The undergraduate course GEOG 105 Natural Hazards and Hollywood at the University of Fraser Valley aims to enhance students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward natural hazards while examining the role of mass media in preparedness. Offered online, this course is accessible to students outside of university locations. This paper synthesizes lessons learned on a self-guided field visit, a pedagogical tool incorporated to enhance students' knowledge of their surroundings for better preparedness, especially when the course is offered online. For the visit, students identified a location to visit and a tentative intervention idea, conducted an hour-long transect walk, assessed the risk of natural hazards and vulnerability, and prepared a brief report supplemented with secondary information within a given timeframe. Students mentioned that hazard map of the area and field visits enhance their local knowledge. This exercise prepared students with experiential local knowledge of geography, which they could complement with other information on preparedness, such as weather apps and google maps.