Courses

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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 the natural resource management techniques relevant to air quality in 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.

In this certificate you will learn the basic steps for decision making and management that are applied to federal wilderness areas, and how they can be interpreted and implemented on other, non-federal protected areas. These wildlands can benefit from the same systems and strategies the US government uses to identify the wilderness characteristics, develop plans for stewardship, manage visitor usage, and protect the natural resources.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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 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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.