The above photograph depicts the aftermath of a downburst that happened to a researcher's camp in 2017. Downbursts are powerful winds that descend from a thunderstorm and spread out quickly once they hit the ground. These winds can easily cause damage similar to that of a EF0 (65-85mph winds) or even EF1 (86-110mph winds) tornado, and are sometimes misinterpreted as tornadoes.

May through September is tornado and hail season in Alberta. When working in the field, be prepared to encounter severe storms, heat waves, hail, and flooding.  What can you do to prepare for these hazards? Here’s our suggestions: 

Monitor and prepare to modify your research plans if conditions warrant. 

When camping, look around the camp to assess if any trees or tree branches look like they could fall in a sudden wind. Camp at a distance where, if a tree or branch falls, it will not hit your tent/ trailer.

Consider postponing your work when severe weather systems occur. 

Perform multiple Go/No-Go field-level hazard assessments in one day. 

Ensure adequate monitoring of environmental conditions - please check these handy Apps or similar tools, depending on your geographic location. 

Alberta Emergency Alerts (app)

Environment Canada Weather Alerts

Alberta 511

AMA Road Reports

Alberta Health Advisories (water, air quality)

Alberta Parks Advisories (includes road closures and bear warnings within the parks)

Alberta Rivers (App available)

Canadian Lightning Danger Map

Windy app

CCOHS Weather advice

Photo Credit: Alex Schaerer, location: Jasper National Park, June, 2025

Wildlife encounters during the spring and summer months are a high probability and should be identified as hazards in most Field Activity Safety Plans (FASPs) where researchers are doing outdoor fieldwork in Canada.

Early spring or late fall, when there are few food sources for bears, might increase the risk of a bear encounter if you’re planning for field work during these times. In late spring to early fall, berries are plentiful, and bears are foraging and they are usually content with those food sources and not interested in humans. 

What is a wildlife encounter? Seeing a bear from a long distance away from the safety of your vehicle is not considered an encounter to report. Coming upon a bear while traversing where the bear doesn't readily leave, charges, shows aggressive behavior, etc. is something that should be reported. You can call local Fish and Wildlife officers or park officers to report close encounters with bears or if you feel there is a problem bear that was not deterred by air horns, your presence, etc. They can often tell you if there is a problem bear in the area. Make sure that workers are reporting wildlife sightings and encounters in their daily field safety briefings and communicating with each other if there have been aggressive behaviours. When you are able, report the encounter to HSE using the Incident Reporting tool. 

This year, we have already had two reported incidents of bear encounters. In both, no physical injuries were sustained, however in one, bear spray was deployed and was effective in deterring the bear. The group was quick to debrief after each incident, making sure everyone was okay to continue with field work. They decided not to return to the site where they met the bear.

Listed below are recommended controls for the hazard of bear encounters:

When you go to your area, make sure to check the advisory pages below that detail local wildlife sightings, closed trails and other hazards in the area. It is the season that you will most likely have bear sitings. When it's rutting season (usually late September to mid or late October), the probability of encountering a moose or elk is higher.

Kananaskis Provincial Park

Jasper National Park 

Banff National Park

Elk Island National Park

Mountain View Bear (and Cougar) Sightings (Nordegg and surrounding areas)

Biosphere Bear Report

Here are some other controls for the hazard of wildlife, particularly bear, encounters:

Training - take the free HSE Bear Awareness eLearning course and the hands-on bear spray training.  If cougars have been identified as a hazard within a FASP, take the Cougar Awareness eLearning course. These courses were developed with input from U of A biologists and the Bear Awareness course borrows from the Alberta BearSmart Program.

Safety in numbers - travel in groups of two or more and make plenty of human noise when you are out in the field. 

Give the right-of-way to the bear -- should you encounter a bear in your travels, either on the trail to the field site or at the field site, find another route or leave the site immediately and return if it is safe to do so when there are no signs of the bear (scat, fur, digging, kill site).

Deterrents - Bear spray is the recommended choice of deterrents but is considered the last defense. Air horns and bear bangers can be effective in warning the bear that you are there. Bear bangers should only be used if you have training as they are an explosive and can start fires in certain conditions.  Firearms are not generally recommended for protection, but are often used as a deterrent for polar bears when researching in the High Arctic. Firearms licensing (Possession and Acquisition License) as well as specialized hands-on training and proven competency, are a must. Please check with UAPS for further details of firearms training. 

Check out this recent resource from CCOHS on wildlife encounters. 

Photo Credit: Froese Group 

On May 8, while travelling back to Edmonton from Yukon, researchers were travelling along the Alaska Highway near Fort Nelson pulling a rented trailer with a University rented vehicle. The trailer ball detached from the hitch, remaining within the trailer coupler and breaking the safety chains that should have kept the trailer attached to the vehicle. The trailer travelled across a lane of traffic into the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Luckily there was no oncoming traffic and no injuries occurred. Following the incident, Health, Safety and Environment reviewed the accident, and wants to remind researchers of the potential hazards associated with trailer towing during field research.

The Field Activity Safety Plan (FASP) should include the task of pulling a trailer, the associated hazards, and the controls that are in place. 

Trailer training is available from the HSE Fleet Safety Advisor and those towing a trailer should book training. Research group supervisors who conduct their own trailer training should create a record of the training and competency assessments as outlined in the HSE-3.1-100 Training and Competency Program FINAL 2019-12-18. All trailer training should include a detailed inspection of the ball and hitch to ensure that all parts are working properly.

If you are renting a trailer from an outside provider, make sure you choose the right hitch size for the trailer coupler. Also, ensure to inspect the coupler and safety chains attached to the trailer, and if they are not in good condition, ask for replacement. It is recommended to purchase extra insurance on the trailer and contents you are going to haul. Contact Risk Management and Insurance for questions about insurance. 

Record all hitch inspections in the Vehicle Pre-Inspection booklet. If you don't have one, order one from the Fleet Safety Advisor. 

Crossing safety chains is recommended to prevent the hitch from landing on the road in case of failure. Once the trailer is attached, visually looking under the hitch to ensure the latch has closed around the entire ball is a good idea. Make sure you have locked the lever so it can't open till the lock or pin has been removed.

When driving on uneven or unmaintained roads, adjust your speed and pay attention to any changes in sound or feel while driving. When in doubt, pull to a safe spot to check the trailer connection. 

At the Skills Day on May 8, a station covered hitches and towing. Here's the takeaway resource checklist that was developed. 

There have been recent revisions to the Vehicle Management and Driver Safety Manual to ensure compliance with regulations and university policy and procedures and to reflect the current U of A organizational structure.

Important content changes include the following:

Staff and students who are currently authorized drivers at the U of A should review the manual to ensure familiarity with changes and compliance with governmental regulations and university requirements. 

If you are unsure whether you are required to take the training or complete the Field Activity Plan, please visit this page.

If you plan on working in the field shortly and haven't taken the Field Research Safety Training, please visit this page.

If you have activities that are assessed at a risk level 2 (medium) to level 5 (Extreme), you are required to take both the eLearning and the in-person training sessions. Please register using the Google form. Certificates will not be issued if participants fail to attend. You are required to take the training every 3 years.

The following sessions will be held in 2-25 (Tamarack Room), Materials Management Building as below: 

July: Tuesday, July 8, 9 am - 12 pm
August: Tuesday, August 5, 9 am - 12 pm 
Sept: Thursday, September 11,  9 am - 12 pm                               

The Field Activity Plan is now called the Field Activity Safety Plan (FASP) and Human Participant Field Safety Plan (H-FASP). We also made a few improvements to the templates to reduce redundancy and streamline the document.  Both the current Field Activity Safety Plan templates and your current Field Activity Plan can be used for the 2025 field season. 

We anticipate that by next year, we will have an online version available.

Thermal stress (either hot or cold) is a hazard that should be identified for any work outdoors. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety's poster "Working in the Heat" above is a quick reference for controls. 

Pertinent HSE resources for working in the great outdoors include:

Thermal Stress Program and specifically the Heat Stress Program

SUN UV Program 

Outdoor Air Quality Program

Wilderness First Aid

We held two Wilderness First Aid courses this year, one in February and one in May. We will not be running another course until the fall, possibly reading week in November. There are third parties who provide a similar course. Here are a few suggestions: 

Haskin Canoe 
Rocky Mountain Adventure Medicine
Yamnuska 

HSE Fleet Safety Advisor, Jeff Brady (825-963-0613). provides driver training/evaluations and trailer training. Call or email Jeff to set up this training and become a U of A authorized driver. 

All participants who use an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) for University business must be trained and competent. Please contact Jeff Brady, our Fleet Safety Advisor, to arrange for training.