Courses

Explore the history, philosophy, and application of wilderness law and policy in the United States.This sixteen-week course of study provides a comprehensive understanding of the basics of management in designated wilderness areas.This Certificate is designed for seasonal Wilderness rangers, federal personnel working near or with an interest in Wilderness Stewardship.

This Certificate is designed for seasonal Wilderness rangers and federal personnel working near Wilderness or with an interest in Wilderness Stewardship.

Already a full-time Wilderness program manager? See our Fundamentals of Wilderness Stewardship Certificate.

This course provides best practices for interpreters charged with developing programs where Civil War and Civil Rights stories intersect.

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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 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.

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.

This course is designed to assist individuals charged with approving Minimum Requirements Analyses (MRAs). The stories and case studies presented in this course are based on real cases and real MRAs. Learn More

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.

Gain an appreciation of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s special resources and the important rules that protect both the resources and boaters in the Keys.

Para ver este curso en español, haga clic aquí.

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.”

Establish a strong foundation in the basics of interpretation. This certificate program explores the history of interpretation as a profession and provides knowledge in roving, informal interpretation, audience identification and engagement, and interpretive talks.

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.

Explore the history, philosophy, and application of wilderness law and policy in the United States. This seven-month course of study provides a comprehensive understanding of the basics of management in designated wilderness areas.
This certificate is designed for early-career, full-time, NWPS Wilderness program managers.
Interested in a similar experience for those federal agency personnel working in units with Wilderness or seasonal Wilderness rangers? See our Basics of Wilderness Stewardship Certificate.
Download the 2018 Fundamentals of Wilderness Stewardship Certificate Course Syllabus Learn More

State, county and local park and recreation agencies steward most of our open spaces and are responsible for a vast amount of the programming and facilities available to the public. More importantly, park and recreation agencies, often in partnership with other community organizations, are natural catalysts for health and wellness.

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.

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.

New to interpretation? Want to refresh your understanding of the basics of interpretation? This course is for you!

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.

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

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.

Micro learning courses are an excellent way to learn content in quick and focused segments. These concise and informative courses enable learning when time is limited. The use of video and other instructional techniques make this an engaging experience for the learner and provide a unique alternative to our full-length courses.

Photo by Isaiah West Taber - Sierra Club Bulletin, Vol. VI. No. 4, January, 1908, pg. 211 [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28233048

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 course is designed to assist you in understanding, developing, and selecting management alternatives for a wilderness stewardship plan.

The third course in the Visitor Use Management in Wilderness series employs the concepts from Fundamentals and Strategies to guide the learner through the specifics of monitoring impacts from visitor use and its management.

Explore the history, philosophy, and application of wilderness law and policy in the United States.This twelve-week course of study provides a comprehensive understanding of the basics of management in designated wilderness areas.This Certificate is designed for seasonal Wilderness rangers, federal personnel working near or with an interest in Wilderness Stewardship.

If you are interested in registering as a group or cohort, please contact the instructor of record: lkwiltz@indiana.edu

In part two of this free webinar series, join us for inspiring ideas of play and resiliency from around the world. Learn about physical materials like playful care packages to combat social isolation in inner cities and Play It Safe Kits to re-envision streets for play; recreation opportunities using Indigenous games; and practical toolkits for families to connect with nature during COVID-19. Advocating for active and outdoor play at home and in parks and nature is uniting the world’s Parks and Recreation Professionals together to share ideas and expertise to help heal all families in the world. #naturenevercloses

This course is designed for park and public agency employees who are responsible for public health and safety in parks. A smoke-free playground issue will be covered.