The objective of this webpage is to provide guidelines and resources that will make it as easy as possible for IB researchers and instructors to conduct safe fieldwork. Field safety can be improved through good planning (e.g., development of field safety plans) and decision-making (including threat or risk assessment), proper training (e.g., wilderness first aid and emergency response training), access to relevant field safety resources (such as info on how travel insurance plans are utilized in case of an emergency), and access to field safety equipment (e.g., satellite communication devices). We provide links here to resources and information relevant to each of these aspects of field safety.
What to do if you are experiencing a field emergency:
1) Medical emergencies: Go to the nearest hospital. Contact your supervisor/advisor and UC's GLobal Travel Assistance number below as soon as possible. You may need to pay for your medical services out of pocket. Keep all itemized receipts and seek reimbursement afterward. If your supervisor/advisor is unavailable, please follow the guidance on your field safety plan emergency contact plan. If needed, you can also contact IB department field safety co-chairs, Jim McGuire (mcguirej@berkeley.edu) and/or Rebecca Tarvin (rdtarvin@berkeley.edu) directly.
2) For travel and medical assistance services, please call UC's Global Travel Assistance partner Chubb-AXA as soon as possible:
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+1-855-327-1420 – Toll free in the US
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+1-630-694-9804 – Outside the US
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UC Berkeley's Risk Services staff can also help connect you with these benefits:
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1-510-289-8282
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risk@berkeley.edu
Additional notes: Contacting Chubb-AXA early is smart because they can make medical referrals to preferred health care providers and help with payments, transfers, etc. The problem that can happen if someone chooses their own medical provider, is the local clinic may demand additional payments or hold a passport until a payment is made. Related guidance is below.
Students: https://riskservices.berkeley.edu/student/travel
Employees: https://riskservices.berkeley.edu/insurance-programs/travel
Additional guidance for students with SHIP: In a medical/illness situation often students with SHIP can call in to an advice nurse at Tang and consult if it's something they can manage on their own, or if they should go into a clinic or local hospital. Language and links below are direct from the UHS website...
Tang Center Advice Nurse Instructions: https://uhs.berkeley.edu/medical/advice-nurse
Using SHIP Abroad: https://uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/using_ship_abroad.pdf
VCRO contacts for emergencies: More coming
Department requirements and resources for safety
Requirements
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The Department of Integrative Biology requires that you have a field safety plan on file prior to conducting field work or directing field trips for courses.
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The Department of Integrative Biology encourages that all funding opportunities within the department (e.g., IB, MVZ, UCMP summer research funding) require that field safety plans be filed for any funded field work prior to being awarded.
Resources
Contact Sara Souza (sarasouza@berkeley.edu) or a member of the Field Safety Committee (below) with any questions about field safety or field safety plans.
Current field safety committee membership as of Spring 2025:
- Rebecca Tarvin
- Jim McGuire
- Todd Dawson
- Onja Razafindratsima
- Rauri Bowie
- Monica Sheffer
- Maria Jose Navarette
- Isaac Krone
- Derek Apodaca (Director of Building Services and Safety)
- Sara Souza (UC Field Safety Officer)
Submit a Field Safety Plan for IB
Submit your plans via this form: https://www.tinyurl.com/ibfieldsafety
As of May 2025, we will require anyone in the department who is conducting field research or leading field courses to submit a field safety plan. See this folder for examples and templates. We include templates for frequently visited UC Natural History Reserves and local parks, as well as general templates for research to be conducted within the US, for international research (single and multi-site versions). Sara Souza (sarasouza@berkeley.edu) from EH&S and the UC-wide field safety office has offered to consult with anyone who needs assistance in creating or adapting a field safety plan. Members of the IB Field Safety Committee are also happy to assist. You are welcome to adapt any existing template to suit your needs or to create a de novo field safety plan specific to your activities.
Departmental GPS Units
If you would like to request one of the 9 Garmin inReach 67i units that the department purchased for field courses and fieldwork, please contact Jim McGuire (mcguirej@berkeley.edu). These units were funded by a UC Berkeley Be Smart About Safety grant obtained by the department Field Safety Committee in 2023. If IB Departmental GPS satellite communication devices are unavailable, EH&S also has a small number of GPS units and first aid kits that can be borrowed by reaching out to Sara Souza.
Departmental First Aid Kits
The Department of Integrative Biology Instructional Support team has first aid kits that can be borrowed if you are leading course field trips or conducting university-related fieldwork. https://ib.berkeley.edu/instructional
Department Accomplishments
Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology faculty and students, in collaboration with a multi-country collaborative team, created a set of principles and practical suggestions for safe and inclusive fieldwork that was published in PNAS (Ramírez-Castañeda et al. 2022). You can download the publication here: A set of Principles and practical suggestions for equitable field work in biology. Following this paper, the IB Field Safety Committee was founded in Fall 2023. In December, the committee was awarded a UC Berkeley Be Smart About Safety grant to subsidize wilderness first aid training and purchase GPS units and service plans for the department. In Spring 2024, the faculty passed a policy to require that field safety plans be filed for fieldwork associated with department research and teaching.
Campus requirements and resources for safety
Requirements
- Field safety begins with a field safety plan, which everyone conducting off-campus field research or teaching field based courses must have according to university policy, and which should be placed on file with the IB Field Safety Committee (see Department Requirements and Resources below).
- The university provides and requires travel insurance through Crisis24 that is free of charge for all campus employees and students engaged in university business, including field research. The link to the university travel insurance webpage with a link for travel registration is here, where you can find links to all related topics such as insurance guidelines and reimbursements. A similar website with some information about travel companions is here. Travel insurance provides many potential benefits to the traveler, including covering in-country emergency medical costs as well as emergency medical evacuation should it be required. The service automatically forwards detailed alerts about potential risks to the traveler that arise during the travel period. The service will also notify the traveler if their destination is a state department level 4 site, which are dangerous locations that US government employees are rarely allowed to enter.
- The traveler must check the US State department’s travel advisories to determine the risk level of the destination. In the case of level 4 sites (“do not travel”), special authorization from the Dean or Vice Chancellor for Research is required to visit the site, whereas for level 3 sites (“reconsider travel”), caution and a pre-trip risk assessment meeting with the campus Travel Risk Manager is recommended. The state department provides granular geographic information on level 3 and level 4 sites, even as specific as demarcating particular roads or neighborhoods in foreign countries as high risk. Pre-approval is required for the following types of university-related international travel:
- State Department Level 4 and other 'Do Not Travel' Destinations: A 2-step approval process, first from their Dean (or relevant equivalent ie Vice Chancellor for Research for an ORU) and then from the Vice Provost for Academic Planning. 'Do not travel' is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks.
- These may also include specific regions within level 2 and 3 destinations. For further details see International Travel Guidance and Requirements
- Approval includes a risk intelligence briefing by travel partners at Crisis24, scheduled by Risk Services.
- Study Abroad or Group Student Travel for Coursework or Credit: Regardless of State Department advisory level, all study abroad and international group student travel for coursework or credit must be reviewed by Berkeley Study Abroad.
- Study Abroad and International Group Student Travel Protocol
Resources
The Berkeley EH&S Website is an amazing resource for field safety, providing detailed information relevant to many aspects of fieldwork.
Other UC Berkeley websites that provide valuable field safety information include
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UC Field Operations Safety Manual: provides a comprehensive set of information about planning for fieldwork, responding to emergencies, and best practices for field leaders
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ESPM Field Safety: contains information about ESPM policies and data on field safety
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EH&S Work Related Injuries and Illnesses: provides resources and guidance about what you should do when somebody gets hurt at work (responding and reporting)
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EH&S Safety by Subject: overviews risks and risk management for different types of hazards
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EH&S Risk Assessment Tools & Recommendations: provides tools for assessing and managing workplace risks
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EH&S field safety Guidelines & Checklist (pdf) and Risk mitigation when handling animals and plants (video): overviews specific field hazards and how to reduce risk for common diseases, animals, and pests
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EH&S safe and inclusive working environments for off-campus or off-site research guidelines and resources: provides information about how to comply with the NSF requirement for safe & inclusive off-campus and off-site research plans
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Job Safety Analysis Plan Directory: a directory of existing risk assessments
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Export Control: guidelines for bringing data and equipment to a location outside of the USA
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Shipping Research & Hazardous Materials: contains guidelines for shipping materials to and from field sites
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International Collaboration and Economic and Trade Sanction (OFAC): guidance on working with places or people in sanctioned countries (e.g., Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria)
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https://travel.berkeley.edu/book-trip: guidance on booking trips for university business
Outside of UC Berkeley you may need to review travel advisories at the US State Department website (also linked above).
Training
There are also several places to find training at UC Berkeley: EH&S Lab and Field Training Directory and the UC Field Safety Leadership Training Series. In addition, the group Field Futures “prepares participants to prevent, intervene in, and effectively report incidents of sexual harassment and assault in field settings,” and UC Berkeley often contracts with Experiential Consulting for “Safety II” training (“effective risk management is not built solely on the avoidance of injuries and incidents, but upon the pursuit of program quality”) and Sierra Rescue for Wilderness First Aid training. Please see this website for the next available dates: https://ehs.berkeley.edu/field-research
FAQs
Do I need a field safety plan?
If you are…
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Performing field research/collecting off-campus (including UC reserves)
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Teaching a field course off campus
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Performing work or teaching courses involving wildlife
You are required to have a field safety plan by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration and by the National Sciences Foundation for all NSF-funded work.
Whom do I need to inform about my travel?
Always inform your PI and relevant collaborators where you are going and how long you expect to be there. Do not perform field work without either local support (local collaborators/contacts) or a field team who can respond to emergencies. If possible, carry an inReach device for emergency communication.
If your work involves international travel, clinical work, wildlife studies, work at high altitude, scientific diving, use of respirators, noisy environments, or other hazards, schedule a pre-trip medical consultation. Students insured by SHIP can do this via eTang.
If you are travelling less than 100 miles, no further notifications are necessary.
If you are travelling more than 100 miles, register your trip with UC away to alert the UC of your travel plans and receive email updates on any hazardous conditions in your destination.
If you are travelling internationally, register your trip with UC away. If you booked travel via Conexxus, your trip will already be registered. Then, check the US State department’s travel advisories to determine the risk level of your destination.
If your destination is risk level…
Level 1: No further notifications are necessary.
Level 2-3: Consider the risks and benefits of your travel, especially if to a region designated “D” (risk of wrongful detentions) or “K” (risk of kidnappings). If you have questions regarding the regions you are travelling to, contact risk@berkeley.edu. No further notifications are required.
Level 4: You are travelling to an area designated ad “Do Not Travel.” You may be permitted by the university to travel here, but you must apply for approval from the Dean and from the Vice Provost of Academic Planning to do so.
How is my travel insured?
If your travel is:
- Approved by the university (if necessary)
- Registered with the university
- Not to a country under sanction by the US
Your travel is insured through the University by CHUBB while security and travel intelligence information is provided by Crisis24. It is always wise to have emergency funds to cover potential costs when they occur; often, emergency expenses will need to be paid for out of pocket but can be reimbursed later. Detailed travel insurance information is compiled and summarized here. See UCOP’s International Travel Risk page for additional info.
How can I get more information about travel insurance at UC Berkeley?
See these webpages