Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification

The Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification Program provides fundamental and specialty skills in Southern Appalachian ecology and interpretive techniques. This is accomplished via 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.

Courses are hosted by the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (GSMIT) located in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Townsend, Tennessee. Upon completion of the core courses, you will receive the non-credit Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certificate from the UT Center for Professional Education & Lifelong Learning and GSMIT.