INNER CITY OUTINGS: About ICO

ICO's Mission Statement

The Los Angeles Inner City Outings (Angeles Chapter) serves as a bridge that enables inner city youth, disabled individuals, and others to visit and develop an appreciation for our natural environment. We work with schools, community groups, and other agencies to create safe and enjoyable outdoor experiences for persons who might not otherwise have them. ICO outings promote individual growth through group activities and environmental and outdoor skills education.

ANGELES ICO POLICIES

July 27, 2005

This document contains all of the policies that have been agreed upon by the Angeles ICO membership at monthly meetings. All policies are indicated with a bullet. Revisions may be made at any monthly meeting according to the decision-making policies of Angeles ICO. In addition to these policies general information and advice is available in the following documents: “Guidelines for Agencies”, “Duties of an ICO Liaison”, and “Things to remember on an ICO Trip.”

BOARD MEMBERS TOP

Chair
Vice Chair
Bus Coordinator
Equipment Quartermaster
Leader Certification Chair
Mailings Coordinator
Secretary/Newsletter Editor
Treasurer
Volunteer Coordinator

· The chair and vice-chair are elected by ICO members attending the annual meeting in January. The chair appoints all other officers.

§ Each ICO hike must have a minimum of two leaders at all times, at least one of whom is both Sierra Club and ICO certified and the other Sierra Club certified.

§ There must be a minimum of one agency person per ten participants. Parent/guardian participants help meet this requirement as long as there is one official agency representative.

§ All participants must sign a "Release of Liability and Permission to Participate" form prior to participation in any ICO outing. Leaders collect the forms before the group leaves the trailhead and bring or mail them to the current ICO Chair or his or her designee.

§ If one of the participants needs to drop out during the course of an outing, one of the agency people may take the participant back to the bus, preferably accompanied by a Sierra Club Volunteer. If an agency person is not confident that he/she knows the way back, then the whole group should go back. The leader and the co-leader stay with the group.

§ Sierra Club Incident/Accident Reports need to be sent to National, the local Angeles Chapter and the ICO Chair. The instructions on the form must be followed carefully.

§ Leaders need to instruct participants to "freeze like statues" when animals, e.g. horses or snakes, are nearby. After freezing, participants should be instructed to slowly back away from snakes. Participants need to be told NEVER to approach or touch any animals.

· Leaders need to instruct participants to move to the uphill side when a bicyclist approaches.

· The leader needs to confirm with the bus driver that he or she will not leave the premises during one-day outings in case emergency transportation needs to be provided by the bus and bus driver.

· Maintain visual contact in difficult terrain and weather. Use a plastic whistle contact when necessary. (Editor's note: Two-way radios may be used to maintain contact.)

· Leave destination plans with a responsible person who will contact authorities if group does not return by a particular date/time.

§ Provisional hike leaders bear the responsibility for planning and implementing a trip from start to finish. This includes establishing contact with the participating agency and, when necessary, requesting a bus.

§ Provisional hike leaders associated with an agency must lead their provisional hike for an agency other than their own.

§ Prior to a candidate becoming ICO hike leader certified, an attending certified ICO hike leader with at least one year’s experience will evaluate their provisional hike performance. The provisional hike leader must have volunteered or co-led on at least two previous ICO hikes or outings as well.

§ Contact the ICO Certification Chair for further information regarding becoming an ICO leader, including the "Certified Leaders Checklist," "Sierra Club Outing Committee Inner City Outings Volunteer Agreement," and the "Inner City Outings Committee, Angeles Chapter Sierra Club (LA ICO) Application for Leader Certification."

§ If the leader is also the liaison for a school or agency, then he or she is responsible for ordering a bus, locating a co-leader for each hike, and maintaining communication with the teacher or other agency contact.

§ Leaders are encouraged to help teachers to make connections between ICO outings and the school's curriculum. For instance, they might ask what the students are studying and suggest connections.

§ Leaders are encouraged to call or e-mail volunteers a week prior to an outing to invite them to participate.

§ Leaders are encouraged to call the park five days before the hike to verify that they are expected. Let the park rangers know when using a bus from the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, rather than the Sierra Club.

· Angles ICO will maintain a Quality Events Committee made up of 3 ICO-certified hike leaders appointed by the Angeles ICO chair. This committee will advise on the certification of new ICO leaders as well as receive, investigate, and address complaints about certified Angeles ICO Leaders and Co-leaders within established parameters of Sierra Club guidelines. Every year a member of the Quality Events Committee will co-lead with each certified ICO leader to provide evaluative feedback (This includes members of the committee.)

§ Volunteers must submit an application including the names and contact information of three references prior to participating in an outing.

§ After a volunteer’s references have been checked and approved by the ICO Volunteer Coordinator, the Coordinator will notify the ICO Mailing Coordinator to add the new volunteer to the ICO mailing list.

§ The name, phone number, and e-mail address of the volunteer will be posted in the next issue of the ICO newsletter, so leaders will be encouraged to contact the volunteer for inclusion and support on their outings.

§ Volunteers are also encouraged to take the initiative in contacting leaders and asking to participate in outings.

§ If an ICO hike leader has a serious concern about a volunteer’s participation, then that leader must note that concern in the comments section of the Sierra Club ICO Trip Report.

§ ICO welcomes school and other groups that request hikes. Our outings spark interest in and enthusiasm for the natural environment.

§ ICO assigns to each agency an ICO member, designated as a coordinator, who will assist in scheduling hikes, arranging for transportation, and finding leaders.

§ Each agency needs to appoint a liaison who will represent the agency and work with the ICO coordinator to set up hikes, assist in making hike participants aware of how to dress, what to bring, and how to comport themselves. The agency liaison needs to come to an ICO meeting. These are generally on the third Monday of each month. At the meeting, he or she will fill out an "ICO Outing Information Form, " which the bus coordinator will keep on file.

§ Trips have to be scheduled at least eight weeks in advance and during the week of the ICO meeting. The first one must be requested at an ICO meeting. The trip request is written on a "Bus Request Form," one copy of which will be given to the bus coordinator and the other to the secretary. Check in the upcoming issue of the "Bulletin" to verify that the trip is scheduled. After the initial visit to an ICO meeting, the agency liaison is not required to attend other meetings.

§ School buses hold 60 persons. Often two classes go on a hike, but the quality of the hike is better with fewer participants (about 25 to 30). ICO requires one adult from the agency for each ten children.

§ Buses must be cancelled at least 72 hours prior to a scheduled trip. To cancel a bus, the ICO coordinator needs to call MRCA. (MRCA's phone number and pager number are in the "Bulletin.") Try to establish right away another date for the hike so that it can be rescheduled when the bus is cancelled. Then there won't be an eight-week waiting period to obtain a bus.

§ Most of our outings go the Santa Monica Mountains, because the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority subsidizes part of the cost of the buses to the Santa Monicas for LAUSD schools and for some but not all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles.

§ Agencies are encouraged to furnish their own transportation. Sometimes city council members or county supervisors donate a bus. A bus can also be rented from the city.

§ Occasionally, ICO provides hikes, overnight camping trips, and snow trips to the San Gabriel Mts. To be eligible for ANY camping trip, youngsters must have previously participated in at least three ICO hikes.

§ Schools and other agencies are responsible for getting permission slips from parents. In addition, ICO requires a liability waiver for every participant, including, teachers, teacher aids, family members, and friends. For each participant under 18, the liability waivers must be signed by a legal guardian.

§ Teachers are encouraged to prepare children by providing instruction about local natural history, geography, and plant and animal life. Again, ICO's goal is to interest children in nature. The better prepared the children are, the more they will benefit from the outings.

§ If possible, the hike leader(s) will visit the school or other agency a few days before the trip to further prepare the participants. This, too, enables them to get more out of the trip.

§ The hikes are easy for some but strenuous for others. If it is a family outing, the adults accompanying the children should be in as good shape as the children. Strollers cannot be accommodated on a trail, and to carry little children for several miles up and down trails is too difficult for most people. Special attention should be paid to wearing sturdy shoes and bringing plenty of water. (See "Things to Remember on an ICO Trip.") If a person has asthma, he or she must bring an inhaler.

§ Volunteers wishing to go on a scheduled hike are welcome, with the permission of the hike leader and provided that they have completed the requirements to become a volunteer. Call the leader (see the “Bulletin" for phone numbers and e-mail addresses) to tell him or her you would like to volunteer. For the protection of youthful participants, ICO outings are closed, that is, they are not published in the Sierra Club Schedule.

§ The equipment quartermaster will maintain an up-to-date inventory list with spaces to sign out and sign in equipment.

§ Equipment must be returned when the equipment quartermaster is available to receive it.

§ Equipment must be returned in clean and dry condition within seven days after a trip.

§ When leaders notice tents and/or equipment is in need of repair, they should either take care of repairs directly or notify the equipment quartermaster.

§ The equipment quartermaster can establish further guidelines in consultation with the chair as these become necessary for the condition in which equipment must be returned.

§ For backpacking trips, additional specialized gear will be borrowed from the REI Gear Bank. It has almost all needed backpacking equipment and lends it free of charge. The current contact for the REI Arcadia store is Mike Oliva (626-447-1062)

§ Also for backpacking trips, bear canisters will be rented for areas that require them.

§ Bus reservations must be submitted through the online form or in writing to the bus coordinator and the secretary at least eight (8) weeks prior to the date of a trip.

§ Bus reservations must be submitted during the same week as the monthly meeting, i.e., between the third and fourth Monday or each month.

§ An ICO leader, no matter what the cause, must make all bus cancellations 48 hours prior to the date of the trip.

§ When a bus must be canceled due to rain, at the time of the cancellation, the leader should let the Santa Monica Conservancy know if he or she will reschedule and give the new date if known. The leader needs to notify the bus coordinator of the changes.

§ A minimum of 15 participants (other than leaders and volunteers) is needed to justify hiring a bus for an outing.

§ If a bus has not arrived at the pickup point ten minutes prior to the scheduled departure time, the agency contact should phone Celina's pager and leave a message. (Note: Celina does not arrive at work until 10:00 a.m. )

§ The Sierra Club policy regarding automobile liability policy is at
http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/finance/risk_manual/auto.asp . There is a section on rental cars on that page. People considering using a rental car to transport participants also need to review the Outings Leader Handbook and ICO Addendum to the OLH, both on the extranet site. People will need to use the user name "clubhouse" and password "explore" in order to have access to the extranet.

§ With a conventional driver's license one can transport only ten passengers if any of them are children.

Current Committee Officers TOP
Roger Johnston, Chair
Melody Anderson, Vice Chair & Record Keeper
Ann Salvador, Secretary
Catherine Ronan, Treasurer
Dan Butler, Bus Coordinator
Sparky Sotcher, Certification Chair
Firoza Jhabvala, Volunteers Coordinator
Art Peyser, Mailings

Monthly Meetings
The ICO Committee meets 11 times a year. All volunteers, school and agency contacts, and any other interested parties are invited to attend (new agency people and new volunteers should arrive at meeting at 7pm).

Enter on Mariposa for free night parking in the parking garage under the building. Your parking ticket will be validated at the meeting.

Newsletters
Current news, articles of interest, and trip schedules are published in the ICO Monthly Bulletin.