Seasonal Grounds Worker Risk Awareness Workshop (Virtual)

Seasonal Grounds Worker Risk Awareness Workshop

Virtual, Monday, July 6, 2026 - 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Recreation utilizes a high volume of seasonal (young ) workers to assist in many areas of operations. A common focus is maintaining grounds and greenspaces. Larger operations are often well positioned to provide adquate on-boarding for these individuals, however, smaller operations often struggle in providing adequate awareness on risks, hazards and best prractices. This session has been designed to assist in filling this gap. Topics include: Grounds Worker Roles and Responsibilities Awareness (ORFA). The morning session will focus on awareness of common responsibilities, risks, and hazards. The objective is to create an understanding of expectation and limitations associated with these positions: roles and responsibilities of a recreational grounds operator; overview of health and safety requirements; expected customer service skills; overview of the diversity of grounds operations and maintenance responsibilities; risks and hazards associated with working outdoors; reporting best practices. The afternoon session will focus on play structure inspection best practices and will be lead by Scott Belair, CCPI, Reliable Reporting, and cover topics including common risks and hazards with play structures; proven maintenance areas to focus on; proactive safety approaches to discovered unsafe outdoor play area conditions; record keeping best practices.

Presenters: Terry Piche, Director, Training, Research and Development, ORFA & Scott Belair, Canadian Certified Playground Inspector, Canadian Playground Safety Institute

This course is worth 7 professional development credits towards recertification of any ORFA professional designation