Wilderness Guide Training Programme
The Wild Scotland Wilderness Guide Training Programme (WGTP) provides comprehensive training for professional outdoor guides working on a wide range of leisure trips and instructional courses. The training provides guides with both knowledge and practical skills, leading to an increased awareness of sustainable tourism and best practice.
The programme has been developed specifically to compliment existing technical skill development and coaching qualifications. It is the first course of its kind in the UK offering structure and coherent training for wilderness guides around the non-technical areas.
The course is 12 days long run over 3 residential blocks and is run on an attendance basis i.e. there is no assessment process at this stage. On completion of the course you will receive a certificate which covers the whole programme and details the modules attended.
Course Structure
The course is delivered in three blocks, and the modules are:
1. Core Modules (6 days)
- Cultural History & Interpretation (1 day)
- Environmental Advocacy (1 day)
- Leave No Trace Awareness (certificated) (1 day)
- Nature Conservation (1 day)
- The Art & Science of Guiding (2 days)
2. Habitat Modules (4 days)
- Coastal, Upland, Riparian and Woodland Natural History, Ecology & Ethnobotany (3 days)
- Scottish Geology (1 day)
3. Options Modules (2 days)
Choose two from the following:
- Astronomy
- Environmental Storytelling
- Natural Navigation
- Scottish Geology and landforms
Enrolment on the programme covers the complete course. The modules are delivered in three residential blocks across the year (usually spring, summer and autumn). It is possible to take the blocks across two seasons so don’t be put off if you can’t make all the dates.
Dates for each course will be listed on the Events page of the Wild Scotland website.
Places on the full 12 day programme are limited to 15, so if you are interested and have any questions please contact us as soon as possible.
Comments & Accolades
Some comments from the participants on the 2011 programme:
“well researched, nice approach and great getting out and about, some really good instant take away stuff to use”
“inspiring thought provoking and interactive – great way to learn”
“shame we couldn’t have done more, great take away and use stuff straight away, fantastic for the pragmatists”
The WGTP has received recognition as one of the 20 most innovative eco-tourism projects of the year on the Guardian Green Travel List 2011, and also received Highly Commended as runner up in the ‘Most Innovative Sustainable TOurism Initiative 2011′ category of the Association of International Tour Operators (AITO) Sustainable Tourism Awards 2011
CPD Certificates
It is also possible to take each module as a stand alone course resulting in a CPD certificate for each module attended. Please note that this would not be a route to the WGTP certification. Those on the full 12 day WGTP programme will receive significant amounts of extra resources across all the areas studied during their programme.
The fee for attending the modules as stand alone courses is £100 (£80 for IOL and Wild Scotland members) for a two day module and £50 (£40 for IOL individual and Wild Scotland members) for a one day workshop. This includes tea and coffee and CPD certificate. It does not include lunch or transport within the course.
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