NAI Blog

Bob Hinkle introduces the planning class to the West Creek Reservation site for the new WaterShed project.

I’m not in the new sitcom, Hot in Cleveland. I’m in Cleveland and it’s not hot this week, temperature-wise. But it is really HOT in our business due to Cleveland Metroparks (CM). Bob Hinkle is the Chief of Outdoor Education and for 39 years he has been a member of NAI and AIN before that, one of our two parent organizations. His leadership in CM’s education and interpretive programs for 28 years has been amazing. Dr. Bob, as many affectionately call him, has encouraged professional development as a cultural norm in this old and revered park district.

This is our fourth interpretive planning course in Cleveland at his request and managers of nature centers and programs in this system are required to earn the Certified Interpretive Manager or Planner credential. CM’s planner, landscape architect and designers have had the planner course, helping them work together with site managers and interpreters, all using a common process and planning vocabulary.

Lisa Brochu explains logic models with an example.

This week’s course is working on the challenge of planning the interpretive elements on the WaterShed grounds that augment the services of the building in achieving site objectives. Participants are from all over the U.S. and Canada along with six staff members of CM, with varying levels of experience in interpretive planning and graphic design. During the course, participants are exposed to planning principles and processes, then apply what they’ve learned to the on-site project challenge.

The culture of professional development and interpretive planning encouraged by Bob Hinkle is important to the success of CM’s six nature centers and other outdoor programs. Large organizations with  policies, politics and bureaucracy can end up with a “can’t do it” emotional environment, but thoughtful training and planning keeps professionals open to personal growth and empowers them with an understanding of what they CAN DO cost effectively and efficiently. CM continues to invest in helping their dedicated professionals grow and become better planners – that’s HOT and is making a difference in Cleveland.

-Tim Merriman

The first CIG course was in La Paz, Mexico, a test of the new curriculum.

There are interpreters or planners who view themselves as artists, not held to any professional standards. Sometimes these individuals are very talented and do very creative work. So how does that work for a profession?

Professions set standards for performance. They provide credentials for those who prove their capabilities in specific ways. They train people based on those standards. Our certification program was developed out of that interest in professional credentials. There were people in our field who opposed credentialing and certification at every step. But a large number of professionals wanted it. Some argued “Interpretation is an art. You can’t set standards for an art.”

NAI’s mission is “to inspire leadership and excellence to advance heritage interpretation as a profession.” The NAI Board in 1997 decided that certification and standards were good for the profession and within our mission.

The Train the Trainers class in Tuscany brought participants from six countries.

Twelve years later more than 10,000 people have taken certification courses with NAI-certified trainers or have applied for certification through the peer review process. We estimate there are 30,000 paid professionals in the field and 250,000 more who work as docents or part-time interpreters. There are clearly many who have not sought training or certification. Some will always oppose it and not get involved and that is okay. It is not mandated by any law, but some organizations are showing a preference for those with credentials.

Interpretive Planners course in Charlotte, NC.

Most organizations prefer college degrees or professional credentials or both. Hiring artists is a tricky business. If you know the individual applying to be an interpreter, and she/he is very talented as an interpreter, you might hire that individual. If you do not know them, it is hard to detect that talent in an interview. Credentials give you some idea of their abilities based on peer review of their skills by the trainers and reviewers who granted the credentials.

Interpreters who are artists may or may not be interested in the mission of the organization. If a talented speaker or guide gives programs that entertain, but do not do anything to advance the mission-related objectives of the organization, a manager may eliminate the position in hard economic times. Managers keep the staff members they feel contribute to their success in managing the site. Entertainers may not be what a natural or cultural history site values when funds are limited.

I am not suggesting that good interpretation not be artistic, interesting and creative. I am saying it should meet professional standards and help achieve the goals of the organization. It can be both artistic and professional. If it is only artistic, it will likely not be sustainable.

Freeman Tilden said in his principles that “Interpretation is an art, and any art is to some degree teachable.” He was certainly suggesting that artistic delivery matters and that the arts honor multiple learning styles. But even in 1957 he was saying it is teachable. We can set standards for best practices and evaluate performances as meeting standards. The best interpretive efforts are artistic but they do not stop with personal expression. They serve the mission of their organizations and meet standards of the profession.

-Tim Merriman

Bitapi Sinha of India presents to participants from 14 countries at International Conference in Australia.

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of community.  Whether it’s a community of organisms in nature or a community of humans—there are some universal properties.  The defining property of a community is that all the individuals are connected in some way—that connection may be a common interest, economic interactions, location or some other set of interrelationships.  Studies of community ecology have found that communities with more connections and stronger connections tend to operate with higher efficiency, are more stable and have high productivity.  I would suggest that may be the case with human communities as well.

Our early human communities formed around individuals that saw each other face-to-face on a frequent basis—clans, tribes, villages.  Through the years we invented more and more ways to communicate—one of the key features that ties a community together.  Symbolic communication, written language, telephones and now e-mail, Facebook and other social networking sites—all help to keep members of a community in touch with each other.  Still, there is no substitute for that face-to-face interaction with its rich context of non-verbal cues that add to the conversation.

That’s what got me hooked on hanging out with interpreters way back in the days of the Western Interpreters Association.  Those early WIA meetings provided an opportunity not only for professional development, but more importantly to join a community of people with the same interests, values, ethics—and just to have fun and enjoy each other’s company.  When WIA combined with the Association of Interpretive Naturalists, the size of our community doubled overnight, but the nature of the members didn’t change.  We still held similar key beliefs and values, skills and interests.  The family got larger and the nature of our interactions became richer still.  Perhaps the one downside is that many of our face-to-face meetings have become very large, so it seems like there’s never enough time to engage in all the conversations one would like.  It’s a pleasant dilemma to face.

Rick Morales of Panama and Sam Ham of the U.S. chatting at IC 2010 in Australia.

Our interpreter community has taken yet another step forward.  A global community of interpreters is forming around the annual NAI International Interpreters Conference.  I’m not sure this would have happened without the opportunity to meet face-to-face on an annual basis.  Talking to each other in-person quickly overcomes differences of language and culture, and we quickly realize we’re all interpreters that share the same basic values, beliefs and skills and challenges.  And the conversations just get more interesting as we add the exotic venues and multiple cultures to the story of what we do.  E-mail and conference calls help us keep in touch between meetings, but I believe the meetings are essential to keep advancing this fledgling global community of interpreters.

As our world continues to shrink and international tourism grows dramatically in the coming years, our own cultural competency will need to grow with it.  Spending time with interpreters from outside the US is a fun and effective way to grow your experience interpreting to international audiences.  You can seek out the increasing number of international interpreters that attend our national workshop each fall, or better yet, try to attend an international interpreters conference.  Our 2011 international meeting will be in Panama and promises to be a fabulous gathering.  The price tag should be reasonable, and you’ll never regret the experience you gain and the new friends you make.  I hope to see you there!

My dad used to regale me with stories of walking to school barefoot as a boy in cold weather. His family was poor and he had no new shoes until he was nine or ten. In the coldest weather he had hand me down shoes that were too large. Today, as I write this, is “One Day Without Shoes Day,” and I’m barefoot at work in solidarity with the idea behind the day. Tom’s Shoes, the 2006 new business of Blake Mycoskie has given over 600,000 pairs of shoes to children in 28 countries.

The business, Tom’s Shoes, was started as a for profit venture to make alpargata shoes as worn by peasant farmers in Argentina. These canvas or cotton top shoes have rubber or rope soles and come in varied styles and colors. For every pair they sell, a pair is given to a child who lacks shoes through their nonprofit subsidiary, Friends of Tom’s. Kids in many nations develop podoconiosis or “mossy foot” due to being barefoot much of the time and this can lead to destruction of their lymphatic systems. Shoes can be lifesavers.

Cause related marketing is not new (e.g. Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream), but this story is unique because they use interpretive techniques to get folks involved. One Day without Shoes Day was a way for Tom’s Shoes to create awareness and understanding about the plight of children who lack shoes. In asking people to go without shoes they are asking us to think about what that’s like every day when you really have no choice.

Great interpretation gets people to THINK and that leads to greater UNDERSTANDING and that leads to CHANGE. We want people to be better stewards of the environment, more thoughtful in sharing and protecting historical sites and stories and we care about people understanding and appreciating the beauty and complexity of natural and cultural heritage. When we find creative ways to get people to think, we’ve done something powerful.

Asking people to walk to work one day a month, turn off the lights for an hour, give up meat for a day or many other such requests can be thought provoking when tied to social or environmental issues. Linking a product we take for granted, like SHOES, to a powerful story of poverty and disease is especially poignant.

There were 1,394 walks or events on April 8 related to One Day Without Shoes Day, mostly on college campuses. And everyone at the office that sees me barefoot asks why and I explain. Viral marketing is engaging. This gets people to talking.

I didn’t go without shoes as a kid. I rarely do as an adult. I was aware on April 8 walking outside to feed horses and check on the bee hives that the ground is very cold and the gravel is sharp. It did encourage me to think about the many children in the world for whom “no shoes” is a reality, not an experiment for a day. It made me THINK. It’s a good feeling.

- Tim Merriman

Diantha Martin presenting at Region 4 workshop.

National Association for Interpretation (NAI) has been around 56 years now, if we look back at the parent organizations, the Association of Interpretive Naturalists (AIN) and Western Interpreters Association (WIA). Their merger in 1988 brought to growing group together to create NAI. The interesting change during the merger meetings was the new name with “for interpretation,” not “for interpreters.” The previous groups were identified with the job descriptions, not the profession. The new mission in 1988 also focused on the profession in stating our desire “to inspire leadership and excellence to advance heritage interpretation as a profession.” The focus on professionalism was intentional. We knew many of managers and colleagues viewed an interpreter or guide as someone being paid to play in the forest, zoo, nature center, park or museum by talking to people and having fun. To be valued we have to be professionals doing a job valued and desired by management, not just applauded by our guests as entertainment.

Many members focus on the financial cost in thinking about membership. It’s $60 for a professional membership in NAI today and that supplies a magazine, member discounts and a variety of other services you can select, if you want them. (Download a complete list of benefits here.) In 1980 the dues for AIN came to $35 and WIA charged $25. In inflation-adjusted dollars the cost of membership in AIN in 1980 was  $90 and $65 for a membership in WIA., so the price has come down a bit. Some compare our prices to other organizations and find that most professional organizations charge about the same amount for comparable products and services or just a little more. As professionals we should be shopping for professional development to help us be more successful and price differences should not be the deciding factor. This is our profession, not a box of cornflakes.

It costs NAI about $152 per individual membership to provide member services for which we charge $60. The subsidy of each membership comes from other profit centers. We publish and sell books, provide training and certification and conduct national and international workshops that make a surplus in some years. Commercial and institutional memberships pay more than $152 and help subsidize every other individual membership. Still, it is not so important what it costs to support a membership as what is provided in benefits.

Benefits have increased substantially through the years and they have become less tangible. Members a decade ago received a print magazine, journal, national newsletter, member director and regional or section newsletters. Now all of these are electronic services except for Legacy magazine. It may seem that the electronic services should be cheaper because no paper or mail delivery is involved but the technology and skill to manage them actually cost more. We consume less in physical resources and that is good, but the commitment of time and expertise has gone up. Database management, online banking, 800 number conference calling, blogging and social networking are easier these days in some ways and more complex in other ways.

At some point we should all look at professional membership and its value in more intrinsic ways. What does it mean to us as individual professionals. I can think of times when I have found jobs, solved problems, learned vital new skills and grew personally because of the interpersonal relationships encouraged by NAI. Social networking by electronic means is bringing us all closer together digitally but face to face relationships have a value that endure. I have no close relationships from twenty-five years of digital networking, but friends from actual meetings have lasted a lifetime.

In the past decade NAI has certified more than 8,000 professionals in six categories and the endorsement of our network has helped many of them get jobs or promotions Through their good work and skilled performance they build credibility for NAI.

The greatest value of a professional network may not be what you get – the benefits. It should be what you give back and what you share with others. We grow the most when we train others, share our ideas at meetings and financially help someone who lacks the resources get training when she or he cannot afford it. Professionalism is not about getting so much as giving and growing. Finding value in a professional membership can be a financial exercise or spiritual growth in a community of like-minded people. We hope you will stay involved in this professional family of NAI and find the spiritual and professional support you need. And we hope you will get involved and give back to others.

- Tim Merriman

Last Saturday we took a unique tour in Puerto Rico. The boat captain, from the local fishing village, invited us onto his fishing boat and we eased out into the beautiful waters of San Jose Lagoon, a beautiful interior lake between San Juan and Carolina, the most urban part of  Puerto Rico. For almost four hours we traveled along the lagoon’s lush edges of black, white and red mangroves. Great egrets, snowy egrets, green herons, great blue herons and reddish egrets posed in the mangroves as we moved slowly down the Suarez Canal that connects San Jose Lagoon with Laguna Torrecillas. We saw dozens

Purse net fisherman

of large iguanas draped on the trees and several swimming along the edge of the canal. We learned that large tarpon of six feet length are common to the lagoons and a big attraction for fishermen.

As we went through a highway underpass we saw a fisherman’s camp and several men casting purse nets, while some fished from the bank with poles. In Torrecillas Lagoon, we passed the homes of the rich and famous people who can afford waterfront property and noted the disappearance of the mangrove forests where houses have been built. Along the way we saw the nests of common moor hens, nestled on the end of fragile branches over the water where

Osprey

predators dare not go. Ospreys hunted overhead and one perched on a limb with a fish in its talons. Pelicans, frigate birds, tern and skimmers were flying overhead or perched along the mangroves.

Finally we reached a small village near the opening to the Atlantic Ocean and we stopped to drink fish soup and enjoy a Medalla Lite Beer. The cafe manager showed us the fresh red snapper and mahi mahi (dorado) filling their freezers. They buy local fish daily directly from fishermen and then resell to restauranteurs or individuals. After we got back on the boat, we took a quick sortie out into the Atlantic near Pinoñes State Forest

and then turned back into the lagoon to cruise back to the Cantera community. It was a beautiful tour and intriguing look at the natural and cultural heritage of Puerto Rico we would never have found on our own.

We were in Puerto Rico last week teaching the Interpretive Planning class. We had a great week with sixteen professionals at the Humacao Nature Reserve about 45 minutes south of San Juan. The day after the course, Fernando Silva of INCICO (Institute for the

Suarez Canal

Conservation of Puerto Rico) and Eliezer Nieves, a Certified Interpretive Trainer and Santa Ana Nature Center Director,  showed us this  evolving program  in San Juan that uses interpretation for a community-based ecotourism program.

Peninsula Expeditions is a project of the Cantera Community, a low-income area of government-built housing with many of the usual urban problems of unemployment, drug use and crime. Like similar communities it includes many people who work very hard to improve the condition of young people growing up without local employment

Cantera community

opportunities. Cantera Company is a community corporation working to improve socio-economic conditions locally through development of ecotours.

Driving into the community and to the boat marina we noticed the lagoon or lake edge had many animal pens, stored recreational equipment, boats, gardens and picnic tables. People leave their apartment houses to enjoy some of the countryside amenities of having chickens or rabbits and a small garden. We took

Yellow-crowned night heron

our tour from a marina with a clubhouse for the commercial fishermen of the Cantera area. The experience that we enjoyed will soon be available to tourists, cruise boat visitors and local people. Local young people will initially be trained as interpretive guides and eventually as Certified Interpretive Guides.

Fernando and Eliezer told us about the past year and a half of meeting with community leaders to listen and discuss what they might do collaboratively. They will soon launch this new tourist initiative using a pontoon boat purchased to provide tours. Early conversations with local fishermen led to development of a resource map. Their knowledge of the area from fishing is so detailed that they can map the floor of the lake

Checking out the daily catch at a local cafe/fish buyer on Laguna Terracillas.

almost exactly from memory. The resulting map served as a resource for planning natural and cultural history tours.

This kind of collaboration between INCICO, a nonprofit organization with conservation and interpretation expertise, and the Cantera community is becoming more common around the world. Ecotourism offers opportunities for people to make a living by providing transportation, food, housing and guide services as they share their communities with people who enjoy learning about other people and places.  INCICO plays a key role as facilitator in Puerto Rico. We look forward to returning to take a Peninsula Expedition when the program is officially launched. It’s an exciting project for the local community and should create a rich opportunity for tourists to San Juan to escape for the day into a rich ecosystem with fascinating cultural and natural history stories to share. We appreciated the chance to see it as its being planned and wish our colleagues, Fernando and Eliezer, the very best with the final stages of planning and training.

- Tim Merriman

I was just reading Doug Knapp’s blog on “Facilitation.” I agree with all he says about facilitation vs. communication. I have always believed that the best presenters engage the audience by asking questions. It reminds me very much of being in church as a child. The preacher preached and we listened. Questions were asked, but always rhetorically. “Do you want to go to heaven?” Hmmm. I remember the joke that used to be told about that. One fellow when asked that question said “NO!” The preacher followed up with, “You really don’t want to go to heaven some day?” The man countered. “Oh sure. Some day. I thought you were getting up a load to go right now.” I wandered down joke road for a moment and may have missed my point. The point is there was never a conversation at the church I attended. The preacher in the joke really didn’t expect an answer either, but he did start a conversation – accidentally.

My favorite teachers in school not only asked lots of questions, they tolerated respectful arguments or disagreements. They allowed multiple perspectives to come out in a class discussion. I also had teachers who lectured and I slept through many of those lectures.

Conversations are powerful and this isn’t new. Socrates (470-399 B.C.) proposed it a long time ago. If you Google “Socratic questioning” you will get Changingminds.org as one of the first options to look at. They point out that questioning of this kind can be used to help the listener or student answer her or his own question.

We teach questioning technique in the Certified Interpretive Guide course in four basic question categories. They are open, focusing, interpretive and capstone. These are great tools for someone who is new at using questioning to get people started in a conversation. Ideally we leave the audience with more questions in their own minds after our presentation.

We also have an opportunity through questioning to conduct informal surveys with each audience. How many have been here before (hold up a hand)? Who is afraid of snake? How many of you remember the Challenger accident (space vehicle explosion)? Asked early in a conversation, we find out what people know, believe, where they come from and what brought them to our place.

The very notion that we EDUCATE people seems wrong to me. Albert Einstein said, The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. People educate themselves when their curiosity and their ambition collaborate to understand something more deeply. We are at our best when we facilitate that.

Isn’t it more respectful of our audience to start a conversation? Ask questions that we may or may not be able to answer ourselves. Listen to what the audience says in response. It helps us immediately know more about their beliefs. We find out what they already know. We get a sense of their world and political views in many cases. It helps us make our point of view easier to understand.

The best thing about a conversation as an approach to interpretation is that we can learn and grow from every one. Our audience is often a mix of people who are wise, well-informed, thoughtful and engaged along with some who lack those admirable traits. If we stand and talk as the unquestioned expert, we gain little but narcissistic self-esteem. We get more real appreciation from our audience when we get to know each other more deeply.

Social science research suggests that people will change their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors if they arrive at a new point of view through their conversations – internal and external. A great speaker/facilitator engages us so deeply that we leave talking to ourselves or to our friends about what was discussed. Sam Ham points out that getting people to THINK should be our main objective. That can lead to what we want from interpretive experiences. We want people to become better stewards of resources who actively participate in protection of great places and stories. We often have specific measurable objectives, and invariably they involve some change in visitor behavior.

Socrates was put to death for corrupting the youth of his day with his deep philosophical questioning. Most of us live in places where we are free to start conversations. We just need to start more conversations.

- Tim Merriman

I was sitting on the Boeing 757 at 2 AM, flying back from Hawaii, pondering the six inches of new snow piled on four inches of old snow in Colorado. Then a film short subject rolled onto the screen and caught my attention. A young executive in a suit and tie strolled confidently across a plaza in a European community and he passed an old man sitting on the ground begging. His sign read (In Italian I think) “I am blind.” He had a tin cup in front of him. The young executive paid no attention to him the first time. Others passed the elderly man and very rarely one would stop and drop a coin in the can.

The young man came by the next morning and stopped by the old man and picked up the crude hand scrawled sign. The old man touched his shoes to know who was in front of him as the young man modified the sign with a pen. The young executive left and the old man’s sign was again in front of him. Every person who came by stopped to drop in coins. The can was full several times that day and the old man gratefully scooped them out of the can and off the pavers and into his tattered jacket. Later that day the young man stopped by again and the old man identified him by his shoes. He asked the executive, “How did you change my sign.” The young man said, “It now reads, “Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.” The young man left the elderly man to his newfound wealth and improved sign.

Words can make a difference. Sam Ham presented a keynote at NAI’s National Workshop in Hartford, Connecticut, in November on the well known Tilden quote, “Through interpretation, understanding, through understanding appreciation, through appreciation, protection.” He pointed out that Tilden was quoting a National Park Service administrative manual. In 1957 we had no social science research to back up such a statement. Intuitively, Tilden knew it was right. Sam thoughtfully explained the research that supports this social marketing idea. When we get people to think deeply about resources that need appreciation and protection, the guests may begin to understand and become engaged enough to help protect the resources. A video of his talk is now on sale at the NAI Association Store. It was a very thought provoking and important presentation.

My mind returned to the film about the blind man. It was mostly a sleepless night on the redeye plane flight and I had the red eyes to prove it. I was touched by the video and recorded the young man’s words on my Iphone notes. We landed at 5 AM at Los Angeles International Airport and looked for a place to sit for our two hour layover. We walked past a sign by CARE, the international aid organization. The image was a young woman with brown skin and dark eyes looking straight at us hopefully. The sign read, “She can plant the seeds of change, if she can get the seeds.” I was sleepy and now can’t recall if it also said, “You can help.” I know that was the enduring message for me. “We can help.” Messages that provoke us to think and care about others or important places have great power.

People who work in heritage interpretation have the unique opportunity to help people understand complex stories in history and nature. We often have a need to raise money for a cause or encourage changed behavior to better protect important places and stories. Our words matter a great deal, spoken or written. Alan Leftridge of Swan Valley, Montana, and Judy Fort-Brennamen of Fort Collins, Colorado, are two of many different consultants who teach courses on interpretive writing. Alan’s book on the Interpretive Writing is an excellent resource also. Other interpretive writers and consultants may be found in NAI’s Interpreter’s Green Pages.

The words we choose, the themes we develop and the ideas we generate can be powerful . . . or lame, not provoking thought and understanding. And we can always get better at what we do with some coaching.

It’s Christmas today as this posts. It’s a holiday season  for most folks and a great time to think about what we do and the wonderful role we play in parks, zoos, historic sites, nature centers, museums, aquariums, tour companies and other settings. Our words can make a difference, when they are well chosen and get people to think.

Best wishes to you and your family over the remaining holidays.

- Tim Merriman

We’re on vacation in Hawaii as I write this. The blue waters of Kona are splashing against the rocks below our lanai. We watched the sunset last evening as a humpback whale’s arched back appeared in the distance. We’re missing some snow in Colorado and glad to be here. Being on vacation always reminds me that everyone you meet at a vacation destination interprets the local landscapes and cultures.

We left Maui just a few days ago after completing the Interpretive Planner’s course with staff from Haleakala National Park and others from Honolulu Zoo and several other parks and programs around the U.S. We meet a lot of rental car clerks, bus drivers, cashiers, entry booth rangers, maintenance workers and other service personnel as we get into this vacation. Almost all of them interpret their sites, organizations and the local culture to some degree. Some do it really well and some do it very poorly.

The service staffs that greet us with “aloha” and say “mahalo” for thanks bring alive little bits of the Hawaiian language and the spirit of aloha, which is much more than a greeting. Most of these folks in Hawaii do this really well in the tourism industry. And some of them don’t. The occasional rude or unhelpful clerk makes a bigger impression that can outweigh the good ones. I recall a Disney trainer pointing out that it takes only one rude staff member to ruin the Disney experience. We all know that from personal experience at any vacation destination.

In 2002 and the early days of the Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) course, staff at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) asked Lisa Brochu what National Association for Interpretation had for training staff who do not make interpretive presentations. They had heard us talk about the power of informal interpretation in the CIG course, but we did not have training for that specifically. They provided a grant and we developed the Certified Interpretive Host course with their thoughtful assistance and we tested it with their staff first.

The Certified Interpretive Host (CIH) course focuses on customer service for one-third of the curriculum and informal interpretation for the other two-thirds. It’s designed to help cashiers, receptionists, campground hosts, volunteers, docents, law enforcement, administrative staff and the many others who meet our audience understand their interpretive role in connecting people to natural and cultural resources. Two important messages shine through the course. They are: 1. Every conversation with a guest or visitor is a chance to make a connection with the resource or site. 2. The Mission is everyone’s responsibility. Certified Interpretive Trainers take a special two-day course to learn the host curriculum and become qualified to teach the 16-hour CIH course.

When we tested the course at Bastrop State Park with TPWD staff, one maintenance worker commented at the end, “This is the first day in my twenty-five years that I’ve felt like a member of the professional staff.” Just imagine the difference if a maintenance worker who is questioned answers with a thoughtful message about the place instead of saying, “I just clean up around here. Ask a ranger.” Most folks may not get a chance to talk to a ranger. All workers should feel they are part of the professional staff and have the ability to help people make a connection with the resources.

One day while in Yellowstone National Park, I kept track of the number of park employees I came across. It amounted to 37 individuals. Three worked for National Park Service (NPS). The rest were Volunteers in Parks (VIPs), Student Conservation Association workers (SCAs) or concessionaire employees. Some were great and some were not helpful. Seasonal training at the park that year did not include concessionaire staff, SCAs or VIPs, just the seasonal interpreters. The Yellowstone experience for a visitor is the totality of what happens, not just the contact with NPS rangers. We can lose our mission focus and ability to deliver interpretive messages by not training all who represent us. The public rarely knows which program provided the staff member.

Informal interpretation is powerful because its usually one on one. We can ask how the person is doing, what they enjoy, have they been here before and what would make the experience better. People who work with us in non-interpretive roles still interpret the park, museum, nature center, aquarium, historic site or vacation destination. They can help make it all work better in support of the mission or they can be a barrier between the public and a great experience. Empowering them through great training can be the difference. You can learn more about the CIH requirements here. If you want to be trained as an Interpretive Trainer to deliver the Host or Guide course, call Lisa Brochu at 888-900-8283 with questions or check out our website for upcoming trainer courses. You must become a Certified Interpretive Trainer with NAI before taking the host course to learn that curriculum.

Happy Holidays to all of you wherever you are. I hope you get to spend some time with family and friends as we are.

Now I’m going snorkeling.

-Tim Merriman

Trainers class in Volcanoes National Park in December, 2007.

I recently reviewed an online curriculum for interpretation that had an activity for students inviting them to write their own definition for interpretation. I was being asked for advice, so I gave the following: “Please give your students the NAI definition (also the generally accepted definition from the multiple agencies and organizations who participated in the Definitions Project). Do not invite them to reinvent their own definition.”

On the face of it it seems harmless enough to ask someone “What is your personal definition of interpretation?” It might be useful to provoke a conversation about one’s personal feelings about the accepted definition, but why is it important to have a definition and why should NAI’s definition prevail? I can explain that, but could not have done so a dozen years ago. In the late 90s you could have called the NAI office and asked our definition and we would have quoted two or three, Tilden’s being prominent among them. None were the ACCEPTED DEFINITION of the profession.

When we began teaching certification courses in 2000, it became clear that we couldn’t talk about the profession with multiple definitions. It doesn’t work to tell professionals in a certification course that we have no ACCEPTED DEFINITION for what we do – that it can be defined by anyone at all and be anything they decide matters to them individually. Our definition of the profession is the Polaris of our profession, the North Star. It tells us what we should be doing and how we differ from the broader field of communication or related fields like environmental education. NAI’s definition is: Interpretation is a mission-based communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and meanings inherent in the resource.

Initially we reviewed all available definitions and adapted one from the U.S. National Park Service’s three tenets of interpretation that matched our beliefs most closely. The NAI Board of Directors reviewed it, tweaked it  with the input of members and then voted to accept it as our official NAI definition in 2001. In 2006 NAI obtained a U.S.E.P.A. grant in collaboration with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Institute for Learning Innovations that sponsored a year-long discussion of definitions among educators and communicators in two dozen non-formal learning associations and federal agencies. This Definitions Project led to the publication of 138 terms unique to our broader field that all of us could embrace to varying degrees.

NAI’s definition was largely accepted by Definitions Project participants with the addition of the phrase, “mission-based.” That addition recognized that professionals in this field work within the mission of an organization. We are not performing artists doing our own thing, though you may sometimes meet an interpreter who seems to be doing just that. If you are doing “art” for art’s sake, we would not necessarily consider you a heritage interpreter. You’re an artist. That’s a noble endeavor but not what interpretive professionals do. Our performances are about helping our agencies and organizations to accomplish their missions (often related to stewardship of natural and cultural resources), not about us as individuals or our art. Some interpreters are certainly artists in how they deliver their professional messages, but their work serves a purpose and fits within our definition.

When you declare that your profession has a stated definition, it creates clarity in training and professional development.  If we each have our own personal definition of the field, what can an employer expect when hiring an interpreter? Is this a profession if we cannot unite behind a clear definition?

There are 150 colleges and universities in the U.S. who teach at least one interpretation course. About 40 of them teach the Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) course as part of their curriculums. The number of schools doing this increases by five or so each year. The NAI definition is basic to teaching the course. Almost 500 professionals currently hold the Certified Interpreter Trainer credential along with the rights to teach the CIG course. They also use this NAI definition.

Though any program, university or trainer may choose to use a different definition of interpretation, I believe that doing so misses the opportunity to bring all of us in the profession closer together with a consistent guiding principle or North Star. We need to be clear about who we are, who we serve and where we are headed as a profession.

- Tim Merriman