field days or trips due to extreme cold? (if Yes, please type the criteria in text box)

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* 13. Has your organization established criteria to cancel or postpone outdoor field days or trips due to fire hazard? (if Yes, please type the criteria in text box)

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* 14. Has your organization established criteria to cancel or postpone outdoor field days or trips due to flood risk or high water? (if Yes, please type the criteria in text box)

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* 15. Do your trips or activities have some means to communicate between field groups and home base regarding weather forecasts or changing conditions?

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* 16. What decision making tools do your guides/field workers and/or managers use to assess and monitor severe weather?

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* 17. Do your participant pre trip or pre visit materials include information regarding severe weather, trip alterations, or cancellations (specific to weather events)?

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* 18. If you ask for participant or visitor information before they arrive (i.e. medical conditions, preparedness) have you changed your questions/profile to account for changing climate conditions?

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* 19. Do you record severe weather or climate related impacts to your programs or facilities on an incident report or by some other mechanism?

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* 20. Have you taken steps to fireproof/floodproof/stormproof your facilities?

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* 21. Have you lost access to operating areas due to natural disasters, fire, flood etc.?

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* 22. Have you connected with relevant land managers to assess operating areas and emergency permit changes?

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* 23. Have you explored your insurance coverage relative to climate impacts, severe weather, or business interruption?

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* 24. Where do you go for guidance on building climate impact resiliency into your operations? (check all that you reference)

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* 25. How prepared do you feel your organization and/or programs are to adapt to changing climate realities and more frequent severe weather?

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* 26. How would you describe your organization in terms of overall health right now?

major staffing challenges, financially challenged, and/or off-mission making it work day to day! well staffed, financially robust, on-mission
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i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 27. What does your organization see as its greatest knowledge gap in terms of climate resilience?

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* 28. Last question: Any comments, key advice for operators, major fears, or additions?

Thank you for your valuable insight into this important issue. Results will be made public at the Wilderness Risk Management Conference in October 2024, and further publications and distribution; you can visit the webpage below to follow updates and see eventual results: www.adventureriskreport.blogspot.com

If you have any questions regarding this survey in particular contact: WildernessClimateActionLab@gmail.com

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