NZ Mountain Safety Council - OnTrack Newsletter

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NZ MOUNTAIN SAFETY COUNCIL

Issue 12 | March 2012

IN THIS ISSUE >> DARRYL CARPENTER | CHIEF EXECUTIVE Although it may seem like a distant memory, I hope you had an enjoyable summer and took the opportunity to get into the outdoors despite some of the wet and wild weather we experienced.

Sadly, a number of land-based incidents occurred which unfortunately resulted in some fatalities. My thoughts go to those who have lost loved ones. Special thought goes to those involved in January’s tragic balloon incident.

The number of incidents highlights the continuing need for MSC and the important role we play in outdoor safety. Our goal is ‘people participating safely in land-based outdoor activity’ and our core documents (i.e. Strategic Plan) which guide our activities can be found here: http://www.mountainsafety.org.nz/aboutus

CEO Welcome MSC - Who are we?

New Standards for Alpine Climbing Administration Officers Conference NZ Police Commissioner visit The Range Officers Programme MSC In The News

We have been particularly busy in the media and all of our recent media releases and archives starting from 2009 can be found here: http://www.mountainsafety.org.nz/Media

MSC Transformation Project

In 2012 we continue to work together as a Council. This includes being clear about individual member organisation requirements, within and across all the MSC programmes and better linking our local, regional and national activities.

We continue to make wise use of our national network of community volunteers, the national branch network and National Office. We have hosted our Administration Officers, Branch Chairs and Regional Representatives in Wellington; our volunteer leaders and instructors at the lower North Island Regional Training and three Board meetings. The Operations Team have met to ensure we are tracking ok to deliver the current business plan and commence planning for 2012/13.

MSC is in a good place. However, there is still much to do especially as the environment we operate in continues to change, particularly in regards to qualifications. The systems and processes to support their delivery along with the safety and quality management systems and the new health and safety regulations and compliance requirements from the Department of Labour, will ensure there is still more change to come.

Enjoy your adventures, safely.

Darryl

Outdoors Intentions

MSC Staff in Action >>

Jane Hoedemaeckers

Outdoors Mark Outdoor First Aid Update MSC Roadshow Update Kiriwhakapapa Regional Training Research Updates Calendar

New Zealand Mountain Safety Council Richard Brodie

Jen Riley

Jill Knight

MSC & Safer Ashburton Partnership

Level 3, 19 Tory Street, Wellington PO Box 6027, Wellington, 6141 Tel: 04 385 7162 Fax: 04 385 7366 www.mountainsafety.org.nz

DISCOVER MORE, SAFELY

THE NEW ZEALAND MOUNTAIN SAFETY COUNCIL The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council (MSC) is a national organisation and incorporated society with a mandate from our member organisations to encourage safe participation in landbased outdoor activities.

The organisation operates from the high tide mark to the peak of Aoraki/Mount Cook and is principally focused on abseil techniques, alpine skills, avalanche awareness, bushcraft (walking, camping, tramping and survival), firearms safety, outdoor and workplace first aid, 0utdoor safety, risk management and river safety.

The Council currently consists of 25 Member Organisations and 1 Associate Member organisation with a vested interest in safety, including Government agencies, national youth organisations and industry associations; an Executive Committee whose role is to provide governance; a National Office with full and part-time staff; a number of technical advisory and standing committees as well as 28 regional branches supporting more than 1500 instructors.

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 goals:

IIncreased number of leaders/ teachers/ instructors/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.

National Office Staff Members >> CEO > Darryl Carpenter Education Manager > Leonce Jones Business Manager > Richard Brodie Avalanche & Alpine Programme Programme Manager > Andrew Hobman Asst. Programme Manager > Gordie Smith Bushcraft & Risk Management Programme Programme Manager > Chris Owens Firearms & HUNTS Programme Programme Manager > Mike Spray Training Co-ordinator > Tracy Wakeford Marketing & Communications Manager > Andrea Corrigan Administration Team: Finance > Alex Cordier Branch Network Manager > Jane Hoedemaeckers Administrator > Nina Klauke Membership Officer > Jill Knight Resources Manager > Lindsey Pickering Please direct any research and evaluation queries to Leonce Jones.

www.mountainsafety.org.nz

NEWS >> north island Abseil Training Workshop This year’s North Island abseil workshop was recently held at Whakapapa, National Park with 16 participants from six branches and facilitated by Nigel Seebeck and Derek Brenchley from MSC Wellington branch.

weekend, with a pleasing number of trainees and abseil 1 level instructors keen to improve,” said Nigel Seebeck.

“The base knowledge of the trainees was high which meant that they got the most from the weekend,” added Mr Seebeck.

To build on the success of this event it is hoped that a similar workshop will run in the South Island later this year. Look out for more details later in the year.

- Richard Brodie, Abseil Programme Manager

The purpose of the training workshop was to: •

provide training and guidance for those seeking assessment

•

promote and facilitate instructor networking

•

obtain a snapshot of instructor teaching and personal technical ability

•

provide the assessment

opportunity

for

The workshop was spread over a twoday weekend with Saturday designated as a training day and Sunday was the evaluation day where everyone got feedback as to their current performance at their warranted level or the level they were aspiring to.

“A significant number of branches had representation at the workshop NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

page | 02

IN BRIEF....

Check us out on Facebook!

Our Mountain Safety Council facebook page is back in action and will soon be providing you all with helpful links, weather forecasts, news, competitions and special offers. Search for the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council or go to:

www.facebook.com/NZMSC

NEWS >> New Standards for Alpine Climbing The MSC Alpine Technical Committee is embarking on a new project to revise and set technical standards for Alpine Climbing in New Zealand.

After an extended hiatus the Technical Committee is back and working under a new convenor, Hugh Logan.

Andrew Hobman (MSC Alpine and Avalanche Programme Manager) said that: “the committee is excited to have something to sink its teeth into and Hugh will be great to drive this project.”

“It won’t all be smooth sailing to get everybody to agree on a standard way of doing things, but we have a good group of people that represent the sector and a common goal,” said Andrew Hobman.

The outcome will be a set of best practice guidelines that will inform the education courses and an upcoming revision of the MSC Alpine Skills manual.

Photo below taken by Geoff Wayatt

MSC now on Twitter As well as our Facebook page, we found it fitting to jump on the Twitter band wagon too. Now we can broadcast our safety messages to the world! If you’re already using Twitter then we would love for you to follow us, If you’re not on Twitter, pop over to twitter.com and have a look, it’s a fantastic way to get the latest up to date news and information from around the world.

www.twitter.com/nz_msc

Visit avalanche.net.nz For all your avalanche info this winter including advisories, tips, advice and training. Course dates are now up on www.mountainsafety.org.nz/Training

2012 General Revalidation Note to all Members: 2012 is Revalidation year, which means now is the time to check your personal details held by MSC are correct and that your logbooks are up to date.

Visit the Mountain Safety Council website, click on Member’s Login and complete the login process.

Revalidation will affect all members except for Firearms Instructors and Avalanche Instructors.

NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

FEATURE >> ADMINISTRATION OFFICERS CONFERENCE In late February, 14 MSC Branch Administration Officers (AOs) from across the country converged on the National Office in Wellington for 2 days of productive presentations and discussion.

changes in educational requirements, and the funding constraints in the current economic environment, all of which require good planning, great twoway communications and a ‘whole of organisation’ solutions-based approach.

The aim of the conference was to bring everyone up to date with new processes and procedures, regarding all aspects of the organisation as well as take the opportunity to communicate some of the key issues and challenges currently faced both by National Office and our MSC branches.

One outcome is that it was appreciated we need to continue to update our systems to allow for the changing environment we live in. Three examples being the replacement database, the

With the diverse range of areas to be updated there is definitely the opportunity to get AO’s in working groups to provide input and feedback before final agreement and implementation of procedures.

“It was a fantastic opportunity for everyone to put a face to the name and to come together to share our collective knowledge,” said MSC Business Manager Richard Brodie.

MSC Administration Officers, left to right: Jane Hoedemaeckers, Christine Law, Evelyn O’Neill, Susan Trodden, Louise Craig, Claire O’Connor, Bridget Newman, Wendy Stichbury, Lee Cox, Phyllis Wiley, Jackie Martin, Kasey Gibb, Leanne McKenzie, Helen Beamish, page | 03

FEATURE >> NZ Police Commissioner visit We had the pleasure of hosting the Commissioner of Police, Peter Marshall, at the MSC National Office in February.

It was an ideal opportunity to brief the Commissioner on the role of the NZ Mountain Safety Council, our proud 47 year history, our current activities and what we have planned for the future.

This included a presentation on our firearms safety programme as well as the wider outdoor safety initiatives we are actively engaged in.

In summary, we manage and deliver an extensive firearm safety programme to the NZ community. We deliver the firearms safety lecture and test for all new firearms applicants under Regulation 14

of the Arms Regulations 1992 using our 470 dedicated community volunteer firearms instructors. We provide advice and support in firearms legislation development and review, qualify range officers and conduct range compliance inspections, we deliver qualifications and the associated learning, development and assessment processes for firearms instructors and have continued to roll out Whakatūpato (the rural Maōri firearms safety programme).

In addition, we work directly with Police on outdoor safety and preventative initiatives such as www.adventuresmart. org.nz , the outdoor safety code and the recently revised and implemented Outdoors Intentions process.

Both our organisations are members of the NZ Search and Rescue (NZSAR) consultative committee which meets to discuss collaborative search and rescue preventative safety initiatives amongst other things.

Our relationship with Police is very good across all levels of our respective organisations from National Office down to local community, area and district level.

Our meeting concluded with a commitment from both organisations that this will continue and reassurance that any issues or blocks will be addressed quickly. This reinforces and further demonstrates the achievement for the Police mission of ‘safer communities together’ and the MSC’s intended outcome of ‘people participating safely in land-based outdoor activity’.

From left to right: Mike Spray (Firearms Programme Manager), Leonce Jones (Education and Operations Manager), Darryl Carpenter (CEO), Richard Brodie (Business Manager), Peter Marshall (Commissioner of Police), Tracey Wakeford (Firearms Training Co-ordinator), Inspector Joe Green (Licensing & Vetting Manager)

FEATURE >> The Range Officers Programme This programme was initially developed for HUNTS instructors, who as part of the HUNTS course, deliver coaching on shooting techniques whilst using live fire on a range. Two standards were written: ‘Conduct a live fire activity on a range’ and ‘Instruct shooting skills and techniques during live fire’. These two standards are modules within the HUNTS Instructor qualification.

There are also occasions when MSC firearms safety instructors are involved in coaching practical shooting on ranges. The Range Officer programme enables these instructors to also gain the competencies required to coach shooting and to conduct live fire activity safely. The Range Officer standards sit as a package alongside the standards that relate to delivery of the firearms safety course for new firearms licence applicants and are part of the firearms instructor qualification.

Assessments for Range Officers are conducted on a shooting range whilst live shooting is taking place. Assessment NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

competencies include developing a safety management plan for the activity, briefing shooters, controlling the shoot and closing the activity and the range. The competencies for coaching shooting skills include: matching the firearms to the shooter, sighting in a firearm, principles of marksmanship and coaching shooting positions.

A completed assignment is required for assessment, prior to sign off, which asks the candidate to prepare a plan for a specific shooting activity. The plan includes purpose of the activity, a safety

MSC Gisborne Instructors in action

plan which is known as the ‘standing orders’, knowledge of the range layout, a briefing and debriefing plan and what specific shooting activities will be conducted.

The Range Officer programme has proven to be extremely successful and it is in demand. To date 123 individuals from both the NZ Deerstalkers’ Association and MSC have qualified as Range Officers.

It is well established and of huge value to MSC. - Mike Spray, Firearms Programme Manager

Close supervision ensuring proper technique is safely used page | 04

FEATURE >> Mountain Safety Council in the News

One of MSC’s key deliverables is to ensure that the community is more aware of outdoor safety and we do that by producing quality media and other communications to ensure that the Mountain Safety Council has a national and local profile.

One mechanism of creating awareness is by producing media releases which provide comment, advice, warnings and recommendations plus safety information focusing on land-based outdoor activities. The media releases are created by MSC’s Marketing & Communication Manager, Andrea Hubbard, in consultation with programme managers or other experts and distributed to national and community newspapers, a variety of specialist magazines, radio and TV news networks and also to electronic mediums.

The table on the right demonstrates the increase in the number of proactive media releases MSC sent out in 2011.

Creating and sending the media releases to media owners doesn’t guarantee publication and some are more receptive than others, but when they are published I have mechanisms to identify where

NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

and when and I collate that for future evaluation purposes.

Year

Media releases

2009

12 releases

2010 2011

9 releases 29 releases

Last year the actual number of media appearances would number in the hundreds but some of the highlights would include TV appearances on TVNZ, Close Up and CTV; interviews and stories on all the major radio networks including the summer series on Radio NZ plus articles in consumer magazines such as Wilderness, Adventure and NZ Hunter to trade and member organisation’s publications such as Ki Waho, Education Gazette, NZSAR Link newsletter etc etc.

The total number of appearances across all types of media would number in the hundreds if not thousands and we are continually looking at ways to enhance and increase our profile.

Recently the first in a suite of template media releases has also been distributed to the Administration Officers to use on a more local community basis and additional tools and resources are also being developed.

If you have a website that you would like to link to Mountain Safety Council, or any further opportunities where MSC could have a presence, please email marketing@mountainsafety.org.nz - Andrea Corrigan, Marketing and Communications Manager

The number of external websites linking to Mountain Safety Council or using information that we have produced has also significantly increased as well as becoming more consistent. Did you know there is information on the Police, DOC and SAR agency websites that have been directly written by Andrea?

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UPDATE >> MSC Transformation Project Update 30 10 MINUTES

FIREARMS INSTRUCTOR GUIDE A RESOURCE TO GUIDE MSC FIREARMS INSTRUCTORS TO DELIVER THE FIREARMS SAFETY COURSE AND TEST

DISCOVER MORE, SAFELY

Above: Examples of completed transformation project work, left to right: AdventureSmart website, the New Zealand Avalanche Centre website and the Firearms Instructor Guide. the number of qualifications from 6000

The Transformation Project was established in 2010 and is a growth and change initiative. In this article Education & Operations Manager, Leonce Jones, provides a summary of the project and reports back on progress so far.

and while some progress has been made, and more cash funding has been made available, we still have a long way to go.

Examples of the completed work include: •

Review and reprint of the Bushcraft Manual

•

The AdventureSmart website

•

Avalanche course technical manual

•

The redevelopment of Avalanche.net.nz website

The project focuses on 8 key areas:

•

Development of Instructor Guide

•

Sustained funding

•

•

Capability development

Review of the First Aid course workbook

•

NZQA provider compliance

•

Branch change management

•

Programme resources (Instructor & Student)

•

Movement away from Polytechnic qualifications to NZQA registered National Certificates & Diplomas

The Transformation Project has had no actual direct cash funding in the first year, only an allocation of staff time which targeted the achievement of projectfocused changes or improvements.

•

National Office management

HR

change

•

Outdoor safety educational resources (courses and general public)

The initial focus was on completion of qualifications for those already in training and attainment of qualifications under a ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ and ‘Current Competency’ basis. More than 300 people have now achieved qualifications as the result of that process and this number continues to grow.

In 2011 the focus shifted towards resources and a course funding model NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

a

the

Firearms

Funding has allowed the short term appointment of an Outdoor First Aid (OFA) Programme Manager (Jen Riley) who is concentrating on OFA resource review and reprint, building instructor capability and compliance requirements.

We have recently resigned an agreement with Whitireia Polytechnic that enables the use of some of the qualifications used previously. The principle difference being that instead of providing income to support the delivery and costs associated with the award of those qualifications, we now have to pay a fee for every person to attain these qualifications and cover all costs associated with the training, assessment and moderation.

New Zealand Qualifications Review In 2011 NZQA announced the establishment of a project to review all qualifications on the NZQA Framework.

The government direction was to reduce

to 2800. This figure has since been revised down to 1400. The project runs for the whole of 2012. The project is called the “Targeted Review of Qualifications” or (TRoQ) I have attended the first two TRoQ meetings of the Outdoor Sector and to date the process has highlighted the fragmented nature of the sector and the diverse views of the industry.

Skills Active is playing a leading and facilitating role in the process in conjunction with NZQA but other Industry Training Organisations (ITOs), industry accredited providers together with the industry itself will have a significant part to play in shaping qualifications for our sector through this process.

It is hard to anticipate the outcome of this process given the diverse thinking and funding rules and the general cohesiveness or lack of collaborative relationships within the industry. I expect many of the decisions required will require significant compromise to achieve the required outcomes.

Other organisational projects We have appointed Ray Goldring as a contractor to provide a current quality snapshot of MSC and provide advice around OSH and Outdoors Mark accreditation as a pre cursor to an Outdoors Mark audit to ensure compliance against the Adventure Tourism Regulations and achievement of NZQA accreditation.

We have received funding support from NZ Police that will allow us to introduce a new database. We expect this will give us significantly more capability to monitor page | 06

MSC clothing and measure both organisational capability and performance and will assist in driving further efficiencies and change.

The educational environment is changing significantly and funding access in the future will be largely dependent on quality and our ability to show industry and student financial contribution.

Clearly quality and compliance has become a much greater focus and this will mean significant change to process and lead to greater transparency based on making policy and process documents available on-line through our member logon website so that changes implemented at any time can be instantly conveyed rather than having to re publish a manual.

New MSC branded clothing is available for MSC members including polo shirts, jackets, vests, caps, beanies etc. Contact your branch Admin Officer to see the catalogue and place an order.

We will be focusing on the introduction of new qualifications and award pathways that are integrated, simplified and allow new members to progress quickly to a point where they can provide a return to their community through delivery of public outdoor education.

We will be focused on compliance and quality and the delivery of sustainable courses with consistent content that delivers best practice education and technical skills.

As the database is developed into a fully functioning system we want to provide improved processes, reduce paperwork and provide greater feedback to Administration Officers, Programme Coordinators, Branches and Regions.

The message from current funders of MSC is that they are prepared to give us a “hand up not a hand out” so we have to show that we are applying systems and processes that over time are self sustaining.

To sum up:

- Leonce Jones, Education Manager

We have a lot to achieve with a relatively small amount of money and people and we are heavily reliant on input from our volunteers to support development processes.

Above: Examples of MSC branded clothing now available.

UPDATE >> The OUTDOORS INTENTIONS PROCESS Tell someone your plans – it may save your life The New Zealand Outdoors Intentions process enables people going into the outdoors to leave details of their landbased trip and a date and time at which their trusted friend or family member should raise the alert, if they haven’t returned.

NEW ZEALAND OUTDOORS INTENTIONS PROCESS Safety is your responsibility so make sure you complete your ‘Outdoors Intent ions’ before commencing your land-based recreational activity.

There are 4 simple ways you can leave the date and time your trusted contact should raise the alarm if you haven’t returned.

Visit www.adventuresmart.org.nz and use the option best suited to you.

HARD COPY FORM Download

Print

Complete

Leave with trusted contact

EMAIL FORM Download

Complete

Email trusted contact

ONLINE FORM Go to

ADVENTURE

Complete

There are 4 simple options which enable people to take responsibility for their own safety and assist search and rescue agencies if the alert is raised.

Outdoors Intentions should be completed before heading out of the door and sent to your trusted friend or family member by whichever mechanism you choose.

Email to trusted contact

ONLINE PROVIDER Go to provider’s website

Login

Complete

www.adventuresmart.org.nz/outdoorsintentions NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

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news >> MSC & NEWS >> Goodbye Annie Dignan spending 4 years as Research & can now measure progress towards that Safer Ashburton After Evaluation Programme Manager with (through our evaluation work).

Mountain Safety Council, Annie is Because the research and evaluation work together the moving on. She is heading north of the The Ashburton branch of the Mountain Safety Council has formed an innovative partnership with another local nonprofit organisation with a vested interest in safety.

Safer Ashburton is an organisation that provides a variety of services, and delivers a number of projects, with a focus on improving the safety and community of the Ashburton District.

As part of the new partnership, Safer Ashburton’s Receptionist Christine Law, dedicates a number of her working hours per week to Administration Officer tasks for the Ashburton MSC Branch.

This solution has brought about the added bonus of having a staff member and an office in the CBD available five days a week for people to contact and drop in to.

It has also provided an opportunity for the local branch to display Mountain Safety material and information and place Mountain Safety resources on sale. It has been in operation now for almost a year and has proven to be a very effective way of achieving a number of the branch’s goals.

Well done Ashburton Branch!

Bombay Hills to take up a new position with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) from mid-March.

As well as returning to a practitioner role, Annie is looking to complete some post graduate study too. We have kept her far too busy here at MSC for extra study and I am sure Dr Mike Boyes is looking forward to seeing some study outputs after a bit of a break.

In the meantime, a big thank you Annie – we will miss you (as will all the owners and operators of Wellington cafés, restaurants and live theatre).

During her time with MSC, Annie has facilitated our developing and fully embedding an outcomes model, managed the National Incident Database (NID) and produced some valuable research that is well respected in the outdoor sector. Annie is currently guiding us through establishing our evaluation process. This means we now know what we are trying to achieve (our outcomes model and Strategic Plan) and

NEWS >> Outdoors Mark The Council has decided to achieve Outdoors Mark (OM) certification. The OM certification is a quality assurance programme designed to verify that an organisation or business meets certain accepted aspects of outdoor safety.

The certification is based on best practise in the outdoors as well as meeting the legal obligations as required by the various health and safety legislation.

The Council’s activities fall within the new 2011 amendment to the Health & Safety Act and the recently established (Adventure Activities) Regulations which require adventure activity operators to be registered and to have their safety systems audited.

The Council has chosen OM certification as the audit process to measure their standards-compliance for their registration as an initial step towards achieving full compliance.

Ashburton Safer Communities Receptionist and Administration Officer, Christine Law

function is a central function within our constitution, outcomes model and the revised 2011 – 2016 Strategic Plan, we will ensure that the good work established

by Annie continues. More on what we will do, and when, later.

The OM certification of an organisation is the equivalent to the qualification that an individual instructor will attain to competently undertake his/her instruction/leadership of an outdoor activity.

ability to set and maintain the high standards expected by OM certification and as a sector lead agency.

As part of the certification process, the branches, will be assisted through the various components of the documentation and practises desired to meet the certification standard.

Ray Goldring has been contracted to guide the Council through the preparations for OM certification audit, during which he is endeavouring to visit as many branches or regions as possible to determine if there are any pitfalls or problems and how to overcome them. The Council is aware that it does not want to place any extra burden on its volunteers so it will be improving and developing userfriendly systems and procedures for the branches to adopt and follow.

This is an important endeavour for the Council to undertake and will reinforce the organisations commitment to quality and safety as one of the leading outdoor safety organisations in New Zealand.

- Ray Goldring, Quality and Safety Systems Contractor

Due to the complexity of the Council’s geographic distribution and the variety of activities they undertake, the branches and individual instructors have a very important role to play in the Council’s NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

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UPDATE >> MSC Outdoor First Aid Programme Project Manager Update for MSC Outdoor First Aid Programme Hello! I started in my role as Programme Manager for Outdoor First Aid in midJanuary and am contracted until July to deliver a number of key objectives for the programme.

Since my arrival I have tried to gain, as quickly as humanly possible, an understanding of the OFA course structure, content, curriculum, assessment process, history, NZQA and Department of Labour requirement for First Aid, instructor training and the people involved. It has been a steep and exciting learning curve!!!

My background is in teaching and outdoor instruction which has provided me with multiple opportunities to practice first aid skills! I completed a Wilderness First Responder course (10 day scenario based first aid) in Crested Butte, Colorado, and have since completed several 3 day revalidations.

I have spent most of my life teaching people in the outdoors. It all began as a contract instructor teaching kayaking, rock climbing and tramping at Borland Lodge in Southland. I dabbled in being a science and ESOL teacher before returning to the outdoors full time. For six years I took students on extended wilderness expeditions in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and NZ with the National Outdoor Leadership School

(NOLS). Outward Bound NZ at Anakiwa, was then home and work.

The last two years I have spent in Timaru tutoring outdoor education to some very motivated, talented students at Aoraki Polytechnic.The job was a balance of teaching hard skills with developing assessments and looking into the intricacies of unit standards.

Which has prepared me well for this role…..

We all want our courses to be recognised as being quality, both in instruction and up to date information. In today’s society recognition comes from external approval, in the case of First Aid that means having the tick of approval from NZQA that our courses meet the standards they and the Department of Labour have set. We offer workplace first aid and outdoor first aid unit standards.

In order for NZQA to maintain their public approval we must have our assessment material and course delivery checked and moderated and approved.

That’s where I come in and my projects include: •

•

Assisting OFA instructors to meet the requirements of NZQA to be appropriately and currently certified, to be moderated and to be up-skilled regularly. We are running workshops in each island for all instructors to achieve this.

•

Facilitating the review and update of the Outdoor First Aid manual.

Extensive consultation of instructors and technical experts will be necessary to ensure our publication continues to be a popularly used and authoritative textbook.

I’m happy for members to contact me with any thoughts, ideas, feedback on the OFA programme and manual.

- Jen Riley, Programme Manager Outdoor First Aid

Updating the OFA assessment material to meet NZQA moderation requirements (workbook, written test, pool of scenarios, revalidation resources).

UPDATE >> MSC Roadshow: Working better together Late last year we put Chris Owens (MSC Programme Manager Bushcraft and Risk Management) in a car and dispatched him to visit all the MSC Branches.

This gave Chris the opportunity to introduce himself as well as gather up information and feedback that could be communicated to other Branches, the Board, Council and National Office.

The feedback about Chris getting out and about was very positive. The information that he was able to listen to, respond to then and there, pass on to those who needed to know what was being talked about even more so.

Chris has followed up his road show with communication piece that contained all the common questions, concerns and issues, how these are being (or will be) addressed as well as Branch specific items.

Key discussion items included: ensuring MSC has a nationally recognised qualifications framework • better support for community volunteer instructors to be recruited, inducted and supported to deliver to their community • clearer MSC strategic direction • bigger national profile • better communication and connection between branches and between branches, regions and National Office • better and more consistent trainer and participant public education course material, • clearer safety and quality management compliance requirements (and support to meet these)

NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

•

clarification of Unit Standard charges and fees and insufficient administration support at a local level

We have already begun to address a number of items on the list and will ensure good progress continues. The recent lower North Island regional training event, the Administration Officer conference and the Branch Chairs and Regional Representative gatherings have provided ideal opportunities to make further progress.

One of the key aims for 2012 is MSC ‘working better, together’. It is encouraging to see this in action with the depth and clarity of people making sure ‘we’ as an organisation can be the best we can possibly be and I will continue to ensure you are updated on progress.

-Darryl Carpenter, MSC CEO page | 09

FEATURE >> Lower North Island Regional Training, Kiriwhakapapa Stream Never have I followed the weather forecasts so closely, than just prior to the lower North Island regional training weekend at Kiriwhakapapa Stream campsite near Masterton. I was in good communication with my contact, Leigh Matheson from MetService, who predicted that the rain would not appear till around 3pm on Sunday afternoon which was good given it was taking place outdoors. Just as we were packing up the heavens opened so Leigh was pretty spot on, even a week out!

More than 40 participants attended the weekend in mid February with participants from the following MSC branches: Wellington, Wairarapa, Manawatu, Horowhenua ,Wanganui and Hawkes Bay. The fundamental purpose of regional training weekends is to: • pass on new information, especially best practice to our instructors.

• learn and try new techniques as well as practice the tried and tested • listen to knowledgeable presenters • enable instructors to network, support each other and learn from others • provide instructors who have been working with groups for a few years with reminders on some of the basics of subjects.

Highlights of this weekend included: • Bridget Janse and Nigel Seebeck demonstrating technology and trends in outdoor safety during the Outdoor First Aid section • Christine Michalski presenting sessions on “how to be a more effective instructor” both at new instructor and experienced instructor levels.

• Joe Green reinforcing what we should know and what we teach in Risk Management, and its development.

the development of our new instructors on their pathway.

I highly recommend that if you haven’t attended a weekend in recent years that you invest the time in what our feedback has reported as a well worthwhile activity.

The next Regional Training Weekend will be held over the weekend of 25-26-27 May 2012 in Hamilton. Please do contact me if you would like to attend.

- Chris Owens, Bushcraft and Risk Management Programme Manager

Possibly an unknown valuable outcome of such training weekends is the networking that takes place between all gathered. This is a fantastic chance for instructors at all levels to meet and swap details – an opportunity for instructors to meet and offer support to each other from other branches.

From my meetings and correspondence with the branches, senior instructors and assessors this event is highly valuable as to help get our current instructors up to date, but also contributes to

Bridget Janse and Nigel Seebeck updating Outdoor First Aid- photo Chris Owens

Warren Granger overseeing good rope technique - photo Chris Owens NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

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MSC

GUIDE Your guide to buying the perfect gift for yourself or the other outdoor enthusiasts in your life, to keep safe in the outdoors.

A

B

C

D

E

A. MSC Survival pack II

C. The Bushcraft Manual

E. MSC Packliner

The Mountain Safety Council has produced a new survival pack. The pack is essential for anyone who enjoys heading into the outdoors. The survival pack includes a safety whistle, an orange survival bag, packliner and essential safety information. RRP: $20.00

Produced by the Mountain Safety Council, this is our number one selling book.

The Bushcraft Manual is great for any novice or intermediate bush adventurer.

Contains up-to-date advice on techniques and equipment.

RRP: $35.00

The ultimate in packliners. This large, tough bright yellow plastic liner is perfect for keeping your gear dry in your pack on all of your outdoor activities. 150cm x 65cm RRP: $5.00

B. MSC Safety Whistle

D. MSC & Triple One Care Outdoor First Aid kits

This extremely durable whistle can create an incredibly loud 120 decibel sound comparable to a jet engine. This whistle will make a great gift for anyone going into the outdoors.

RRP: $9.95 NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

To purchase, ask your local MSC branch Administration Officer or visit www.mountainsafety.org.

nz/resources

The ultimate outdoor first aid kit, essential for anyone heading into the outdoors. Personal, basic and group kits available from $18.50.

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NEWS >> Studying Outdoor Fatalities & Incidents Many of you will be aware of the outdoor fatalities and Search and Rescue activities that were profiled in the media this summer holiday period. These tragic incidents reinforce the need for our continued efforts in outdoor safety education and messaging.

They also have the potential to provide valuable information about possible preventive actions. For this reason MSC continues to collect information

and coroners finding on fatalities and incidents that occur in the outdoors and draw upon these, where necessary, to improve standards and to share with other outdoor organisations.

We are also looking at how we can more effectively share the information we collect and we are considering producing online fact sheets and FAQ’s.

An example of how this incident data can be used is that we are currently drawing

upon this information to develop case studies for publication in the Ministry of Education Gazette. The purpose of this is to highlight to teachers the need to learn from other organisations outdoor incidents.

You may find this information useful in supporting your instruction and it will go onto the MSC website as well.

UPDATE >> Interesting Research Projects MSC is often involved in providing data and supporting relevant research projects.

Two projects underway at the moment are an exploration of ski injuries related to the incorrect settings of ski bindings.

This research is being funded by ACC and undertaken by Brenda Costa-Scorse from AUT. It will be drawing upon incident data from the National Incident Database.

The second project is an investigation of Police Land Search and Rescue data

over several years to analyse incidents involving injury or illness.

This research will give us a better understanding of what and how things are going wrong in the outdoors.

This information will be of particular interest to the Risk Management TAC and may well form the basis of a larger study which they are interested in pursuing.

The ski injury study has a long time frame but the SAR incidents research report should be available in the next few months.

- Annie Dignan, Outgoing Research & Evaluation Manager.

Please redirect any research or evaluation queries to Leonce Jones until further notice.

The research is being supervised by Dr Jenny Visser at Otago University School of Medicine on behalf of LandSAR.

Photo courtosey of LANDSAR NZ Mountain Safety Council | OnTrack | March 2012

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NZ MOUNTAIN SAFETY COUNCIL MEMBER ORGANISATIONS >> The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council is formed of the following member organisations all with a stake in promoting safe participation of New Zealand’s great outdoors.

CALENDAR >> Dates for your diary Date 28th April

event NZ Mountain Radio Service Where: National Office, Wellington

25-27 May TBC

North Island Regional training (Mid Regions)

Where: Hamilton

Education Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting Venue to be confirmed

8 June 8-10 June

Executive Meeting When: 9-4pm | Where: National Office, Wellington

Outdoor first aid revalidation, upskilling and moderation workshop Where: Kaiapoi, Canterbury

12 June

Risk Management & Bushcraft Technical Advisory Where: National Office, Wellington

15-17 June

Outdoor first aid revalidation, upskilling and moderation workshop Where: Whakapapa, Central North Island

23 July 24-26 August The MSC Survival Pack II

OFFER

The Survival Pack 2 is essential for anyone who enjoys heading into the outdoors.

The pack includes a safety whistle, a durable survival bag, packliner and essential safety information.

Executive Meeting When: 9-4pm | Where: National Office, Wellington

South Island Regional training Venue to be confirmed

For more important dates and further information please visit the MSC website: www.mountainsafety.org.nz

www.adventuresmart.org.nz

$20 To purchase, go to www.mountainsafety.org.nz/resources

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 >> Submission deadline is 5pm, Friday 17 June 2012. Publication is not guaranteed and the editor’s decision is final.

Mountain Safety Council| OnTrack | OnTrack| March | NZNZ Mountain Safety Council 2012

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