Risk Management

Taking students into the backcountry to learn about essential camping and wilderness survival skills and to tackle local environmental issues can be an incredibly powerful and life altering experience. While a majority of the activities and programs offered by the Cottonwood Institute involve low-risk, there are certain inherent risks of exploring the community and the natural world that are unavoidable. The Cottonwood Institute has gone to great lengths to minimize these risks to ensure participants have a positive experience in the natural world. Below are a few things we do to help mitigate our risk:

• We have a comprehensive Risk Management Plan that details the Cottonwood Institute risk management strategy to identify, communicate, and address potential risks before participants are exposed to any risk and to articulate a clear plan of action in the unlikely event that an incident occurs during any programming offered by the Cottonwood Institute.
• We are insured by Alliance of Nonprofits for Insurance Risk Retention Group.
• We hold regular Staff Trainings to work with our Instructor network to practice skills, practice medical scenarios, and to review our risk management plan and emergency response system.
• Our Instructors are passionate, professional, and competent educators that are committed to inspiring the youth of America. All of our Instructors pass a background check and have a minimum of a Wilderness First Aid medical certification.