NAI Blog

We are in San Antonio teaching an Interpretive Trainers course this week. And our timing was great. I sometimes check to see if any interesting events are happening where we stay while training. Garrison Keillor’s Summer Love Tour happened to be in the Majestic Theater on Tuesday evening. We bought tickets over the Internet. Dinner at La Paloma on the Riverwalk started the evening after a day in the classroom. Then we entered the incredible beauty of the Majestic.

Built in 1929 by John Ebersole in what is called Mediterranean style, the interior is stunning with a sculptured wooden ceiling in the entry way and a wonderful night sky with moving clouds for a ceiling in the theater itself. With over 2300 seats and three balconies on each side it is big enough to host touring Broadway plays or star performers. The thirty minutes of waiting for the show was just a great time to sit and enjoy a wonderful work of architecture that was renovated in 1989. When we find ways to revive such works of art, we do something wonderful.

The Prairie Home Companion show began at 8 PM and lasted till past 11 PM with Garrison Keillor on stage virtually the whole time, and performing much of it. His wit, humor and Lake Woebegone storytelling are familiar to those of us hooked on the show from its many years on National Public Radio. Songwriter, singer, fiddler Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek was stunning. Fred Newman’s sound effects were incredible to watch and hear as Keillor put this great actor, sriter, musician and sound designer through an astonishing journey of sound effects based on a totally improbable story. The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band sounds good on the radio and just fabulous in person. You’re right. I loved the show.

But I had to write about this because of the intermission. The show was merely great. The Intermission was sheer MAGIC in its simplicity. An hour and a half into the show, Keillor said something like “It’s time for the singing intermission.” He had everyone stand and invited those needing a break to leave as he invited those who stayed to sing with him. He began with America the Beautiful and it led into Red River Valley. Then it turned into Amazing Grace. With each song the volume of voices, nuances of harmony and emotion built. The buzz of people chatting was missing and the complete connection of strangers sharing Americana through music prevailed. I had tears welling in my eyes and saw others reach for handkerchiefs. It was hard to describe the great sense of collaboration and joy from the simple act of singing with a Keillor standing on the front steps of the stage. The band was on break. It was just the voices of happy people united by familiarity and the sense of place.

Everything in the show was good, but somehow the show itself served as a frame for an Intermission to remember. I enjoyed every moment of the evening. I was reminded again of the power of music to bring people together. Garrison Keillor knows well the magic he is creating and he seems most at home leading people down the melodious halls of songs we know well and love.

It is a reminder for all of us who hope to connect people to places, events and stories that shared music and culture are powerful. Clever writing, great instrumentals and guest stars are interesting and very entertaining. And yet some of the most simple efforts to unite people in song or shared cultural experiences are magical.

-Tim Merriman

Bison in Yellowstone National Park.

The U.S. Government and President Obama are soliciting ideas about protecting the places we love in the nation. There are public hearings being held all over the United States and their America’s Great Outdoors Initiative website allows you to post your ideas. I posted my ideas there as follows.

I find the comments on my post there interesting for they reflect the broad range of thinking in the U.S. about government intervention and shared responsibility. Some do not want the government in our lives in any manner whatever – no taxes, no public education, just NO.

Those of us who love parks, wilderness, natural areas, clean air, clean water and a healthy environment know that the shared responsibility for those must depend on all of us. Leaving people to their own with no protection of natural resources would doom mankind to an early extinction at our own hands. There are those who would cut every last tree, mine every mountain and drain every oil basin, no matter what the damage to our land, air and water.

A hundred years ago most Americans lived on farms and learning about food, land and energy was a part of everyday life. Young people today assume that food comes from grocery stores and energy comes from wall sockets. How would they learn about the real sources. Simcity and similar video games do teach about such things in a virtual environment, but nothing helps you understand how the world works as well as hands-on experiences with the real places and things.

I would like to see every 18-year old give some period of time to her/his community, parks, non-profit service organizations or military service with no exemptions at all. We would all learn earlier in our work lives what value there is in public service. It would provide a valuable opportunity for contextual learning in all directions. Military personnel face those realities on our behalf.

During the hard times of the Great Depression, my father worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) cutting trees in Illinois. He had a 7^th grade education and was unemployed with three children to feed. He used to complain of the long days of outdoor labor and low pay but later would brag of the good work that was done and the value of a job of any kind in those dark days.

In my first job as a park ranger and visitor center manager, I was very aware that the visitor center was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a picnic shelter. Later walls were added along with exhibits and a visitor contact area. I often had young workers from Youth Conservation Corps or Young Adult Conservation Corps helping me. I’ve written before in this blog about the great experiences with those programs. They give young people a better understanding of how the world really functions. All the resources we use in life still come from the Earth.

The America’s Great Outdoors Initiative is a great chance for you to share your ideas or give your view on the ideas of others. It is especially a good time to share the value of outdoor experiences for young people to learn about our planet. I welcome whatever judgment you make of my suggestions.

-Tim Merriman

Chief of Interpretation Larry Frederick orients us to the popular Sheep Lakes area of Rocky Mountain National Park.

NAI just finished hosting the Civic Tourism III Conference in Fort Collins and it was very exciting. Despite light attendance of 63 agency staffers, interpreters, convention and visitor bureau staff and community volunteers, those present were enthusiastic about doing more to help communities have the kind of tourism they want.

Dan Shilling’s book, Civic Tourism: The Poetry and Politics of Place, was given to each attendee. The book emphasizes that civic tourism should include the triple bottom line of equity (social), environment and economics, invest in the story and connect with the public. Tourism is one of the top three economic forces in every state in the U.S., but there is no cabinet level position for tourism in the federal government. Many states have a tourism office that only spends money on advertising. They want more people to come but do not invest in development of the “STORY,” the product, the visitor experience, the attractions.

The Estes Park Museum tells the story of the community very well.

At Civic Tourism III we had a full day of mobile workshops that took groups out to Blackhawk/Central City, Estes Park and Fort Collins with varied attractions and tourism hosts. We wanted to study and compare communities who encourage tourism and learn what we could from them. Blackhawk is a gambling and mining town. Estes Park is a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park and has always been a tourist town. Fort Collins has a central theme of “where renewal is a way of life with a focus on “Beets, Brews and Bikes.” The sugar beet industry was the main community support for decades, but is gone. Micro-breweries like New Belgium and Odell’s are a part of the current lifestyle with their tasting rooms and unique stories. The lifestyles of the community today are very much about renewal and sustainability.

Dave DiMatteo at New Belgium interprets their story and core values.

We took the participants to New Belgium, where they interpret their beer with the story of founder Jeff Lebesch bicycling across Belgium, meeting brewmeisters and doing lots of tasting. Each employee gets a free trip to bicycle across Belgium at their five-year anniversary. It is  likely the “greenest” brewery in the nation with its own wind farm for electricity generation.  They have made sustainability and wise use of resources part of their core values along with bicycle events (Tour de Fat), employee ownership and a rich culture of storytelling. They tell their story very well.

One enduring observation of the three communities visited and the many communities discussed was the lack of a town’s abilities to tell the story on the streets. Estes Park explained they get three million visitors downtown but only about 12,000 at the local museum, which tells the story of Estes very well. It’s three blocks from the high traffic zones.

Can you tell the community story on the streets and why should you? Towns usually have a unique, authentic story or stories that arise from their natural and cultural assets and history. Often these days the story is covered up or lost in the melee of highways, franchise stores and strangely themed neighborhoods. James Howard Kuntsler described this phenomenon in his book, The Geography of Nowhere.  If we don’t tell our story on the streets, we may be a “been there, done that” visitor experience, another generic community. Most will not visit the local museum and dig out the deeper identity of the community.

A city interpretive guide starts our walking tour near the Roman Baths.

I have tried to think of where I’ve seen a town’s story thoughtfully told at the street level in diverse ways. Providence, Rhode Island, and the Blackstone Valley do a good job with their visitor center museum combination. Mystic, Connecticut, has incredible attractions and some downtown interpretive signage that shares their rich history. Bath, England, has wonderful street interpretive tours that engage visitors with their unique history. Singapore has interesting signage on their major streets that tell the fascinating story of how a trading post turned into a major seaport and industrial city-nation in a fairly short period of time.

Interpretive planning has largely been focused on sites like parks, zoos, historic houses, museums and aquariums in the past. In recent years the Scenic Byways Resource Center has introduced corridors and communities to interpretive planning as an opportunity to share their stories. A very few CVBs like Great Bend Kansas have been out front acquiring interpretive planning skills to plan holistic experiences for visitors. Kris Collier as President and CEO of the Great Bend CVB is a Certified Interpretive Trainer and Planner who works with local attractions to build a culture of collaboration among the rural communities in her region. It can be done, but it takes leadership.

It is exciting to think about what our diverse towns and communities might be like if they embraced their local stories and became skilled at telling them. NAI’s interpretive planning courses can be hosted anywhere and the towns and cities of North America pose a great opportunity. We need to put our stories on the streets, but we have to plan it and not just hope it happens.

-Tim Merriman

The interpretive planning class gets a site visit at West Creek Reservation to better know the site early in the planning process.

Last week in Cleveland our interpretive planning class worked on plans for interpretive media for the grounds of the new park and interpretive project being developed by Cleveland Metroparks (CM) in collaboration with the Northeast Ohio Sewer District and City of Parma. A previous class worked on the overall concept for the Stewardship Center and many of their suggestions have been included in the design of the building. At last week’s class, John Cardwell, CM’s landscape architect, presented on progress being made on the center that is now under development, the WaterShed.

The West Creek watershed is on the Cuyahoga River, which caught on fire thirteen times in the past hundred fifty years and served as a catalyst for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to toughen standards regarding water pollution through the Clean Water Act and other legislation.

Not only is West Creek on a famously polluted watershed, the specific property of this reserve has an old landfill on it. It is surrounded by industrial sites and some homes who have only recently been moved to city sewage from having septic fields. The stream quality here is currently not so good and it is a great place to pursue their two goals – demonstrate restoration change on the ground and engage local citizens in applying best practices to bring about the positive change.

John began by explaining that they are working with “The Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES™) in design of the grounds and  LEED standards with the building for the WaterShed. Best Management Practices (BMPs) are being encouraged already in the community by doing rain barrel workshops at some CM nature centers. These help homeowners build inexpensive rain barrels to install at home. Rainwater HOGs, large rain barrel systems, are being installed on nature centers as demonstrations. Slowing down water in the watershed is desirable to

Wetlands provide wildlife habitat while serving as a filter for stormwater and residential runoff.

increase the natural filtering of stormwater. Wetlands, in addition to providing wildlife habitat, are key components in this streamshed for slowing down stormwater.

CM’s chief scientist, John Mack, explained that they have 30 years of mainstem streams data collection in Ohio, one of the largest databases of its kind, but little headwater stream monitoring.  Scientific monitoring of the change on the ground is vital to the process. The creative interpretive media being planned will engage local residents in using better practices in their yards that drain into the West Creek watershed.

We have many watersheds in the U.S. where people live close to landfills, mining tailings, and industrial grounds. Improving water quality with citizen participation is a learning process from all directions. Too often we clean up our problems with no citizen awareness that it has been done. Good interpretive planning in this setting will help the community understand their roles and responsibilities in watershed protection, improvement and management.

The reconstructed wetlands on West Creek already attract great blue herons.

The parks department, sewage district and city cooperating on a major stewardship and ecological restoration project is fairly unique and a great opportunity. The sewage department is already offering discounts on sewage bills for those who use BMPs to help improve water quality on West Creek. Careful monitoring of the change in West Creek by scientists will give an important check on the effectiveness of the BMPs and citizen participation. The park will provide recreation space for residents while engaging them in a very worthwhile community project of restoration.

I’m looking forward to going back for a visit in two years when the WaterShed building and grounds at West Creek Reservation are redeveloped and being used by the people of Parma and surrounding areas. I want to see the creative interpretive ideas on the ground and in the hands of local children and families.

A nineteenth century conservationist in Japan, Tanaka Shozo, said, “The care of rivers is not a question of rivers but of the human heart.” Interpretation helps people make the emotional connections with places and stories that lead to commitment. This is a great place to demonstrate the power of such efforts.

- Tim Merriman

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

Thimbleberry photo by Chris Diewald from flickr.com

I look forward to a particular tradition this time of the summer—harvesting some of nature’s bounty in the form of wild berries.  Over the past few weeks I’ve been observing the blossoms on the elderberries and huckleberries, then watching the fruit slowly forming and ripening.  The thimbleberries came first this year.  There are never enough to preserve, so I just eat them as I encounter them walking along some of the shaded canyon slopes where they thrive.  The sky blue bloom is forming on the elderberries, so they’ll be ready soon.  I’ll probably have to wait until late August to gather huckleberries in this part of the country, and it’s well worth the wait.

I inherited this taste for berries from my parents.  My father had his favorite berry-picking sites in the hills around Oakland and Berkeley.  Many a Saturday morning was spent picking blackberries, elderberries and huckleberries throughout the summer.  We’d bring the bounty home where my mother would create the most incredible jam, jelly, pies, muffins and other goodies with these berries.  Any extras would go in the freezer so we could enjoy some of these summer treats throughout the year.  To this day I would bet money that the absolute best PB&J sandwiches are made with elderberry jelly.

Of course I’m not the only one interested in the summer berry crop.  There are quite a few critters that are also watching to see when their favorite berries are ripe for the picking.  One of the elderberry bushes I used to frequent was on the edge of a thicket that was home to a covey of quail.  During the berry season, the quail were often in the upper branches eating the berries I couldn’t reach.  As long as I went about my business quietly, the quail were happy to stay put and share the berries with me.  Through the years I’ve run into foxes, raccoons, skunks, opossums and a wide variety of birds in berry patches.  Thus picking turned into a combination of ritual and summer celebration, sharing the best nature has to offer with my fellow berry fans.

From time to time I think about what it was like picking berries in the past when the California grizzly bear was common in many parts of the state.  These bears were also big berry eaters, and they weren’t as good about sharing the resource as the raccoons and foxes.  Accounts of some of the early settlers in California advised taking a rifle when going after berries and checking the brush and thickets thoroughly to avoid surprising a snacking bear.  Life is a little more safe and simple in the berry patch today.

When appropriate, I’ve included some berry tasting for the audience on a nature walk.  We’re always trying to make use of multiple senses in interpretation, and taste is perhaps the most challenging sense to use.  There just aren’t that many things that are safe or appropriate to taste in nature, compared to the sounds, sights, and feel of so many nature objects.  But berries combine some interesting taste sensations with great stories.

Here’s wishing you a berry happy summer!

- Jim Covel

Freeman Tilden’s Six Principles of Interpretation (Interpreting Our Heritage, 1957) have endured as wisdom about the profession for 53 years. In 1998 Ted Cable and Larry Beck updated them as the first six in their Fifteen Guiding Principles in their excellent book, Interpretation for the 21st Century. So I hereby propose the 7th or 16th Principle, depending on whether you cite Tilden or Cable and Beck. It is:

“Interpretation is management.”

For all my 40 years in the field I’ve heard, “Interpretation is a management tool.” The difference between that statement and the belief that interpretation is management is subtle, but important. A tool can be picked up or left in the toolshed. It may or may not be useful depending on how someone wants to solve a particular problem. If we believe that interpretation is management, then it becomes an integral part of every operation, not an option.

Hundreds of social science and communications studies document the ability of well-planned communication to influence attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. Using that knowledge, we can design thematic programs and media that help achieve our objectives.

I first heard Mike Watson, former Superintendent of Mather Training Center for National Park Service, say, “Interpretation is management” many years ago. The more I’ve thought about it over the years, the more convinced I am that this idea should be fundamental to how we think and teach in this profession. In 2007 we added the words “mission-based” to our definition of interpretation after deep discussions with other professionals in the Definitions Project that produced a new lexicon for the field.

To me this Sixteenth Principle is key because it suggests that what we do must be designed to make a difference in pursuit of our mission. Few managers will keep interpretive programs through thick and thin unless it has value as management. It’s the 7th or 16th Principle of interpretation in my view.

-Tim Merriman

Tomo Hara of Japan, Rick Morales from Panama and Tim Merriman chat at the 2010 International Conference in Townsville, Australia.

More than 40 years ago my college roommate, Bernie, told me that his supervisor in the guidance counseling office at Southern Illinois University shared the secret of long relationships. It was simple – “Give 100%, expect nothing back. Don’t think you are in a 50/50 relationship with your spouse, friends, customers or anyone. You’ll begin to feel you’re giving 55? and they are only giving 45%. You turn a relationship into a contest. Then someone has to win and someone has to lose. It was a wise thought back then and one I need as a reminder every day or two.

If you care enough about thoughtful relationships to give 100% and just be surprised and pleased at anything shared back with you, you will do well with relationships. I was not surprised today to get a promotion from the Simple Truths website indicating they sell a book based on this idea as the 100/0 Principle. I know the notion is at least 40 years old, but perhaps it is thousands of years old, as old as relationships.

Interpreters meet people daily with an opportunity to create lasting relationships. The visitor or guest that seems to be with us for the day may return, tell a friend or not see us for decades. Just this past year a woman from Illinois contacted me by Facebook to ask if I am the same Tim Merriman who worked at Giant City State Park. Geri explained she is a Postmaster in a town near where I grew up. She visited the park and attended my snake program and I showed her family the behind the scenes animals during their visit. She said it made a great impression and she raised her children to be respectful of wildlife and snakes especially. I was pleased to learn more about her life, family and deep interest in nature and we continue as Facebook friends.

Our investment in others will come back in great ways if we do not expect it to be an equal exchange. We share all we can and should expect that an investment in honest, thoughtful communication will lead better places, even if we disagree at times. I am not suggesting we be doormats, just not turn relationships into contests with a winner and loser. We can and should have honest dialogues about real issues of importance.

Relationships with partners, donors, members, supporters and guests are easier if you take personal responsibility for communicating well. Honesty is important. But honesty can be a bludgeon or it can be helpful in a relationship. It depends on the kindness in the delivery. Helping a colleague perform better may require some honest advice from a friendly perspective. If it just sounds like criticism, it doesn’t work as well. It can also be opening an honest discussion rather than a heated disagreement. Either can be about the same issues, but the one with empathy is likely to help the relationship grow.

I claim no personal mastery of all of this. Every day is a challenge in finding the right words in each relationship. It is all worth the effort to do better in every circumstance. Complaints are especially an opportunity to work on relationships. The LAST method is often taught by trainers as a way of remembering the right reaction to complaints. LAST stands for Listen, Apologize, Soften and Thank.

In application it sounds something like. “Umm, OK (listen while they explain), I apologize for what happened. That would upset me as well. Let’s talk about how we might make this situation better for you. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We only get better if we know what is not working.” It’s easy to be defensive (I know, I’ve done that too often), throw someone under the bus (the blame game), or over react. Most folks just want a fair hearing and fixing a problem will often result in a better relationship, maybe a lasting one. Sometimes they know there is no real “fix.” They just want to vent and be heard to protect a future guest from whatever happened.

Relationships take honest effort on our part and listening skills. We cannot expect others to do their part. We only control ourselves. Every day we have new opportunities to create great new relationships that will enrich our lives and our organizations. It is not always easy, but it is worth the effort.

-Tim Merriman

For thirteen years I directed a nature center in Pueblo, Colorado. In my first days there I was surprised to hear the gravel industry across the river from the center described as “the enemy” by some board members. I was told they owned all the land south and west of us and would eventually mine it all, leaving behind lakes surrounded by sterile hills of concrete slabs. I could agree that I did not want to see all of the riparian cottonwoods cut down for the gravel mines, but I could not grasp the concept of them being the enemy, so I got acquainted with them.

At Rotary meetings, I would often sit with Mark, their General Manager, and chat. He was a nice fellow and obviously cared about civic responsibility. Our conversations led to candid talk about the relationship we potentially had as neighbors. His employer owned the land and planned to mine it. We relied on the woods to the west for scenic beauty and wildlife habitat. We preferred it not being mined, but they owned it and had permits to get it done. And yet, they would prefer we not show up at “404″ permit hearings and attempt to block their normal business interests of mining gravel and making concrete. Gravel is the number one mineral in Colorado, not gold, silver or molybdenum as many might think.

In the spirit of cooperation Mark invited me to tour their gravel mines and concrete operation and suggest how they might work more compatibly with the nature center. As we drove around, I commented that they seemed to be burying huge granite boulders. He explained that they were too big for their crusher so they buried them as waste material. I suggested it would make great riprap for the river banks they were currently covering with large flat slabs of waste concrete. He smiled when he said, “Concrete is beautiful.” I laughed. We shared the unspoken joke of seeing each other’s different perspectives on how we work with resources and people. He said they might be able to do something about their approach to riprapping. We went on to talk about cottonwood reforestation on the older banks of the river and lake. They had a replanting program as required by mineland reclamation laws. I suggested they leave a few large “mother” trees and blast the hillsides with water when the cotton seeds of the cottonwoods blow all directions in June each year. They would get free regeneration of native trees. He thought that sounded reasonable. We did consider the possibility that the healthy beaver population would defeat this idea by cutting down the few trees left. That had happened throughout this Arkansas River valley when only a few trees were available for beaver food. Our tour resulted in two possible suggestions for changing some of their work approaches.

I went back to the nature center, pleased that we had such an interesting conversation. I had shared my hope that there would be a way for the gravel company to trade the cottonwood stand by the nature center for other property to mine. He said anything is possible. By the next day we looked across the river and the gravel company had covered sixty feet or so of river bank with the large “waste” granite boulders, covering the concrete slabs. From then on the river banks where they worked had more of a natural granite look and the concrete was obscured. I called to thank Mark and he said to come back in a few days and see their “mother” trees. I did and they had welded industrial size beaver guards around half a dozen large female trees. He explained that they had large pumps and could easily spray regeneration areas to start new cottonwoods.

Over the next few years we encouraged discussions between state parks and the gravel company about land trades. Eventually a corn field on state parks land that held gravel deposits was traded for the cottonwood stand by the nature center. Valco Sand & Gravel has since sold to LaFarge and continues to be a major gravel and concrete provider in Pueblo. Meetings during this period were frustrating because Valco had a clear fifty year plan and state parks did not work that strategically, but eventually it all worked. We found that collaborating with our friends next door was valuable for all of us. Their good will was evident in every way and they often donated concrete to nature center projects.

Some viewed our getting acquainted with a gravel company as fraternizing with the enemy. I think we got to know our neighbors and learned they were good people with an interest in taking care of the community. We all listened and learned.

-Tim Merriman

Growing up I heard people say, “When you only own a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” I’ve always liked the application of this old saying in interpretive settings. Too often our media choices in interpretive planning are more a reflection of what we know how to use, not what would be most effective.

I once worked for a park system that bought pantograph type wood router systems for sign making at each park. Just lay out the sign text in the metal template and trace the grooves with the stylus. The wood router would then carve the lettered sign like the metal template. It’s a great idea if you assume that every park needs routed wooden signs and it does create a consistent look. However, if this is the only technology you own, there’s a tendency to put up a lot of routed wood signs, whether they are the best choice or not. Don’t misunderstand me. I like routed wooden signs in some situations. I just don’t like them in all situations.

On a large scale I see site managers who assume a visitor center is needed at every forest and park. And that center needs a theater and introductory video. These media can be effective, but often they are not. Visitor centers have tremendous operating costs and sometimes end up being closed just a few years after being built. It’s hard to to justify hundreds of thousands of operating dollars a year for a facility that gets thousands of visitors annually.

I like to take photos of theaters in visitor and interpretive centers to see how they are being used. Most of the time I find a center with crowds of people but few if any going in to see the fifteen or twenty minute introductory video. Often I see two or three people seated in the back of a 50 or 100 seat theater, near a door so they can exit if it is boring. They want to be out on the trail or on the road, not sitting in a darkened room watching a video, no matter how good it is. Videos can be a powerful medium but they are not requisite in every high traffic facility. And often there seems to be an inverse relationship between the length of the video and number of people watching. Longer is not better. Better is better and sometimes a very short video is more powerful than one that attempts to tell a very complete story. Keep in mind that these theaters and custom videos are very expensive in a project budget, so they need to make a difference.

I have never forgotten the videos I saw at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The death camp survivors who talked about their survival and lives in the videos were memorable and emotionally engaging. And yet many uses of video seem to be less than effective in helping people connect.

Template-based planning is another common “hammer.” The idea seems reasonable at first glance. Do one plan for a park system and then fill in the blanks for each new interpretive plan. You will end up with clonal boredom, not unique experiences built around specific resources and stories. Not every park is used in the same way and by the same audiences. Every park actually needs a thoughtful interpretive plan that considers the unique Management, Market, Message, Mechanics and Media that will fit together to achieve objectives for the organization. We teach this 5-M process (Interpretive Planning, Brochu, 2003) in the interpretive planning courses offered by NAI. We don’t teach templates.

Recent Interpretive Planning class in Mio, Michigan.

Thirty years ago our planning and training of interpreters was mostly about teaching techniques without regard for which ones worked best with specific audiences in specific situations. Thoughtful interpretive planning is a matter of a using a process that works, not applying the media you like to each situation. The unique value of interpretation in helping people connect with places and stories is amplified by using the right media with each audience to make the experience memorable. Hopefully we can lay down our hammers and quit banging on nails. We can apply a thoughtful process and make a difference. The next interpretive planning course is in Cleveland, Ohio, July 26-30.

- Tim Merriman