Tremont Offers New Naturalist Certification Program

(Great Smoky Mountains) – Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont provides excellence in environmental education in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Adults can receive certification as a Naturalist by attending Tremont’s new Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification program beginning February 8 - 10. Become a better naturalist, communicator, and land steward by learning the ecology and natural history of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification Program provides fundamental and specialty skills in Southern Appalachian ecology and interpretive techniques. This is accomplished by a series of field courses covering subjects such as ecological communities, plant identification, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, stream ecology, the history of nature study, interpretation, and other skills necessary to an educational naturalist. To qualify for the non-credit Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certificate, you must complete eight core courses. Students not enrolled in the certification program may take courses individually. 

The first courses in the program are Naturalist Skills and Interpretation: A Teachable Art and are offered together in February as combination courses. Additional courses offered focus on Birds of the Smokies, Southern Appalachian Ecology, Plants, Reptiles and Amphibian, Aquatic Natural History and Mammals. For more information on Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification contact Tremont at 865-448-6709 or visit www.gsmit.org.

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates a residential environmental learning center within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Since 1969 Tremont has provided in-depth experiences to hundreds of thousands of people of all ages through residential educational programs designed to nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrate diversity, and foster stewardship.          

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