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2022 Wilderness Risk Management Conference

Learning through experiential adventures in nature is really fun – as long as we’re able to minimize the risks to enjoy all that the Canadian wilderness has to offer. That’s why risk management is a top priority at OBC, and we strive to keep up with the latest techniques and measures to make the outdoors enjoyable for everyone, especially our youth participants.

One way we do this is by attending conferences and sharing ideas and experiences with our peers – like last month at the 2022 Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) in Burlington, Vermont.

About the WRMC

Organized by Outward Bound, NOLS, and the Student Conservation Association, the Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) is an annual event that provides up-to-date education on mitigating risk when exploring, working, teaching, and recreating in wilderness.

Outward Bound Canada was represented at the conference by Brendan Madden, Head of Program and current member of the steering committee that helped organize the conference, Jill Zeppa, Director of Admissions, Maria Paterson, Ontario Wilderness Program Manager, and Alan Kelly, West Coast Program Manager. Two members of our volunteer Safety Committee also attended, Dr. Jeff Jackson from Algonquin College and Professor Jon Heshka from Thompson Rivers University.

A total of 500 people attended the event, 60% of them for the first time – a testament to the increasing importance of risk management in outdoor activities around the world.

2022 WRMC Highlights

We had a great time networking and learning from our outdoor industry peers and meeting with our colleagues from Outward Bound Singapore, Outward Bound California, North Carolina Outward Bound School, Outward Bound Colorado and many others.

Highlights of the conference included: presentations from industry experts; reflections on organizational culture; affinity programs and spaces for folks who’ve been historically marginalized in the outdoor industry; and opportunities for program development.

All in all, it was great to see the level of interest in managing risk in the outdoors, as Jill Zeppa, our Director of Admissions, observed:

“Every industry has competitors, but when it comes to managing risk and preparing for a crisis, we’re all on the same team. It was very energizing to hear from these industry experts and learn so much. The event was finalized by a truly inspiring keynote from Joshua Morris about his role in the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue and everything that went into saving those lives literally just in time. We should all ask ourselves a little more often, ‘How do we make the impossible possible?’”

Is it too early to say we’re already looking forward to next year’s WRMC? Because we definitely are!

Want to learn more about the conference? Visit the official website and read the 20-year history of WRMC