John Veverka & Associates

Interpretive Planning for Botanical Gardens
and Arboretums.

11 Units - 3 CEU credits, $250.00

Interpretive Planning and staff training for the National Arboretum of South Korea, and Interpretive Master Planning for the Baekdudaegan Arboretum and Forest Sanctuary and Discovery Center (National Arboretum of South Korea).


JVA is pleased to announce updated  e-Live interpretive training courses offered by Professor John Veverka.  

Botanical gardens and arboretums offer their visitors special opportunities unique to their missions and settings.  With outdoor garden displays and demonstration areas reflecting the seasonal nature of gardens, and incorporating the arts into the garden experience, visitors can be motivated to "try at home" gardening experiences and techniques.  Likewise interpreting the problems of climate change on world-wide habitats, and problems with invasive plants are also topics botanical interpreters are dealing with more and more.  Our experience over the past 40 years in developing interpretive plans, trails and staff training for botanical gardens and arboretums as well as a wide range of heritage sites and attractions, will be shared with course participants in developing interpretive plans for their new millennium visitors and today's environmental challenges.

Before you start this course visit with me at:  https://youtu.be/MJmsU0mrJR0

Resources you will be provided with:

* John Veverkas new (2013) college textbook Two Volume e-book Set:
    * Interpretive Master Planning - Strategies for the New Millennium
    * Interpretive Master Planning - Philosophy, Theory and Practice.
* Samples of interpretive exhibits, signage and outdoor displays for botanical gardens.
* Additional handout materials.

Who is this course for?

* Individuals, agencies or organizations that may currently be involved with an interpretive
  master planning project botanical gardens and arboretums.

* Individuals, agencies or organizations that are planning on developing an interpretive master
  plan in the future for their site or organization.

* Botanical gardens/arboretums intending to use their interpretive planning as part of their
  marketing plan (creating new market groups while managing current visitation).

* Individuals offering interpretive planning services who do not possess a college level degree in
  interpretive services or who have not had any formal training in interpretive master planning.

* Any individual interested in advancing their knowledge and skill level in heritage
  interpretation planning with a focus on Botanical Gardens and Arboretum.
 
 This course will:

  * Guide you in developing your interpretive plan yourself or with other staff members.
  * Give you expertise in being an interpretive planning project manager.
  * Give you direction is writing a Request for Proposal for hiring a consultant to do an
     interpretive master plan for you.
  * Give you specific details of what should be in an Interpretive Master Plan.
  * Give you a skill level in reviewing draft interpretive master plans.

Course Goals:

Participants will:

- Understand the model of Interpretive Planning.
- Understand all the components of the Interpretive Planning Content Outline.
- Gain an understanding of developing a comprehensive interpretive theme and objectives for the
  total botanical garden (interior displays and outdoor demonstrations and experiences).
- Learn the importance of developing an interpretive story-line flow chart.
- Learn how to develop standard interpretive site inventory and story development forms.
- Develop a 5 year implementation phasing strategy and implementation budget.
- Gain an understanding to the total interpretive planning process interpretive media would be
 apart of.
- Understand how understanding your market groups affect your interpretive plan media, topics
  and services planning.
- Feel confident in planning and designing successful interpretive master plans for excellent
  future interpretive experiences for your market groups.

Your final project for this course will be:  

Develop an interpretive master plan working draft for your botanical garden or arboretum.


About the Instructor: Prof. John Veverka



  The National Arboretum of Korea (left) and presentation of the Baekdudaegan Arboretum and Forest Sanctuary
and Discovery Center Interpretive Master Plan during the Baekdudaegan Arboretum Site Planning Conference.


- B.S and M.S in Heritage Interpretation - The Ohio State University (Taught a course on
 Interpretive Master Planning - wrote the first Interpretive Planning Text book).
- Ph.D. program in Interpretation at Michigan State University.  (Taught introduction and
 advanced interpretive courses including interpretive planning units.)
- Adjunct Professor Heritage Interpretation (summer heritage tourism institutes) North
 Carolina State University, New York State University.
- NAI Certified Interpretive Planner and Trainer
- NAI Fellow
- Certified Professional Heritage Interpreter (Canada).
- Author of several interpretive planning/training college text books.
- Publisher of InterpNEWS - the International Heritage Interpretation e-Magazine.
- 40 years of interpretive planning, training and writing experience.


What are the units?

Unit One - An overview and review of the Interpretive Planning Model and interpretive
     plan content outline.  Overview of interpretive theory, principles and recreational learning theory (how your visitors learn and remember information in  a recreational environment).
  

Unit Two - Interpretive Planning Outcomes.  What are the objectives you want your
     interpretive plan to accomplish, and what is your main over-arching  interpretive theme that all
     interpretation for your total botanical arden/arboretum needs to work to illustrate?
     * Developing your main interpretive theme.
     * Developing your learning, behavioral and emotional objectives.   
     * Developing your interpretive story line flow chart.
  
Unit Three - Interpretive Resource/Story Inventory - Where will interpretation occur.  Existing interpretive opportunities as well as proposed interpretive opportunities.

     * Botanical Garden interior displays/exhibits.
     * Botanical Garden outdoor displays and experiences.
     * Parking lot to entrance wayfinding
     * Existing tour routes (guided or self-guided).
  `   * Inventory of Interpretive Experiences.
     * Inventory of Current interpretive products or services.
     * Developing your site inventory location map (exterior experiences).


Unit Four - Your market analysis.
     * Who are your current market groups.
     * What market groups do you want to add?
     * What are the kinds of experiences you feel that your visitors want.
     * Conducting visitor surveys.
     * Visitor motivations for selecting and attending interpretive programs and
        services.

Unit Five -    Planning for Interpretation for School Groups.

Unit Six -    Botanical Garden/Arboretum Carrying Capacity for visitation and visitation
                  management.
                  * Site visitor flow management.

Unit Seven -    Developing interpretive media (and evaluation of existing interpretive media).
     * Live guided tours
     * Cell phone interpretation.
     * Printed self-guiding booklets
     * Interpretive videos
     * Garden demonstration areas with interpretive signage.

Unit Eight -   Developing Your Individual Interpretive site/feature interpretive assessment
                       and story development form sets. (Sample interpretive plans sent as example of
                       form use.)

Unit Nine -    Developing your 5-year project implementation phasing strategy and implementation budget.
     
Unit Ten  -    Evaluation and pre-testing recommendations.

Unit Eleven -    Final project - your interpretive master plan draft (if you are working on a actual                                                                                               interpretive planning project) or interpretive  planning outline/check- list if you will be working on a interpretive plan in the future.

Estimated time to complete this course is 30 hours but you can take your time if you are working on a planning project using the course as your guide.  FYI - the average time to do an interpretive master plan for an average botanical garden, heritage area, park, etc. is about 14 working days - spread out over about  3 months allowing for research, reviewing drafts and then the final document.


When will the course start?  You can start this course at any time and work at your own pace.  It is estimated that it will take about 30 hours to complete this course.  The cost of the 30 hours of training is $250.00 USD, which can be paid for by credit card or PayPal by clicking on the PayNow Button below.

As the course is limited to 10 participants at one time,  if you would like to see if the course has current openings or have us send you the course Registration Form, or  if you have any questions at all please feel free to ask: jvainterp@aol.com

<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post" target="_top">
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick">
<input type="hidden" name="hosted_button_id" value="3MVX5R85YK2Q8">
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_buynowCC_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</form>