Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont provides in-depth experiences through educational programs designed to nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrate diversity, and foster stewardship. Connecting people and nature summarizes our mission, which we accomplish through providing hands-on learning experiences with the National Park, focusing on developing in people a greater sense of place, a deepened appreciation and awe for the diversity of life and people, and an ethics of stewardship that follows them home.

Weaving Our Message
"Connecting people and nature." This is the phrase we have used to frame what we believe the Tremont experience is about. What does this really mean? What is the thread that runs through each program we conduct? How do we translate our mission into individual lessons, our mix of programs, and the types of groups we seek to serve?

These are questions we continually keep in mind. As we develop programs, train staff, and consider new opportunities, we must look carefully at the message we wish to convey. There are three strands which we believe are at the heart of our mission and define what connecting people and nature means. The three strands are Sense of Place, Diversity, and Stewardship. These strands weave the thread that flows through each lesson and program we offer. They are what we desire people to experience and contemplate from the time they first cross the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park until long after they return home. They are the basis upon which we should evaluate our progress and develop new programs.

The following are ideas and values that these themes represent:

Sense of Place

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a unique and inspiring place.
• Getting to know a place helps us to appreciate it and should lead us to want to care for it.
• Wild places like the Smokies are important to the health of our planet.
• Individually and as a whole, people are a part of the web of life, affecting and being affected by other living things.
• Each of us is a part of our "home" ecosystem. These same "sense of place" attitudes should be transferred to our home ecosystem.

Diversity

• There is tremendous diversity within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
• The Smokies have been and continue to be affected by people of diverse interests and perspectives.
• We can learn much about ourselves by living in a community with people of diverse backgrounds, philosophies, and cultures.
• Diversity within plant, animal, and human communities makes them strong.

Stewardship

• We have a responsibility for preserving and caring for the Smokies and places like it.
• Preserving places like the Smokies means learning about their problems and working to help.
• Our lifestyle and daily habits can be adjusted to have minimal impact upon the environment.
• Living in an earth-friendly way can be transferred to our lives at home.