Smithsonian-Mason Global Conservation Studies Program

This 2-week, intensive adaptive management course is taught in partnership with the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) training center in Front Royal, Virginia, USA. We offered this course for the first time in the summer of 2011 and had an extremely diverse and engaged mix of participants. Due to its overwhelming success, the course was formally integrated into the program’s curriculum and will be available on an annual basis during the summer season.
Open to both practitioners and graduate students, the course has participants work in teams to apply adaptive management tools to real conservation projects, which are recruited from participants themselves, course coaches and conservation organizations. Participants apply the skills they learn to these projects with guidance and input from project resource persons and trained Open Standards coaches. At the end of the two weeks, each project team develops and presents a complete draft adaptive management plan for a broader SCBI audience.
The next course is scheduled for June 10-21, 2013 and is available for enrollment through the course listing on the Smithsonian-Mason website.