MSC OnTrack - July 2013

The snow is falling and winter is here - I hope you are still getting out into the outdoors albeit with a change in your pre-trip planning for winter. In reflecting on the season passed, MSC has been busy across all our programmes and activities and this edition of OnTrack will give you a good update of what we have been up to.

Our branches have run a wide selection of public training courses and provided education opportunities with good attendance levels. We have successfully completed our instructor revalidation process and my thanks to those who have signed up for another three years - we have also had a surge in new members join since 1 January.

In the lead up to winter, we ran the Southern Hemisphere Avalanche Conference for 120 delegates and used this opportunity to hold a number of sector meetings; snow and avalanche technical advisory committee, avalanche education working group, snow safety managers, revalidation training for avalanche instructors and education providers and an avalanche SAR exercise – a busy time.

NZ celebrated volunteer week in late June so thank you again to all those who willingly give their volunteer time to their local community whether you deliver training courses and outdoor safety education, shadow a DoE group, give your expertise on a technical advisory committee or take your local scout troop (or girl guiding group) on a local walk, camp, abseil or tramp – thank you! I also noted a number of people associated with Council gained Queens Birthday honours and I extend my congratulations to Don Bogie and Rob Hoult.

There will also be a change at the helm of MSC as I have decided to move onto my next adventure in life. I have enjoyed the challenges and achievements throughout my time here at MSC and wanted to use this opportunity to say thank you to all those I have had the privilege to meet, work with and support in my role as CEO. Together we have achieved a lot and I wish the Board, staff, Council and MSC volunteers all the best for the future (more on page three).

In closing, keep an eye out for our winter safety messages (‘what goes up must come down’ and ‘go big and go home’). We also have a number of articles which will appear in various outdoor publications. Make sure you visit www.avalanche.net.nz to see our recent developments and as part of your pre-trip planning if heading backcountry.

Enjoy your winter adventures, safely.

Darryl

The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council (MSC) is a national organisation with a mandate from our member organisations to encourage safe participation in land-based outdoor activities.

We facilitate the setting of standards, offer training and education opportunities, create and distribute resources, lead public awareness campaigns and foster positive support in the community so that more people can discover and enjoy New Zealand’s outdoors safely.

CEO > Darryl Carpenter Education Manager > Leonce Jones Business Manager > Richard Brodie Avalanche & Alpine Programme Programme Manager > Andrew Hobman Asst. Programme Manager > Gordie Smith

Outdoor Land Safety Programme

OUR MISSION IS TO: 

Enable people to enjoy their recreation safely in the outdoors  Foster positive community support for outdoor safety  Promote the development and maintenance of national outdoor safety standards for land-based activities

OUR OUTCOME: 

NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF MEMBERS

more people participating safely in land-based outdoor activity

Bushcraft, Risk Management, Abseil & Rock Climbing Programme Manager > Karen Corcoran

Youth & Community Development Programme Manager > Nathan Watson

Firearms & Hunter Safety Programme Programme Manager > Nicole McKee Training Co-ordinator > Mike Pyatt

Outdoor First Aid Programme Programme Manager > Mark Emerson

OUR GOALS: 

   

An increased number of leaders, teachers, instructors and guides are inspired, inspiring, competent and retained as leaders.

Groups and clubs effectively promote and deliver increased safety in the outdoors.

Commercial operators operate safely.

The community is more aware of outdoor safety.

MSC is financially strong.

Marketing & Communications Manager > Andrea Corrigan Resources Co-ordinator > Archana Nair

Administration team Finance > Alex Cordier

Branch Network Manager > Jane Hoedemaeckers Qualifications Administrator > Christine Oakley-Hall Database Administrator > Nina Klauke Membership Administrator > Jill Knight Archive Co-ordinator > Lindsey Pickering

ABOUT ONTRACK The OnTrack newsletter is published by the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council in March, July and November each year. Disclaimer and submission guidelines >> All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy but no responsibility will be taken by the Mountain Safety Council for errors or inaccuracies or for any consequences of reliance on this information. If you have any feedback, ideas or items that you would like to submit for consideration please email: marketing@mountainsafety.org.nz Publication is not guaranteed and the editor’s decision is final. Also available to view online at: www.ISSUU.com/nzmountainsafetycouncil

Submission deadlines:

Published last week of:

31 October 2013

November

28 February 2014 30 June 2014

March July

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The Sum of the Parts > Geoff Ensor, MSC Chairperson As I have mentioned in previous OnTrack newsletters, MSC’s contribution to helping more people enjoy the outdoors safely is hard to capture in a few succinct words. But I feel really strongly that we need to keep working on sharing and celebrating the individual and collective efforts that impact so positively on New Zealand’s outdoor community.

A recent example was the Southern Hemisphere Avalanche Conference where I witnessed the hard graft of Andrew Hobman and Gordie Smith bear results that they and the wider MSC team can be justifiably proud of.

Similarly we must actively acknowledge and share our thoughts on the stress points: those organisational or operational challenges that confront each of us every day and which over time can erode enthusiasm and belief, but which in many cases can be solved quickly and constructively.

Establishing and maintaining a positive MSC culture where everyone feels part of one team working towards a common goal could be regarded as extremely difficult or very easy, depending on your perspective! In the end though, each of us knows it’s built on a strong foundation of shared trust and respect, belief in the cause and a fundamental love of the outdoors.

Every day, every week, MSC’s people are demonstrating leadership and making a difference; from the efforts of our most remote volunteers to initiatives and support that flow from the national office team. It’s the sum of those efforts that makes MSC integral to outdoor safety.

The board is determined to play its part in building one, vibrant MSC in which everyone knows they are valued, supported and acknowledged no matter where they live or what their role is. That is our pledge.

Kind regards Geoff

Goodbye to CEO Darryl Carpenter Darryl Carpenter Joined the Mountain Safety Council (MSC) as Chief Executive in February 2007 and his resignation in July 2013, signals the end of seven and a half years of commitment, and dedication to the council in a challenging sector and funding environment.

Darryl said: ‘I have enjoyed the many and diverse challenges throughout my time here. There have also been many successes principally achieved by our passionate and dedicated team of paid, volunteer and contract staff.

‘I want to take this opportunity to thank the entire team for all of your hard work over the years and acknowledge that through your efforts we have achieved so much.’

MSC Chair Geoff Ensor said: ‘On behalf of the executive, I want to acknowledge Darryl’s commitment and loyalty to MSC; he has managed the organisation through a period of significant change in the outdoor sector, and in doing so has demonstrated both resilience and a passion for outdoor safety. The board wishes Darryl and his family all the very best for the future.’

Darryl will be working closely with the Board to identify what needs to be done in the 2013/14 financial year and beyond and will be supporting staff up to the time of his departure.

Darryl’s last day in the office will be Friday 9 August and the executive is currently making interim arrangements to support the Council beyond this period.

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MSC NEWS Goodbye Elizabeth Grieve by Leonce Jones

Introducing Gina Connell: New Auckland Administration Officer

Elizabeth contracted with Mountain Safety Council for just six short months but in that time has managed to put in place reporting process for evaluating course feedback and circulating reports back to the branches.

The NID has had a technical makeover that now provides greater reporting functionality and a more user friendly front end. In addition the NID is now hosted with our preferred IT host who is able to provide greater system support.

MSC has been trying to gain access to coronial records through a more permanent and formal arrangement with the Australasian Coronial Database that has been established between the Australian and New Zealand Coronial Service within the respective Justice Departments.

I am pleased to say that through Elizabeth’s efforts we are now very close to gaining access approval. This will enable more specific research to take place around outdoor incidents that result in death and to compare trends from our NID database on injury events.

On another front Elizabeth has made significant inroads into tracking branch course delivery and clarifying any anomalies and this is ensuring data quality is complete and accurate. Our challenge is now to ensure that her good work continues through the efforts of other staff and that the feedback to branches continues.

I would like to take this opportunity to publically acknowledge the quality of Elizabeth’s work and to wish her well with her future career aspirations.

If you have any queries regarding this area of work, please contact me, Leonce Jones, in the first instance.

I volunteer on various sporting committees and have previously represented both Auckland and North Harbour in table tennis.

I am a keen gardener with a particular interest in New Zealand native bush. My property backs onto a small native bush reserve and I enjoy looking out my kitchen window seeing the native bush and birdlife each day.

My background is in administration and IT with the past 10 years spent working with sporting organisations.

Goodbye Dani Millar

River crossing skills Come in helpful!

Skills learnt on the river crossing skills came in useful for MSC Nelson’s administration officer earlier this year!

MSC’s in-house designer left us in June after 2.5 years of service.

Evelyn has been flooded out again in the latest major deluge – they called the April event one of the most intense rainstorms ever measured in New Zealand.

In 2007 Evelyn and Mark were forced out of their home for five months while water damage and restoration was completed and now in 2013 they have once again been evicted by water from their home by a flash flood – all over in 20 minutes but could be more than five months before they are back in it.

I was born and live in Auckland with my two children. My interests include table tennis, hockey and netball. I play table tennis and hockey when I can fit it in around my kids’ extra curricular activities

River Safety Handbook & DVD available from the MSC shop!

Evelyn is available by phone an email but is currently working her Mountain Safety role out of mobile office until further notice.

During this time much of our branding has been refreshed and huge amount of work into making resources and promotional material more consistent as well as looking after the MSC website and social media.

We wish Dani all the best in her new role with a Wellington PR agency.

<< Congratulations—20 years with MSC for Lindsey Pickering In April Lindsey celebrated 20 years of employment at MSC National Office.

We marked the occasion with a small gathering and welcomed back some familiar faces from the past.

Huge thanks to Lindsey for all of the hard work over the years.

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Volunteer Focus Bigwood enjoys good old Blighty!

Noel Bigwood, Bush Assessor from Horowhenua and international man of mystery is currently in the old world (The United Kingdom) taking a year out to clear his head after finishing a 40+ year career with the police.

Partly for fun and partly because Noel understands the benefit of staying current and getting his hands dirty, he has been putting his time overseas to good use, recently scaling “the three peaks” which are the UK’s three highest mountains: Snowdon (Wales), Scarfell Pike (England) and Ben Nevis (Scotland).

He has been battling through snow and ice for months, brushing up on his navigation with map and compass in some pretty dire weather. Fly-camping his way around the country (called wild camping there and frowned upon - except in Scotland, where if you are hard enough to fly camp - Guid oan ye) and completing some great multi-day trips up in Scotland and the 135km trail, Hadrian’s Way. Although the UK has some great character-building terrain he is looking forward to getting out in some REAL bush back in Godzone!

Membership Database Update

By Richard Brodie, Business manager All base information for contacts is now in place. This is a much larger pool of information than we have ever had before and includes: all our members, all those who have attended an MSC course and all those people MSC regularly has contact with. This includes people in key stakeholder organisations and those who look after venues or other supplies.

All data relating to membership (e.g. branch membership, vetting dates, joining date etc.) has been added. The big difference between our new system and the old (in this area) is that in the old system the branch history was lost as soon as the membership was put into abeyance, whilst in the new system, this history will be kept intact even after a member has resigned.

As more data goes into the database we are working with all members of the team including AOs to ensure they are able to see at a glance the data they need. This will be a process of ongoing review and update, so we will be working with different groups at different times to review this.

As some of this data was extremely muddled in the old database it is currently being reviewed so importing the history will be an ongoing project for a little while yet. Once in place it will align neatly with the current data to provide a tidy picture of each branch and member history with MSC. The timeline for this is the second half of 2013.

With Revalidation 2012 coming to an end, Nina is now able to give the database more of her time and focus. This means she will now act as the main go to person for the system. So queries and concerns as well as assistance with lookups and reports should be directed to her.

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Andrew Hobman Programme Manager: Avalanche & Alpine andrew.hobman@mountainsafety.org.nz

Alpine Instructor Training The North Island Alpine Instructor training was held at Mt Ruapehu at the end of June. The aim of the training this year was to Refresh - Update - Extend the individual climbing skills and techniques of the instructors. This helps to ensure that they are comfortable working at a level above that which they are teaching, improves consistency and best practice. It was also an opportunity to provide valuable information, preparation and feedback for trainees planning to sit an Alpine I assessment.

Southern Hemisphere Avalanche Conference The Southern Hemisphere Avalanche Conference was held over Queens Birthday weekend in Christchurch.

More than 100 people from across the sector were entertained and informed on the latest tools and techniques for planning, managing, teaching and rescuing people from avalanches.

Instructors from Tauranga, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, Taumarunui and Wellington Branches attended and spent the weekend work-shopping a range of topics from knot tying, snow anchors, multi-pitch climbing and avalanche rescue. Everyone came away with something new to think about and practice and the event was a great success.

The South Island Training has been moved to September to accommodate the availability of Instructors and the extra workloads brought on by the unprecedented amount of snow that fell in mid-June. Date and location TBC soon.

An Alpine II Training weekend is planned to take place at the end of winter to get instructors ready for their assessment. There are a number of experienced Alpine I Instructors that need the opportunity to do some training and get some feedback on their readiness for an assessment.

New online learning tool Over the summer months Gordie Smith (assistant Avalanche Programme manager) worked hard to pull together an online Avalanche Awareness course. This is hosted on the MSC Avalanche Centre website www.avalanche.net.nz and can be found by clicking on the education tab.

The course went live on the site to coincide with the Avalanche Conference and provides the public with a great resource for learning about avalanche safety or brushing up on old skills.

It starts with the basics of avalanche phenomena and then leads the user through a range of interactive exercises, tutorials, movie clips and helpfully tips.

It was a great opportunity for people to meet and share ideas as well as learn from the expert presenters and the knowledge in the room.

Don Bogie Honoured in Queen’s Birthday awards After many years of support and service to the Alpine, Avalanche and Search and Rescue sector, Don Bogie’s work was recognised by receiving a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for his outstanding service to Land Search and Rescue.

Don has made significant contributions to improving safety in the mountains through delivering education, writing books and best practice guidelines and his participation on numerous committees and advisory groups.

He remains a pivotal contributor to the MSC Snow and Avalanche Committee and Avalanche Education Working Group.

Once you feel that you have enough knowledge you can test yourself by taking the quiz. You will be emailed with your results and links to information on any questions that you got wrong.

So far more than 1000 people have checked out the course and there has been a resoundingly positive response. We have had people from as far away as Europe and the USA logging on and having a go.

The aim of the website is to be a central source for the full range of avalanche safety information from the daily ‘Avalanche Danger Advisories’ through to research information and educational resources.

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Nicole McKee Programme Manager: Firearms & Hunter Safety nicole.mckee@mountainsafety.org.nz Nicole McKee On Track in the South Island I started as the new Firearms and Hunter Safety Programme Manager on 29 April 2013 and very quickly acclimatised to the role. Along with Tracy Wakeford we have travelled extensively around the South Island in my first two months on the job.

Time spent meeting the volunteer firearms instructors, co-ordinators, administrators and branch representatives has been valuable, as well as gaining feedback from around the districts as to how the programme is progressing.

We utilised our time on the road by delivering Range Officer courses, Whakatūpato programmes, recruiting new instructors and presenting certificates. We have also organised the supply of resources and given further support from National Office. I am enjoying the experience of meeting with people who are so passionate about their work that they volunteer their time and expertise to our firearms and hunter safety programme.

Thanks to the South Islanders that have been able to take the time to meet with us over the last two months. We’ve had some lively discussions around updates in the programme and been able to work through any issues.

Tahr & Sika Shows 2013 Nicole and Mike will be supporting the Canterbury Branch at the Tahr Show this year held at the Pioneer Rec & Sport Centre, Christchurch 3-4 August.

We will also have a stand at the Sika Show held at the Taupo Events Centre 28-29 September.

It’s a good opportunity for MSC to promote key safety messages to the general public and our stand is sure to be busy.

Come along to meet us and have a chat about the Firearms and Hunter Safety Programme.

There is still a small section of the South Island to complete and most of the North Island to visit. Training Co-ordinator Mike Pyatt and I hope to fit in some more courses during our travels north.

A note of appreciation and thanks to all Volunteer Firearms Instructors, Whakatūpato Instructors, Range Officers and Assessors in our programme. You are essential in keeping our non-intentional firearm incident rates at one of the lowest in the world.

Thanks also to the families of our volunteers for supporting and encouraging the programme.

Ka Kite Ano Tracy Wakeford Tracy Wakeford has left us to complete her Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology.

Tracy has been a valuable asset to this programme and her enthusiasm, communication, organisation skills and wicked sense of humour will be missed.

Tracy will still be helping out as a contractor to the programme and will continue her volunteer role as Firearms Coordinator for the Mid-North area. We wish her every success for her future.

Non-Intentional Firearm Incidents It is pleasing news when you can report no fatalities during this year’s roar or duck hunting seasons, especially at a time when we have seen a national increase in licence applications.

Well done on the successful delivery of our lectures and hunter safety messages to the community.

Welcome to New Firearms training co-ordinator: Mike Pyatt Mountain Safety Council and the Firearms and Hunter Safety Programme welcome Mike Pyatt as their new Firearms Training Co-ordinator. Mike started with us on 8 July 2013 and is based in Gisborne.

Mike holds qualifications and warrants as a Firearms Instructor, Bush II Instructor, Range Officer, Range Officer Assessor, Outdoor Leader Trainee Assessor and has also been a NZDA HUNTS Instructor. Mike has helped with the delivery of the Whakatūpato programmes around the Gisborne/East Coast region.

He comes with skills and expertise which will hugely benefit the programme.

Mike has also been busy with other community organisations including the Rural Fire Service, Maritime NZ, LandSAR and Urban Search and Rescue in leadership roles. His employment background has been in the Agriculture and Horticulture industries.

Mike is available on email mike.pyatt@mountainsafety.org.nz and his contact phone numbers are 04 918 0256 and 021 510 907.

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Karen Corcoran Programme Manager: Land Safety (bushcraft, abseil, risk) karen.corcoran@mountainsafety.org.nz

PROGRAMME UPDATES—Bushcraft & Risk Management

NEW Risk Management manual

So far the season has been ticking along nicely for the Bushcraft and Risk Management programmes. Branches have begun preparations for early season courses and training programmes are getting underway with some braving the cold and getting out and about already.

The risk management manual has been undergoing its most recent review to update the content and to bring the legal requirements into line with new legislation.

Bush I and II Assessments If you believe you are ready to be assessed and are gearing up for the Bush level I and II assessments due to take place in late October/early November. Please let your AO know if you are intending to attend. Please note: these dates may have changed since you last saw them, due to moving them away from Labour weekend.

The dates for the Bush I assessments are as follows: North Island 11, 12, 13 October South island 18, 19, 20 October

A massive thank you to everyone who has worked tirelessly to enable this to happen within the constraints we had.

The dates for Bush II assessments are as follows: South Island 1, 2, 3 November North Island 8, 9, 10 November

It’s due to be published in early September.

Now that the days are getting longer the focus will be shifting towards the summer programme and the up and coming national assessments, I will also be working on updating the Bushcraft and Risk Management SOP’s to align them with the new Safety Management System (as part of our OutdoorsMark audit) and continue benchmarking our qualifications with the move towards framework based qualifications.

QUALIFICATION BENCH-MARK The MSC is currently going through a process with the Skills Active Industry Training Organisation (ITO) to have its qualifications bench marked against the relevant National Certificates. This means holders of certain MSC qualifications/warrants will be entitled to receive a National Certificate.

The MSC ODL award has been benchmarked against the National Certificate in Recreation (Leadership) (level 3) – Bush Strand, and holders of a MSC ODL warrant will be offered the opportunity to gain this National Certificate through an attestation process. Further information regarding this will be sent to those people in due course.

The MSC Bush I and Alpine I qualifications are currently being benchmarked against their relevant National Certificates. When this is completed the MSC will communicate with those relevant people regarding gaining the relevant National Certificate.

New appointments—congratulations Congratulations to the following people for achieving their appointments.

Bush I: Jonathan Patchell, Andy Brooke, Tracy Dixon, Peter Holden, Gavin Bennett and Andy Pedley.

Bush II: Rowena Johnstone Bush Assessor: Emlyn Wright and Mark Noack Risk Management Facilitator: Tania Mackinnon Bushcraft Advisor: Don Heardman Also a warm welcome to everyone who has signed onto the Bush level I and II trainee pathways, it is great to have you on-board.

Wunderhund on the MSC books!

You’ve heard of a pack horse and probably a pack mule but have you ever heard of a pack dog? Meet Ben, he is a three year old black Labrador, and he is the mobility assistance dog who has just joined Antnz from Manawatu branch as her pack dog.

Antnz is an abseil instructor, outdoor enthusiast and partial paraplegic (‘wobbly walker’), because of this she is unable to carry a heavy pack for multi-day trips and has trouble getting large loads of gear to the crag, however never one to let anything hold her back she has come up with an ingenious solution, this is to have Ben carry some of the load for her.

Ben is also being trained to pick up items such as ropes, carabiners and wallets. As part of the training the weight he can carry and the time he can walk for is slowly being increased, he will eventually be able to carry up to 12kg (roughly a third of his body weight) and walk for multiple days at a time.

Antnz has also put together a fantastic chapter on risk management for people with disabilities which will be in updated edition of the Risk Management manual.

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Abseil Update Karen Corcoran ACTIVITY SAFETY GUIDELINES As you may or may not be aware, the outdoor industry is undergoing a major review as a result of the tragic accidents that have occurred in the outdoor sector over the past few years.

NEW ABSEIL MANUAL

As part of this review the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand (TIANZ) has been directed by the government to create activity safety guidelines (ASG) across multiple disciplines. The Abseiling ASG is the latest guideline being put together by a working group. The working group and its support group are made up from a cross section of the industry leaders, and MSC are included.

The new ASGs are the standard that will be audited against for the Adventure Activities audit and will be the standard that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – which includes the Department of Labour (MBIE) will use in any investigations.

It is important that instructors make themselves familiar with these guidelines as they become available and we will keep you up to date with any changes and how they affect us via the discipline specific bulletins.

The abseil manual has been undergoing its most recent review to update the content.

A massive thank you to everyone who has worked tirelessly to enable this to happen within the constraints we had.

It’s due to be published in early September. Purchase via your AO or at: www.mountainsafety.org.nz

WORDS OF WISDOM By Warren Granger – MSC Abseil Assessor A couple of days ago a student asked me, as an instructor, how do I deal with nervous abseilers?

I thought hard about it and if I could pinpoint a couple of the main things it would be tone of voice and instructor body language. For instance, do I have a confident but understanding tone to my voice? Am I aware of the participant and am I confident around my site and when dealing with the participant How you are perceived by the participant has a major impact on how they feel and how much they trust you, if you appear nervous or don’t seem to know what you are doing this may negatively impact on their experience and possibly, their safety. As an instructor you are completing multiple tasks at the same time (e.g. reassuring the participant while clipping them in).

It is also vital to have a system in place that you can easily follow (steps 1,2,3,4,5) so that you will pick up on any mistakes before they become an issue (1, ,3,4,5). If you get this wrong there are potentially very serious consequences! Maintaining appropriate instructor/participant interaction while ensuring that you have completed every step of your process safely is what makes a good instructor.

If I were going to pinpoint an area where mistakes can be made, it is being distracted from this process. Having someone take a picture or ask a question during the clip on stage, having a colleague or student try and stop for a chat mid activity! Alarm bells should be ringing!

MODEL STUDENTS A huge thank you Pete Ozich (Canterbury branch) and the ten enthusiastic students from the local school rock climbing club in diamond harbour who had a go at abseiling at Orton Bradley Park.

Some had never abseiled before but all had a great time, challenging themselves on the ‘Big rock’ and the ‘Pole abseil’ and enjoying the views from the top.

Thanks to their bravery and give-it-a-go attitudes we got some fantastic action shots for the new abseil manual, well done!!

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ACHIEVEMENTS This is the section where we recognise the hard work and achievements of our wonderful Abseil instructors. If you know of anyone who you think should be in this section please e-mail your programme manager with names and details and we can make sure that they receive the recognition that they deserve.

Congratulations to...

Dirk Van Der Woerd and James Dempster for gaining their Abseil I warrants.

A warm welcome to...

Mark Tuck and Regan Pryor, who have recently joined up to the abseil pathway.

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Nathan Watson Programme Manager: Leader, Youth & Community Development nathan.watson@mountainsafety.org.nz

The Mountain Safety Council Safety Management System (SMS) The Mountain Safety Council is currently in the process of developing a new safety management system (SMS). Once this is completed and implemented, the new SMS will replace the individual programme standard operating procedures (SOPs) that are currently used by its branches and instructors.

The new SMS will ensure:  Consistency - The MSC has a lot of different activities occurring at any given time so ensuring there is a consistent approach to safety management is paramount.  Effective & positive safety culture - A positive safety culture starts with an easy to use and well-designed SMS that provides clear and consistent policies and procedures. This allows instructors who are delivering activities to understand their requirements, to be supported by a robust framework and for everyone to collectively contribute to a positive safety culture.  Meeting legislative requirements - With the introduction of the Adventure Activities Regulations (2011) as part of the Health and Safety in Employment Act (1992) certain operators, who provide specific outdoor adventure activities, are required to undergo a NZ Government approved safety audit. The MSC safety management system is being designed to meet these requirements.

More details about the safety management system will be communicated to all MSC members over the coming months as its development progresses.

OUTDOOR LEADER UPDATE The Outdoor Leader qualification has been a foundation qualification of the MSC for many years and has allowed thousands of New Zealanders to gain invaluable skills, knowledge and experience in the outdoors. Many of the people who have completed Outdoor Leader have gone onto gain higher level outdoor qualifications.

Outdoor Leader will continue to be an important part of the Mountain Safety Council’s training and qualification structure in the future but as we move into 2014 you may notice some improvements and changes to certain aspects of the qualification.

While the specific details are still being worked through, the aim is to make the qualification training pathway clearer for trainees and those people coordinating their training by ensure the process is robust and works effectively for everyone, clarifying compulsory and optional requirements and ensuring the information provided to trainees is up to date and meeting their needs.

Collaborative Leader Development The MSC works very closely with a number of youth and community organisations, providing outdoor safety advice, safety resources and training to their leaders.

In most cases the organisations leaders operate in a volunteer capacity.

These interactions with various youth and community organisations have identified some key themes:  There is a need for qualified, competent and inspiring leaders who can provide young people with outdoor experiences  The outdoors can play an important and positive role in the development of young people  There are barriers leaders need to overcome to participate in training and gain outdoor qualifications Over the last few months the MSC has been actively facilitating a collaborative approach to training and qualifying outdoor leaders with the view that a collaborative approach will achieve better outcomes and help to reduce barriers .

Work still continues in order to formalise a collaborative approach, and the MSC continues to work closely with a number of youth and community organisations.

Some examples of this include presentations and training delivered to multiple Boys Brigade/ ICONZ roadshows across NZ and managing a leader development project with Christian Camping NZ.

The MSC is also aware that some trainees find it difficult to complete a qualification that requires multiple commitments (such as 4 or 5 weekends and multiple weeknights). A residential course has been piloted to see if this is an additional option worth adding as a potential Outdoor Leader pathway. By having two clear pathways (a modular approach and a residential approach) the Outdoor Leader qualification will be more achievable for a larger number of people. See article on the Pilot Residential Leader Development Course

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Pilot Residential Leader Development Courses Nathan Watson During 2012 the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council ran three, seven day pilot residential courses. The courses were designed to train, assess and qualify participants in the National Certificate in Recreation Leadership (level 3) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bush strand, commonly referred to as Bush Walking Leader.

This National Certificate in Recreation Leadership (level 3) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bush strand is very similar to the MSC Outdoor Leader qualification.

The three pilot courses ran at different locations across New Zealand (Bay of Plenty, Central North Island and Canterbury) and included participants from different areas of New Zealand and various youth focused organisations.

The courses were part of the Collaborative Leader Development Initiative and were used to trial a residential approach to training and qualifying youth and community leaders.

The three pilot courses were a huge success and the MSC (along with its collaborative partners) will be offering these courses again throughout 2013 and 2014.

The MSC would like to acknowledge the support of Sport NZ, Lion Foundation and the Ministry of Youth Development.

Nine month evaluations were recently completed by the course participants, here is a sample of their responses.

I believe this course has made me a more competent outdoor leader

I would strongly recommend this course to other people

If I had the opportunity to do a similar course at a higher level I would take it

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Mark Emerson Programme Manager: Outdoor First Aid mark.emerson@mountainsafety.org.nz

Volunteer Focus: OFA instructors

OFA Annual Revalidation Workshops

Congratulations to Marius Handcock (Gisborne branch) on his recent appointment as a full OFA instructor. Marius was successful in his instructor assessment which was conducted in Tauranga in May. Thanks to the team in Tauranga for making this happen.

Each year all OFA Instructors are required to attend a revalidation workshop. These workshops are designed to revalidate all the competency requirements of being a first aid instructor that are laid down by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).

Welcome to the OFA programme as a trainee instructor: David Robertson from Auckland Outdoor Emergency Management for New Leaders As part of MSC’s collaborative leader development project, the Outdoor First Aid programme will deliver a number of Outdoor Emergency Management (424) courses to adult leaders from a range of youth and community organisations.

This one day course will be part of the larger 7 day residential leadership course, which follows the pilot courses run in 2012.

This will also be an excellent opportunity for OFA instructors to consolidate instruction techniques relating to the Outdoor Emergency Management (424) Course.

Got your OFA manual?

The New Zealand Outdoor First Aid manual contains essential information about how to handle first aid and medical emergencies in the outdoors.

This manual is suitable for all outdoor enthusiasts, and is especially useful for those leading groups in the outdoors.

Learn how to manage a variety of scenarios and deal with a range of incidents that may occur.

To order, MSC members should contact their AO or buy online at: www.mountainsafety.org.nz

This year, two OFA Revalidation Workshops were planned, one in the North Island and one in the South Island. There was a specific focus on revalidation of Outdoor Emergency Management (424) and the New Zealand Resuscitation Council’s Emergency Care Instructor (ECI) Level 2 qualification.

The North Island workshop took place in Wellington at the Silverstream Retreat, a location that was formerly a WW2 US Marine base but which has been renovated over the years. The location backed right onto the bush and gave us some great areas to run all the training we needed to.

The ability for instructors to fly into a main centre was also well received as it reduced travel time. All those who attended achieved revalidation in Outdoor Emergency Management (424) and there was a 100% pass rate for those who participated in the ECI2 training.

Those who attended the North Island workshop were also fortunate to have a presentation from Caresense, the company that supplies the government funded blood sugar monitoring technology throughout New Zealand. The Caresense rep demonstrated how to use the three different glucose meters available in the community and it is hoped that OFA instructors will pass this knowledge on to first aid students.

Unfortunately, the South Island workshop was cancelled as the weather bomb that brought snow to Canterbury and wild wind to Wellington hit just as both National

OFA Technical Advisory Committee Meeting The Outdoor First Aid Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) met at National Office on the 18 May. This was the first chance for all the members to get together and have a look at what has been happening since the start of the year.

During the meeting there were a number of things discussed including the direction of the OFA programme, OFA courses and their resources, and the development of our OFA instructors.

The TAC is firmly committed to providing quality outdoors based courses that will cater to all groups, from ‘Mum and Dad’ tramper to the Outdoors Professional.

There is also a desire to develop and support OFA instructors across all levels so that MSC is able to deliver these courses in a consistent manner nationwide.

The TAC is also looking to add further expertise to its membership to give a broader technical knowledge base which will lead to greater credibility.

The next TAC meeting will be in November 2013.

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Andrea Corrigan Marketing & Communications andrea.corrigan@mountainsafety.org.nz

Manuals are key projects for MSC

MSC’s Biggest Advert yet!

The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council’s mandate is to encourage safe participation in land-based outdoor activities.

In what is probably MSC’s biggest advert to date, the billboard on State Highway 1 outside the Wellsford Police station (North of Auckland) is now sporting one of our key firearms safety messages.

One of the ways we do this is by ensuring that safety standards are developed for all levels of outdoor activity, and these are communicated through the development of quality resources and media as well as through training and education.

In this joint initiative with Police, Sergeant Kellie Bissett came up with the idea and approached Inspector Joe Green at Police headquarters for funding and approval.

Having given his full backing, Dani and I were able to put together the content and get it fully designed. Sergeant Bissett said: ‘I wish to thank Joe and Andrea for their help with this joint initiative. It's great seeing things done when everyone is helpful and motivated.’

Last year we were fortunate to receive some funding from the Lottery Grants Board (LGB) which enabled us to review and update the Abseiling and Risk Management Manuals.

Karen and I worked very closely with our publishers in order to get the manuals completed within the timeframe, the budget and constraints and we’re looking forward to them being released in September.

MSC Shop needs your support The manuals, DVDs and equipment like pack liners and survival bags are another way in which MSC provides a valuable public service and gets the safety messages out to the general public. Whilst some people stumble across the shop online, of course many of the resources are also used on courses that are delivered internally, to groups and to the general public.

In 2013/14, the Alpine Skills manual is on the agenda to be revised and again I will be project managing whilst Andrew will be the lead subject matter expert with Karen providing support. If all goes to plan it will be released ahead of next winter.

As well as providing key information, the sale of resources is an essential revenue stream which provides some income to pay for the ‘free’ resources that we distribute and the services we provide to branches like creating posters.

As with all shops, we need to increase our revenue to enable us to continue the good work that we are doing. Archana and I will be working to create sales promotion strategies, some of which will involve our branches, over the coming months.

In the meantime, make sure you stock up on the essentials and consider purchasing items as gifts for the outdoors enthusiasts in your lives.

Winter messages This year’s winter messaging campaign builds upon last year’s success by continuing to use the ‘what goes up must come down’ aimed at alpine enthusiasts and the ‘go big and go home’ execution which is aimed at snowsports enthusiasts. The messages feature as web banners, adverts and in articles which will appear in various winter publications across the season.

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