KAHULUI – This month, the Sustainable Living Institute of Maui, with the University of Hawaii Maui College’s Office of Continuing Education & Training, is offering certification in the nationally recognized Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) program.

The CIG certification course focuses on developing and expanding interpretive tools and techniques for guides, volunteers, park rangers and/or individuals who deliver interpretive programs.

Whether you’re a new hire, a professional looking to refresh skills or beginning a second career, this course will aid you in improving your presentation techniques.

Participants learn the techniques to make their programs purposeful, enjoyable, relevant, organized and thematic; how to use tangible objects to connect your audience to intangible ideas and universal concepts; and how to improve connections with diverse audiences and perspectives by learning how to identify different audience types, motivations and interests.

The course helps students breathe life into boring facts and figures and transform them into an engaging story.

The course is taught by Lauren Blickley, who has worked within Maui’s environmental and tourism industries for close to a decade.

After earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine Science and Biology and a Master’s of Environmental Science and Management Degree from University of California, Santa Barbara, she started off in Maui as a guide for snorkel and whale watching operations.

Eventually she formed her own consulting business to improve outreach, education and communication channels for non-profits and environmental businesses.

In addition to this, she continues to exercise her tour guiding muscles by leading week-long immersive excursions throughout Hawaii for adults, college level and middle/high school students.

She said, “One of the most rewarding parts of the class is watching guides who have been leading tours for 30-plus years walk away with new techniques and approaches to their craft.

“After the class, they look at their job differently and are better equipped to inspire their audiences to appreciate Maui’s unique resources, history and culture. The class seems to reignite passion for their job.”

Blickly added, “I believe this class supports sustainable tourism and promotes professional-level development within the tourism industry. It improves the standards for tourism in Hawaii and sets a higher bar for guides/interpretive professionals throughout the industry.”

The class will meet on Wednesdays from Nov. 7-28 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Are you an event coordinator, business owner/manager or individual with concern for the environment?

This November, the Sustainable Living Institute of Maui, with the UH Maui College Office of Continuing Education & Training, is offering a Green Events workshop that aims to give participants the education and resources needed to organize events with greatly reduced negative environmental impacts.

The course covers:

1) Introduction to environmental issues affecting the globe and Maui, focusing on the problems associated with single-use plastic;

2) What is recyclable on Maui and the challenges with recycling;

3) Introduction to different methods of composting, bokashi, worm composting, aerobic and anaerobic composting, large-scale commercial composting and composting on Maui;

4) Introduction to green certifications, such as TRUE zero waste, LEED and FSC, BPI compostable and ASTM compostable;

5) Types of compostable products and how they are made;

6) Areas of an event that can be reworked to have a lesser environmental impact, such as solid waste reduction, energy and water efficiency, green catering, transportation and pollution prevention;

7) Resources available on Maui for sourcing compostable products, recycling, composting, food donations, etc.;

8) Advertising greening efforts;

9) How to conduct a waste audit/ collecting and reporting data.

The workshop will be led by Ashley O’Colmain, who has been “greening” events for over a year as program director for Maui Huliau Foundation.

The workshop runs Tuesdays from Nov 6-13 from 6 to 8 p.m. with a $149 fee.

For more information, visit SustainableMaui.org; to register, visit EdventureMaui.com.