The safety of our students, staff
and visitors is MYE management’s primary concern
and we work hard to maintain a high level of safety in
all aspects of our programming. We are aware this is
also a principal concern for many potential MYE students
and their parents, when deciding whether or not to attend
an MYE course in Montana.
While we work to minimize the risks associated
with the outdoor activities in our programs, it is important
to realize we are unable to eliminate all the risks. Even
if we could do this, it would change the very nature of
going into the outdoors and the reason we use outdoor pursuits
as the primary medium of our educational goals and program.
The activities commonly part of our program
are hiking, canoeing, horseback riding, service activities
and rock-climbing. The environmental hazards associated
with these activities can include, but are not limited
to: animals and insects, lightning, rugged terrain, rock-fall,
and extreme weather conditions. There are also the potential
risks of falling, collision, dehydration and deep water
immersion. While students are in the field they live and
eat together, cook over camp stoves and sleep in tents.
In this environment there are risks associated with cooking
fuel, water quality and close interaction with other group
members. Please see the MYEF Assumption of Risk Form for
more details.
While this may all sound intimidating, we
are not trying to scare you. We want people to be well
informed when they attend MYE, or send their child on an
MYE course. In saying all this to put what we do in perspective
- one of the highest risk things we do is driving and riding
in vehicles, something most of our students do regularly
in their every day lives.
Although our activities do have a level
of risk associated with them, MYE has a range of management
strategies to minimize these, while maximizing the opportunities
for our students learning and development. These strategies
include:
- Employment of high quality, experienced
instructors with current first aid qualifications
- Extensive training for all field staff
which includes driver, field, and risk management training
- A set of handbooks recording all of our
policies, guidelines and institutional knowledge. These
handbooks are updated regularly and are benchmarked to
prudent professional practice and industry standards.
- Regular outside auditing of our risk
management practices and policies
- Contracting external operators when required,
to maintain high levels of professional practice and
safety in the technical sections of our programs
- Ongoing monitoring of our field staff,
including indirect and direct supervision
- A challenge by choice philosophy
- Medical screening of all our participants
which includes personal interviews where possible, as
well as minimal requirements for water confidence and
fitness levels
- Regular checks and maintenance on all
our equipment including vehicles and trailers
- Regular reviews of each program component
which includes assessment of the risks and development
of strategies to manage them, a half season review and
end of season review and report
- A management team who actively work with
all staff to maintain and improve organizational practices
- California coordinator who has extensive
knowledge of the MYE program and our client group, and
is able to actively address participant concerns and
screen participants for their suitability for the MYE
program
With these strategies in place and evolving
every year, our safety record for the last four years of
operation is unblemished. If you have any questions or
concerns about the safety of our program please contact
basecamp@myeconnect.org |
