Page 9 - kids ebook

Risk Management: in short “balancing the good stuff against the bad stuff.”
For this section, I am going to borrow from “The Risk Assessment & Safety Management Model,” a creation of Rick Curtis,
Director of the Outdoor Action Program at Princeton University and the founder of OutdoorEd.com. l encourage you to
take this as a template, and then balance in your own “Hazard Factors” and “Safety Factors,” focusing on the equipment,
environment, and people in your teaching apiary. “Hazard Factor” means the risk to be aware of, and “Safety Factor”
means how to manage the risk.

 Hazard Factor/Equipment:  Personal epi pen
 Beekeeping gear (smoker, matches, lighter,  Well maintained gear (no holes in suits,
hive tool, heavy boxes) smoker with cages to prevent burns)
 Gear use  Smoker ash can
 Hazard Factor/Environment:  Hose / water pack
 Bees  Safety Factor/Environment:
 Fire season  Cell reception
 Ticks  Emergency access
 Hazard Factor/People:  Support team
 Fear  Safety Factor/People:
 Bee venom allergy  Protocols
 Other medical condition  Experience
 Physical condition  Leadership style
 Behavior issue  Training (first aid, wilderness first respond-
 Communication er)
 Safety Factor/Equipment:  Judgement

 First aid kit
 Sting kit

If you are a beekeeper, bringing bees to school, make sure that you have a certified teacher present, as well as plenty of vol-
unteers. Both of these actions will protect you in both the liability sense and the literal sense. All that said, apiary-based ed-
ucation is truly magic. There is nothing like seeing a kiddo crack a hive for the first time, but please always remember to
hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

Waivers, Insurance, & Photo Releases

I receive many questions on waivers and insurance. While I’m not an expert on either, I would say yes to both. I, however,
can’t really give specific information on insurance because different states have various laws. So contact your local insurance
agent for assistance here. Also try talking with local 4-H or FFA (organizations that work with kids and animals) to see what
coverages they use.

When putting together my waiver, I always build in a photo release. Pictures of kids in bee suits are adorable and hilarious
and great for social media and thank you letters to collaborators and funders. You, however, need to be sure to have permis-
sion from the parents, and also have the utmost respect for any declined permission.

On the following pages are two examples of waiver/photo releases. One simple, perhaps for a simple classroom visit, and the
other much more involved, summer camp-type program on your own property. Please feel free to use either. Often, if you
are visiting a classroom, the parents and teachers have already done the legal paperwork and you won’t need anything addi-
tional. Check in with the teacher about this. Turn the page for waiver examples, please feel free to duplicate.
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