Courses

This previously recorded one-hour webinar will introduce different revenue-generating strategies agencies may use for long term financial planning.

Explore the skills needed to be an effective interpretive coach. Coaching others to develop and deliver meaningful interpretation is rewarding because you multiply the opportunities for visitors to understand the relevance and significance of our resources. It gives you the chance to share your passion.

A medida que usted avance en este curso, aprenderá a apreciar este ambiente especial y las reglas que tenemos para protegerlo. También se enterará de las muchas maneras en las que usted genera un impacto en los Cayos y en sus recursos naturales. El tomar este curso y utilizar los recursos que aquí se proveen lo convertirá en un navegante más responsable y seguro.

This previously recorded one-hour webinar will introduce participants to best practices in identifying data sources, creating data, and using data for management decision-making.

Explore the four most important principles of managing wilderness: Preserve Wilderness and Natural Conditions, Protect Wilderness Benefits, Provide and Use the Minimum Necessary, and Manage Wilderness as a Whole.

Not a designer, but need to develop an interpretive media product? This course will teach you basic design principles that will help you put together a product that is both interpretive and eye-catching.

This previously recorded one-hour webcast is designed for park and public agency employees who are interested in obtaining the Certified Park Professional (CPP) or Certified International Park Professional (CIPP) credential.

In this course, you will develop an understanding of how the health of the environment directly affects human health. We will discuss issues related to the contamination of public lands and the importance of regulating chemicals. We will also explore how environmental health is directly influenced by legal actions.

Why do you write? Is it to inform, instruct, or persuade your audience? Or do you write to help your audience think or feel something new? Effective interpretive writers have basic skills in writing and understand the art and practice of interpretation. This course explores the reasons we write and teaches the essential elements of effective interpretive writing.

This course is the third in a series of three courses on Cultural Resources Management in Wilderness. It provides a comprehensive overview of the process used to evaluate proposals for scientific activity in wilderness.

This course, the final course in the Paleontological Resources in Wilderness course of study, discusses the process of evaluating proposals for conducting scientific activity in wilderness and examines the decisions wilderness managers must make in order to preserve wilderness character during such activity.

The Everglades Boater Education Program consists of the course, assessment, and receipt of the park boating certificate and is intended to prepare boaters for their experience in Everglades National Park. The boat operator must have the Certificate when boating in the park.

Para ver este curso en español, haga clic aquí.

Gain skills in effective methods for communicating with staff, colleagues, and partners.

Gain skills in methods for leading teams and developing staff ability to perform effectively.

Gain ability to ensure organizational goals and customer expectations are met.

Gain skills in hiring and preparing staff to be successful in their positions.

Gain a comprehensive understanding of what a team is and how to develop an effective team.

Gain skills in developing competencies and managing staff with competencies in mind.

This course is designed for students and professionals who are interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the requirements for providing accessible programs, services, and activities within federal, state, and local recreation agencies.

This course will help you gain an understanding of the different movements in the history of parks, human health and natural environments. It will also provide you the tools to develop personal definitions for the terms “human health” and “natural environments.”

This is the first course in the Paleontological Resources Management in Wilderness series. It focuses on the basics of managing paleontological resources found in wilderness.

This recorded webcast is designed for park and public agency employees who are interested in the history of parks. The session will include historical details, drawings and photographs of the people and places who make up the story, their objectives, successes and failures.

Being in tune with community needs drives successful agencies. However, there is more to it than the “build it and they will come” philosophy.

In this course, you will explore the many ways in which individuals have creatively engaged with the natural environment to improve individual and community health.

The purpose of this course is to help ABMC managers further appreciate their role as supervisors, coaches, auditors, and appraisers of interpretive programs and projects. Interpretive coaching and supervision are important responsibilities of ABMC supervisors.

Explore guided interpretive programs, which can take many forms: walks, hikes, house tours, canoe trips, bus tours, cave tours, just to name a few.

Explore a new approach to interpretation – dialogic interpretation. This course discusses three methods interpreters are using to present dialogic programs to visitors and guests.

In this course you will explore the core concepts covered in the seven courses in the Human Health and Natural Environments series.

This course is the second in a series of three courses on Cultural Resources Management in Wilderness. It provides an in-depth look at the special requirements of inventorying and monitoring cultural resources in wilderness.

This course, the second course in the Paleontological Resources Management in Wilderness course of study, provides an in-depth look at the inventory and monitoring process associated with paleontological resources.

The visitor is sovereign. Interpreters may hear this very basic but very important concept many times during the course of their career. What does it mean? It means that each visitor or guest brings a unique level of knowledge, interest, and care each time they visit a site.

Lighting enhances, extends and promotes the use of parks and public places after dark. The way we light our parks can have serious effects on public perception of safety and can cause negative effects on people and the environment.

Making the Case for Nature & Health: Theoretical Arguments is geared towards park and recreation professionals and students in park, recreation, public health, and related disciplines. No prior knowledge is required to take this course. This course is recommended to be completed fourth in this series.

This hour-long webinar will provide learners with a basic understanding of politics, power, influence, and the many ways that parks and recreation agency leaders can use these elements to guide operational practices. This is part of the Continuing Professional Development Webinar Series. 

Learn about relevant considerations for managing insects and disease in wilderness.

This course will provide wilderness managers a comprehensive overview of their role in managing mineral rights in wilderness.

This training course addresses the management of rights-of-way and access to inholdings in designated wilderness.

This course will allow you to gain an understanding of the different environmental attributes that affect human health. It will also discuss how our personal perceptions of the environment influence our behaviors and interactions with nature.

Learn the natural resource management techniques relevant to air quality in wilderness.

This course discusses the decision-making process for planning natural resource restoration in a wilderness area. It is essential that managers consider impacts to the untrammeled and natural qualities of wilderness when contemplating restoration efforts within wilderness boundaries.

Learn about the process of evaluating proposals to conduct scientific activity in wilderness and the decisions wilderness managers must make in order to preserve wilderness character while such activity occurs.

Learn the basics of fish and wildlife management in wilderness. The course covers guiding principles and includes case studies to demonstrate a variety of management options.

This course presents the legal foundation for managing natural resources in wilderness and addresses the myths and realities of wilderness management.

Learn the importance of natural resource monitoring and what resources are appropriate to monitor in wilderness.

Preserving natural lightscapes is one of many management actions that helps protect cultural traditions, visitor experiences, and the physiological and ecological processes of wildlife in wilderness. This course will discuss the fundamentals of lightscape resource management, including threats to the night sky in wilderness and relevant principles of management.

This course discusses the importance of management and monitoring soil and water resources—inside and outside wilderness; the various laws relating to management; and identifies strategies for prevention, mitigation, and restoration of impacts on soil and water resources in wilderness.

Learn to differentiate between sounds and noises in wilderness soundscapes, identify threats to wilderness soundscapes, and examine strategies for soundscape management.

Learn the guidelines managers should follow in order to satisfy the requirements of the Wilderness Act, the Endangered Species Act, and agency policies when managing threatened and endangered species in wilderness.

This training course addresses the management of rights-of-way and access to inholdings in designated wilderness.

This course is designed for facility managers and park and recreation providers who are interested in gaining a foundational knowledge of the requirements for accessible facilities within federal, state, and local agencies.

This webinar explores the art and science of park design.

In this webcast participants will learn to think about green space as a canvas; a piece of art where people can interact with everyday landscape in a new and temporary way. Ralf Witthaus, International Land-Artist based in Germany, will provide examples from the Federal Lawn Show in Cologne and other lawnmower drawings to teach a creative and alternative approach to incorporate art in public parks.

New to the procurement process? This course will help you to gain an understanding of how to obtain products and services from organizations outside your own.

This previously recorded one-hour webcast is designed for park and public agency employees who are interested in obtaining the Certified Park Professional (CPP) or Certified International Park Professional (CIPP) credential.

This webinar will cover public and private partnerships. As visitation rises at state parks and the visitors needs and expectations also increases, finding a way to remain relevant to today’s visitor becomes costly. Public and private partnerships may be an option worth looking into.

This previously recorded, one-hour webinar includes a discussion about research and surveys as they are relevant to the future success of state parks across the United States.

Gain the skills and confidence needed to interact with visitors informally and learn how to provide them with interpretive opportunities. This course explores three types of contacts: orientation, information, and interpretation.

In this course you will develop an appreciation for the use of science in understanding the complex relationship between human health and natural environments. Topics include the scientific method, best practices for interpreting scientific reports, and identifying possible sources of bias.

In this course, you will explore the concept of sense of place and how it can be used to understand the relationship between human beings and our natural environments. You will also discuss environmental education and its importance in human health outcomes.

In this session participants will learn about the impacts of urbanization on communities’ physical and social health around the world. Using case studies from Johannesburg, South Africa, and from other international locations, this webinar will provide examples of the challenges park managers face during an era of rapid urbanization and population growth. Participants will gain knowledge of strategies used to maximize social and physical health benefits to communities.

Explore how social media can be used interpretively to expand your reach.

Trees are as important as ever in our growing cities – the need to provide large canopied shade trees to cool cities is important. Providing adequate root volumes to allow large healthy trees to grow without infrastructure conflicts is also important.

Gain valuable skills that will help you train impactful interpreters. Interpretive trainers support interpreters in connecting people to parks, museums, zoos, and other places.

Survey Basics and Best Practices for Park and Recreation Agencies will provide a brief overview on how to develop and distribute a survey. It reviews the reasons for surveying and how to construct, conduct, and use the survey data.

The causes of World War One are complex. This course explores the social and political factors that contributed to and shaped the conflict in Europe. The initial reluctance and ultimate participation of the United States is described and placed in a cultural and political context as well.

This previously recorded one-hour webinar examines the efforts of Michigan State Parks and Maryland Conservation Job Corps to program, manage, and integrate better the outdoor experience into urban residents’ lives.

This second course in the series provides a thorough overview of how to determine which strategies and actions to use when managing visitor use in wilderness.

From shore to shore, Michigan State Parks and Recreation Areas provide both great recreation opportunities and high quality habitat for rare species. Our state park system is home to many unique ecosystems, such as forested coastal dunes, native tallgrass prairies and rare prairie fens that are home to rare birds, insects, turtles and other animals.

Learn about how wilderness character is defined, wilderness character qualities and what degrades these qualities. This course also discusses how to integrate wilderness character into planning, monitoring, management, operations, and more.

Originating in England in 1996, the Green Flag Award program now recognizes and rewards over 2,000 well-managed parks and green spaces in 15 countries around the world. In this webinar we will explore what makes the program such a success - Is it the unique combination of peer-to-peer judging with political influence? The flexible approach to the 8 key criteria? Or its growing stance as a management ‘mantra’ amongst park professionals. In addition to this you will learn how you can apply the methodology to improve your day to day management of parks. Join us as we navigate these questions and more in this friendly and informative presentation. Learn More