Understand Basic Outdoor Safety

Going outdoors should be an exciting experience. Whether you’re heading into a woodland, walking across the countryside, going camping or simply exploring a local park, a little knowledge about staying safe can make a big difference.

Outdoor safety isn’t about being worried about everything that could possibly go wrong. It’s about knowing what to look out for, making sensible choices and understanding when you need to stop and ask for help.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this guide, you should understand some of the basic habits that will help to keep you safe when you’re exploring outdoors.

You’ll learn how to stay aware of your surroundings, why it is important to stay with your group, what to do if something doesn’t feel right and why asking for help is always a sensible choice.

Stay With Your Group

One of the simplest outdoor safety rules is also one of the most important: know where your group is.

If you’re walking with a family, school group, youth group or friends, don’t disappear off on your own without telling someone, not even as a game. A few minutes of exploring can quickly turn into a much bigger problem if nobody knows where you are.

If you want to investigate something interesting, tell the adult or person leading the group first. That doesn’t mean you can’t explore. It simply means everyone knows where you are going.

Pay Attention to Your Surroundings

It’s easy to become focused on one thing outdoors and forget to look around you.

Take notice of the ground you’re walking on, the weather, nearby water, steep slopes, roads and anything else that could affect your route. You don’t need to be constantly looking for danger. Just make a habit of noticing what is around you.

Good outdoor explorers are observant.

Know When to Stop

Sometimes the safest thing you can do is stop.

If you aren’t sure where you are going, the weather suddenly changes, you become separated from your group or something doesn’t feel right, don’t simply keep going and hope it gets better.

Stop, think about the situation and tell a responsible adult if one is with you.

If you’re genuinely lost, staying calm is important. Don’t run around trying to find your way back. Stay with your group if possible and follow the instructions of the adult responsible for you.

Ask for Help

There is no prize for dealing with a problem on your own.

Learning to recognise when you need help is an important outdoor skill in itself. If you are hurt, lost, frightened, unsure about something or simply don’t understand what you have been asked to do, speak up.

The earlier you ask for help, the easier it usually is to sort out a problem.

Think Before You Act

Outdoor adventures often involve new experiences, and that’s part of the fun. But before doing something unfamiliar, take a moment to think.

Is this something you know how to do? Do you have the right equipment? Is an adult supervising if one is needed? Could there be a safer way to do it?

A few seconds of thinking can prevent a lot of trouble.

Your Outdoor Safety Habit

You don’t need to memorise a huge list of rules. Start with a few simple habits:

• Stay aware of where you are.
• Know where your group is.
• Listen to the person responsible for you.
• Stop if something doesn’t feel right.
• Ask for help when you need it.
• Think before trying something new.

These habits will become more natural the more time you spend outdoors.

Final Tip

Being safe outdoors doesn’t mean being nervous about exploring. In fact, understanding basic safety gives you more freedom to enjoy yourself because you know what to do when something unexpected happens.

Learn the basics, listen to the people looking after you and then get outside and enjoy the adventure.