Outdoor Education Safety Plan
A starter safety plan for outdoor education: water, trails and terrain, plants and insects, heat, cold and lightning. Add your site and the center's own rules.
Starting points – Check every row against your district's policy and the venue's rules, and add what is specific to your students.
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This supports, but does not replace, your district's policy. Your principal or administrator must review and approve it.
Planning an outdoor field trip
Outdoor trips are some of the most memorable, and the hazards are well known: water, uneven trails, poison ivy and ticks, bees for students with allergies, and the weather. Many nature centers and parks run programs with their own staff and safety rules; ask for them and add your school's part (supervision, health plans, transportation).
Water
Keep students at the water's edge unless a certified lifeguard or instructor leads a water activity. Adults stand between students and the water. Swimming or boating usually needs extra approval and forms in your district.
Weather and lightning
Check the forecast the day before and the morning of the trip. Plan water and shade for heat, layers for cold, and a rule for lightning: when you hear thunder, move indoors or to a hard-topped vehicle.
Before
- Ask the center for its rules and staff roles
- Send a clothing list: closed-toe shoes, long pants, layers
- Pack the first aid kit, epinephrine and inhalers
- Check the forecast
Trip day
- Stay on trails; adult at front and back
- Tick checks after the hike
- Head counts at every stop
Afterward
- Remind families to check for ticks
- Report incidents
Keep student information out of it
Write "Student A" or initials and say where the confidential plan is kept ("health plans are with the trip leader"). Names, diagnoses, IEP or 504 details and family phone numbers belong in your district's systems, not on a plan that gets printed and handed to chaperones. What you type here stays in this browser.
Sources and further reading
- CDC: healthy pets resources for schools and daycares
- Your district's board policy and administrative rules on field trips, volunteers, medications and student health.
We link to these so you can read the original guidance; we haven't copied it. Your district's policy comes first.
Frequently asked questions
Can students go in the water on an outdoor education trip?
Only if your district allows it and a certified lifeguard or instructor leads the activity. Otherwise, keep activities at the water's edge.
What should students wear on a nature field trip?
Closed-toe shoes, long pants for trails, layers and a rain jacket, plus sunscreen and a water bottle.
What is the lightning rule for outdoor trips?
When you hear thunder, move everyone indoors or into a hard-topped vehicle and wait before going back out. Follow your district's weather policy.