Off to Columbia, South America

I have been invited to present some sessions at the Congreso de la Red de Pueblos Patrimonio de Colombia for the town of Santa Fe de Antioquia, Columbia. All of the town is a historical site; the architecture that has survived through the years gives Santa Fe de Antioquia the aspect of a city "suspended" in the colonial era, which is the reason the city was declared National monument. My sessions will focus on heritage site interpretation for the town. I will be working there from the 27th of July to the 2nd of August. You can learn more about this historic town at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_de_Antioquia. Here are a few pics of the town.

Back in KY with Abraham Lincoln Birthplace

Back in KY working with the NPS doing the Interpretive Plan for the Abraham Lincoln Brithplace National Historical Park (and the Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home NHP). We were on the trails today - 95 degrees here today too. Hope to have the draft interpretive plan done by next week. Heading home on Thursday. Here are some photos from the park and visitor center.

American Chestnut Land Trust Interpretive Plan

I just finished the start-up meetings here in Maryland with the American Chestnut Land Trust. This group had begun with a few hundred acres of protected land and grown to over 3000 acres of land protecting and conserving important habitats and watersheds. With a paid staff of just three talented people, and a core of dedicated volunteers they now have about 15 miles of trails as well as offering guided walks and more. We finished our initial site visit and conducted a focus workshop to begin teasing out the main interpretive objectives that the interpretive plan will focus on accomplishing. Here are two photos of some of the landscapes. I will be back toward the end of July for a week of site interpretive inventory work and moving the plan forward.

Advanced Interp. Course

Heading home from Huntsville, AL. We finished our Advanced interpretation course yesterday and we had a great group of participants from Corps of Engineer parks and offices from around the US. One participant came in from Alaska and one from Hawaii as well. Our team of instructors (Pat Berry, Nancy Rogers and myself) want to thank the participants for their course engagement, ideas, and contributions to helping make the course a real success. I get to rest a few days, then on to Maryland to start interpretive plananing with the Chestnut Trust. More on that next week. Here is the group photo of the participants and instructors.

Corps of Engineers Interpretive Course

Hi folks,

We finished our COE "Introduction to Interpretation" course here at the Tom Bevill Center in Huntsville, Alabama. We had 26 COE staff from around the US participate in the 3-day course. Here are some pics of them in action - critiquing the visitor center exhibits at our host field trip site - The Wheeler Wildlife Sanctuary - and planning/design of outdoor interpretive panels. This coming Monday we gear up for our Advanced Interpretation Course for Corps of Engineers Managers.

Interpretation for the 21st Century.

Conducted a one-day workshop on "Interpretation for the 21st Centruy" hosted at the National Museum of Wales, in Cardiff. We had about 25 partidipants resprsenting about 10 different organizations and museums in Wales. Here is a photo of the group I had the pleasure of presenting to. Back home in Michigan now - have a week in the office, then two weeks in wonderful Huntsville, Alabama for two Corps of Engineers Interpretation courses. Have a great weekend.

Roman Legion Museum

Had a great day working with the Roman Legion Museum in Caerllion, Wales. Visited some of their remarkable outdoor Roman fortress remains, including an awsome amphitheater and the excivated remains of the Roman Legion Barracks (photo). The site dates from around AD 75, and the museum itself have amazing artifacts on the Roman occupation of Wales. You can visit their web site: http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/roman/ for more information. Tomorrow I have a one day workshop at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, then head home.