The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in partnership with the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge and the National Association for Interpretation (NAI), is offering a professional certification course for individuals who will be delivering interpretive programs or having public contact at interpretive sites.

The Certified Interpretive Guide program is designed for anyone who delivers interpretive programs to the public in any field, including environmental and wildlife education or culture, heritage and history education, and others.  It combines both the theoretical foundations of the profession with practical skills in delivering quality interpretive programming to visitors.
The 32-hour course includes:

• History, definition, and principles of interpretation
• Creating programs that are purposeful, enjoyable, relevant, organized, and thematic
• Using tangible objects to connect audiences to intangible ideas and universal concepts in interpretive programs
• Presentation and communication skills
• NAI Certification requirements (open book exam; program outline; 10-min. presentation)
• All materials, workbook, and CIG course textbook

Your Instructors are Barry Keefe, Program Manager of the Richard Stockton College Volunteer Master Naturalist certificate program, and Art Webster, Chief of Visitor Services at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Both Barry and Art are NAI Certified Interpretive Trainers and Guides with many years of experience in interpretation, education and training, planning, working with groups, and sharing a love of natural and cultural history. 

All sessions begin at 8am and end no later than 5pm daily. Meals are not included; there are limited lunch possibilities nearby so we recommend bringing a bag lunch. To save resources, please bring a water bottle and a coffee cup. Two sections of the program will be offered.  The Atlantic County program will be held at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is located on Rt 9 in Oceanville, just 6 miles north of the Atlantic City Expressway in southern coastal New Jersey. The Cape May County program will be held at the new Two Mile Beach unit of the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, off of Ocean Drive in Diamond Beach, at the southern tip of Five Mile Beach Island (exit 0 of the Garden State Parkway).

Tuition:
Course tuition includes snacks, instructor and facility fee, and course materials. Cost includes textbook loan and use for completing open-book examination, but does not include purchase of textbooks (text purchase is optional, but suggested).

With certification:
$420 For Certification and one year Membership in NAI
$370 for Certification as a current member of NAI

Without certification (course only)*:
$340 for course only and one year Membership in NAI without certification
$290 for course only without certification or membership
* Students not wishing certification will not be responsible for outline, oral presentation, or the final open-book assessment.

Requirements for the CIG course
Anyone age 16 or over with a desire to increase their knowledge and skills related to interpretation may participate. Membership in NAI is not required, but NAI members may pay a discounted fee to participate in the program. You can also elect to take the training without becoming certified.

Interpretation Library
Six texts are necessary for completion of the open-book exam and will be provided for student use during the course. If you wish to purchase your own books, NAI offers a discounted package price of $120 plus $12 shipping. Visit www.interpnet.com/store/ or call NAI at 888-900-8283, order the "Certification Library" and have the books shipped to you now. We highly recommend reading the material in advance as it is a lot of material to cover and this will free up your evenings and allow you to focus more on class activities.  A set of these books is available in the Richard Stockton College School of Graduate and Continuing Studies for your review.

The texts used are:
Environmental Interpretation by Sam Ham
Interpreting Our Heritage by Freeman Tilden
Interpretation of Natural and Cultural Resources by Knudsen, Cable & Beck
 Interpretation for the 21st Century by Beck & Cable
Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Cornell
Interpreting for Park Visitors by Bill Lewis

Area Lodging
There is ample lodging near the CIG course sites, from Atlantic City casino hotels to small inns and B & B’s in beautiful historic Cape May. There are also moderately priced hotels and motels near both sites. See course website for details.

Registration or Further information
Certified Interpretive Guide registration must be completed with Richard Stockton College School of Graduate and Continuing Studies; visit www.stockton.edu/hshs click on ‘Certificate Programs’ for further information and for a printable application form, or call 609.652.4227 for a mailed application  or email cs-hshs@stockton.edu  to be e-mailed an application. Tuition is due within one week of registration via check payable to Richard Stockton College Continuing Studies or by credit card – please call us for credit card payment instructions.