Sense of Place and the
Art of Interpretation Training

Comprehensive Training to Design and Deliver Impactful Programs
Multi-Day to Half-Day Formats. Onsite and Online.

Who is this for?

Parks, museums, heritage sites, and mission-based organizations whose work involves connecting people and places.

This training can be used for:

  • Onboarding seasonal staff

  • Revitalizing permanent or returning staff

  • Training interns, volunteers, and staff from other divisions, such as resource management or visitor services

Right now, it’s more important than ever to skillfully craft experiences that deeply resonate with our visitors.

Sense of Place and the Art of Interpretation is a timely and innovative training designed to help you create relevant, engaging, and welcoming visitor experiences.

Honed over hundreds of hours of in-the-field experience, this transformative training applies to all levels of experience and has been proven to elevate skills, inspire creativity, and foster team cohesion.

Training formats range from webinars to half-day segments and from multi-day comprehensive training to consulting packages.

Transform your visitor experiences and your team. Reach out to discuss your training needs!

Comprehensive Training Options

Proven tools, techniques, and confidence-building practices in 1-, 2- and 3-day formats

1-Day Intensive
Foundational Skills
and a Pratical Framework

(7 hours)

A condensed, deep-dive session designed to spark creativity, rethink your interpretive approach, and develop inclusive programs. 
For new and returning staff.

Outcome: Participants leave with a personalized, inclusive program outline and skills to deliver a well-balanced experience. More advanced staff gain a fresh perspective and a renewed sense of purpose in their work.

2-Day Implementation
Immersive Skills Training

(14 hours)

Take the ideas from Day One and put them into practice. Through experimentation, collaboration, and feedback, your team will refine their programs and take their skills to the next level.

Outcome: Participants leave with a polished program concept, refined storytelling, and sequencing skills. They leave with an expanded toolkit of engagement techniques and newfound confidence in their ability to engage visitors in a meaningful, creative way.

3-Day Comprehensive
Master the Art of Content Development and Delivery

(21 hours)

Using ideas and skills gained through Days One and Two, the Three-Day training allows time for participants to hone their skills, learn from each other, and receive feedback from peers and the instructor.

Outcome: A polished, ready-to-deliver interpretive program. Participants leave with practical tools, polished skills, and clarity for how to shape their knowledge and techniques into powerful programs.

“I used to DREAD the outline process. I would be stuck in the muck for days. Erica has given me the boots I need for this terrain! I will definitely use the tools/techniques and am inspired to create great visitor experiences. Thank you for the gift of this outstanding training.”

Sitka NHP, AK

Half-Day Training Modules

Eight skill-boosting, team-nourishing experiences in smaller bites.
Buy one or mix and match to meet your training needs.

Interpretive Essentials:
Mastering the Art

Four Half-Day Format Trainings

Perfect for: Interpreters seeking to build a strong foundation or refine core interpretive skills.

Goal: Develop a well-balanced, engaging, and effective interpretive practice by mastering the essentials—rethinking place, resource, visitors, and programs, while honing storytelling and delivery.

Gain: Practical, essential tools and techniques for program development, structure, and delivery. View foundational concepts through a fresh lens. Increase personal confidence and provide compelling programs with ease.

  • 1. Refreshed Foundations

    Rethink your resource, your visitors, and your techniques from a fresh perspective. Grasp complex theory quickly and easily apply concepts gained. Create a “Program in your Pocket” mini-outline you can use right away, and repeat anytime you want to quickly create a thematic, meaningful, engaging program.

  • 2. The Art of Sense of Place Storytelling

    Gain core techniques to create meaningful and inclusive narratives that tell the fuller story of your site. Craft stories that ground visitors in a sense of place. Find your technique “sweet spot.” Hone and polish your stories so they are concise, effective, and easy to deliver.

  • 3. Technique Bootcamp

    Learn a wide range of techniques to appeal to different visitors and come up with your own unique, site-specific ideas. Explore innovative examples from a wide range of case studies. Experiment with implementation and leave with a personalized, ready-to-go toolkit.

  • 4. The Pocketknife Program Arc

    With these 5 essential tools in your pocket, you can create an engaging program arc of any length. Sweeten your engagement skills by mastering the art of program and story structure and sequence. Be field-ready to provide an impactful program arc anytime.

Masterclasses:
Deep Dives on Craft

Half-Day Format

Perfect for: Interpreters ready to elevate, innovate, and transform their interpretive work
Goal: Move beyond the basics and delve into the artistry of interpretation, sharpening delivery, refining story craft, and innovating new approaches to deepen audience impact. Deep, creative, transformative, and thought-provoking.

Gain: Skills to develop your programs to the next level, grow through cross-pollination with peers, and stay resilient during times of change.

  • 5. Master the Art of Storytelling

    Advanced techniques for making your stories more engaging, evocative and memorable. Perfect for going deeper with your ideas to seamlessly weave together multiple site stories and ideas. Get expert feedback to polish your work. Especially helpful for sharing complex stories in complex times.

  • 6. Technique Innovation Lab

    Creating programs that appeal to different learning styles takes time and intention. Accelerate your ability to problem-solve and innovate by working with peers in a collaborative think-tank style learning environment. Expand your knowledge, elevate your techniques and engage with ease.

  • 7. Craft and Deliver a Well-Balanced Program

    A well-balanced program has your perfect mix of information, techniques, sequencing, and powerful pauses. It takes visitors on a meaningful journey of learning, experiencing, reflection and integration. Combine your skills, knowledge and ideas with this tried and true program formula.

  • 8. Resilient Rooted Leadership

    This place-centered resilience training offers practices to reconnect with yourself, your surroundings, your purpose and your peers. You will gain tools for stability during times of change and get a relevant recharge that grounds you in the power of place.

Prior Trainings
Include:

Offical disclaimer
***”Reference herein to this specific product or service does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government. The views and opinions expressed herein reflect individual results and not those of the United States Government.”***

National Park Service Sites:

Acadia NP
Adams NHP
Assateague Island NS
Bandelier NM
Big Thicket NP
Cape Cod NP
Denali National Park and Preserve
Everglades NP
Fredrick Law Olmsted NHS
Ft. Stanwix NHS
Gateway NRA
Governors Island NM
Grant-Khors NHS
Great Sands NP
Great Smokies NP
Hawai’i Volcanoes NP
John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS
Hopewell Furnace NHS


Hot Springs NP
Independence NHP
Marsh Billings Rockefeller NH
Mesa Verde NP
National Mall and Memorial Parks
Niagara Falls National Heritage Area
Organ Pipe Cactus NM
Petrified Forest NP
Salem Maritime NHS
Saint Gaudens NHS
Sagamore Hill NHS
Saugus Iron Mill NHS
Springfield Armory NHS
White Sands NM
Women's Rights NHP
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Yosemite NP

Details:

  • This training goes beyond standard interpretive techniques—it transforms how your team thinks about engaging visitors by using a sense of place-making perspective. Participants gain a new way of thinking about program design, meaningful narratives, and working as a cohesive team. Erica blends her in-the-field expertise from working with 45+ NPS sites, with her background in performing arts and creative process to provide a framework of proven tools and opportunities to rethink interpretation and storytelling.

    EACH TRAINING IS:

    • Customized for Your Site – Tailored to fit your unique needs, ensuring immediate, practical application. Erica’s fee includes site research to ensure training concepts link to site themes and stories.

    • Inclusive & Innovative – Helps to craft programs that engage visitors with different learning styles through a fresh, creative lens.

    • Skill-Based & Practical – Provides tangible tools and techniques for delivering compelling, balanced visitor experiences.

    • Grounded in the Power of Place— Each training emphasizes using stories and techniques to connect people with the unique power of your place.

    INTERPRETERS OF ALL LEVELS WILL EXPERIENCE THE BENEFITS:

    • Skill-Building for All Levels – Developing authentic, well-crafted, inclusive programs requires practice. This training provides in-depth support for interpreters at all experience levels, ensuring they can confidently share complex stories in a concise, engaging way.

    • Adaptable for Different Learning Styles – A creative, supportive approach helps interpreters identify and refine their most effective techniques while developing new skills to meet performance standards.

    • Fosters a Cohesive Team – Through participatory learning, brainstorming, and collaboration, this training strengthens team dynamics and fosters long-term professional growth.

  • I’m an experienced interpretive trainer, keynote speaker and creative mentor. With a background in the performing arts, and conservation advocacy, I’ve worked directly for over a decade with parks, museums, historic sites, land trusts, community organizations, and more. I’m also an award-winning songwriter and a keynote speaker who has delivered keynotes at Governor’s Conferences on Tourism and many national events.

    My approach to interpretation bridges creative thinking with practical tools, and a sense of place lens to inspire fresh program ideas that elevate interpreters and interpretation, and resonate with visitors, fostering meaningful connections between people and place.

  • Onsite Multi-Day Comprehensive Training
    1-Day $3,500 + Travel | 2-Day $4,500 + Travel | 3-Day $5.500 + Travel
    Up to 25 participants. 2 and 3 Day Includes 1:1 Coaching.

    Mix and match modules based on your staff training and development needs.
    Choose from Half-Day Interpretive Essentials to Deep Dive Masterclasses.
    One Class (3 hours) Up to 10 participants $1,500
    One Class (4 hours) Up to 10 participants $2,000
    6-Week Training     (14 hours) Up to 12 participants $4,000

    1:1 Coaching and Feedback Package Available

    Set up a call with Erica to discuss your training needs.

    Training can be onsite or online. Train as a Team or Sign Up for a Cohort.

  • Payment:
    I’m a registered independent contractor with the Federal Government and in the SAM system. I accept checks, direct deposits, and credit cards (with a 3% processing fee.)

    Travel Expenses:
    The standard government rates apply for travel, meals and lodging, and can provide a detailed estimate upon request. I fly out of Hartford, CT. Rates can be reduced if I am already in your region.

    Formats:
    Training can be offered for consecutive days onsite. Formats can be adapted to meet your staff and training needs. A minimum of 6 participants is required. Some parks opt to hire me for multiple consecutive days, so everyone can attend. Parks with a large staff can do a presentation style training with more group work and limited 1:1 time with the instructor. Other sites might include all their interpreters, interns, volunteers, partners, and other divisions such as resources, curatorial, and fees.

    Sense of Place Consulting is a Woman Owned Small Business.
    I am committed to helping individuals show up fully as who they are, and meeting people wherever they are on their learning journey. I am known for my down-to-earth, welcoming and inclusive facilitation skills.

Happy Clients

  • "We brought Erica in to help us master the art of storytelling and to learn how to share the meaning of these places even more effectively. When we worked with Erica before, it was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career. I was thrilled by seeing the growth in rangers and the inspiration they gleaned.”

    National Mall and Memorial Parks, Washington, DC

  • "I observed my staff applying Erica's approach and feel that the level of programs this year was just outstanding. Even our more "science based" interpreters brought in more of the emotional, reflective techniques. I personally used her techniques in my programs and found they were incredibly powerful every time, with all ages."

    Cape Cod National Seashore, MA

  • "Erica provided our interpretive staff with a fresh angle on interpretation, new techniques, and the opportunity to stretch and experiment. This training served as a solid foundation for our seasonal training and complimented prior training around audience-centered engagement techniques, peer coaching, and resource content.”

    Marsh-Billings-Rockerfeller NHP & Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

  • "You are missing out if you aren't trying to book Erica for your upcoming workshop or training event. Her work with the ‘sense of place’ concept through her Soulful Landscape workshop provides excellent hands-on exercises in an area that is so often perceived as intangible, while her keynote was just the dose of inspiration we needed.”

    Chief of Interpretation, Arkansas State Parks and Tourism

  • "I am a conservation professional, and although I hadn't put my finger on it until the workshop, I had been struggling with a sense of loss regarding my connection to nature that first inspired me to work in this field. The workshop rekindled that connection. I left with the tools and resolve to more intentionally tap into the power of place as well as the inspiration to help others do the same."

    Claire Dacey, Naturalist, Artist, Historian, MA

  • "Erica creates a kind of alchemy in the room where even the most timid of us is inspired to find the writer within. She gave us new tools and reminded me of tools I once knew and had long forgotten. She inspired me to get back to an interpretive project I had put aside which I am now working on with renewed enthusiasm and focus."

    National Association for Interpretation

  • "We invited Erica out for a week to help celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Big Sur Land Trust with a variety of events. Her positive impact reverberated throughout our community and continues to this day. Erica's ability to connect people and place beautifully aligned with our mission to strengthen communities and inspire stewardship"

    Bill Leahy, Executive Director, Big Sur Land Trust, CA

  • "At the end of the 3- part writing prompt, I had enough material to write several powerful essays as well as a new idea for an inspirational card deck. If that wasn't enough, Erica listened to what I wrote and in less than a minute had whipped up a terrific song. If anyone can rally the preservation troops to get "a sense of place" off the endangered species list, it's Erica Wheeler."

    Giulietta "Julie" Nardone, Participant, Upton Forest State Park, MA

Let’s Work Together

Let’s schedule a call to learn more about each other, discuss your priorities, and explore what might be the best fit for your needs. Reach out, and we can find a good time to set up a call or Zoom, or book a slot on my calendar.