Master Interpreter - Interpretive Guides

The Master interpreter accreditation is the highest level of accreditation presently offered by the Interpretive Guides Association. It is different than the other accreditation levels because this accreditation is appointed to outstanding individuals in the field of interpretive guiding.

In order to become an accredited Master Interpreter with the IGA your name must be brought forward for review. The individual who brings your name forward must demonstrate your expertise through letters of recommendation they have collected from other master interpreters and colleges who know your work.

The following talented people are our accredited Master Interpreters.

Art Jackson

"The most important role I see myself providing for visitors to these amazing Mountain Parks is getting them to connect and/or reconnect with our Natural world. We all need to care for the Natural World and if I can help influence a path in that positive direction I will be happy in my role as a Naturalist and Interpreter."

Ben Gadd

"If I am a good interpreter, the people who accompany me will have their minds and hearts opened to the places I take them."

Brenda Holder

"In my culture there are knowledge keepers and we have the honour and responsibility to share our teachings and to pass them along to ensure they are never lost. I feel that is part of what interpretation is, but with a deeper purpose. While in Indigenous cultures, these teachings are part of our traditions, there are many who may not even be aware of or care about the natural or cultural history of an area. It’s my job as a Master Interpreter to help them care and become more aware, to create a desire to learn more."

Bob Sandford

"To be successful, we must challenge ourselves in new ways. We must transcend the 'already known',the 'already said' the 'already thought' to redefine interpretation as fundamental to meaningful experience in National Parks."

Dave Holder

"Society as a whole is suffering from Nature Deficit Disorder many people are unaware of this. As interpreters we can inform people of the healthy benefits to humans, and the eco system as a whole of preserving wild places and spaces.

We are an inherently a selfish species so hopefully when people realize that nature can actually rejuvenate their health, and this lonely planet, they may take more consideration over its preservation. This can be done through good informative Professional Interpretation.

Therefore it is our job as Interpreters to take examples of what has happened in the past, good and bad, look at what is going on now and draw a conclusion on how the actions of our species may benefit the future. We have an important job and can never rest on our laurels we are more than JUST guides’, we are ambassadors of the future."

Dave Verhulst

"If we are going to accomplish the true power of interpretation to have people love and care for themselves and the natural world, we must also recognize that doing so requires connecting our community of guides to nature and to themselves."

Join Dave as he provides experiential and play-based learning through sensory awareness, wilderness living skills, and active contact with the environment (https://www.canmoreforestplay.com/).

Fusako Shimura

"Interpretation is a bridge which takes someone from being a bystander of a place, object and history to someone who was there in their mind."

Heidi Fengler

"I want people to walk away with an appreciation of how hard mother nature works to keep everything in balance and realize how we humans have to help her out. We need to restore a connection to nature and experience how we are a small part and not the invincible top of the food chain. I want to get kids out of their virtual screen world and use all their senses and get their feet wet."

Joel Hagen

"Good interpreters help people comprehend history and nature in a way that might transform both their understanding of the world and how they live in it."

Join Joel on a guided hike, birding tour, or snowshoe trip in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks. (https://www.greatdivide.ca/)

Kirsten Schmitten

"Interpretation is about matchmaking. It is finding a way to connect people with the natural world or the history of a place in a very personal way. Sometimes it is done with very little information, but with giving a pace, time and quiet to be immersed in nature and the stories that unfold."

Join Kirsten on a guided hike through Jasper National Park (https://www.allthingswild.ca/).

Kristi Beetch

"Interpretation provides a broader understanding to the relevance of our protected places and how this pertains to the whole planet."

Join Kristi on a guided hike with White Mountain Adventures.

Laurie Schwartz

"The purpose of professional interpretation is to create the opportunity for “a-ha!” moments for people, to connect them emotionally to something through a positive, even profound experience, and to teach them about a place, person or thing in an enjoyable way."

Check out a list of Laurie's great videos and music, as well as her very own children's book - A Beary, Berry Good Day.

Michael Vincent

"If I can, in any small way, get the idea across that protecting these places is not only good for the creatures and plants that live here but its good for all of us as a whole, then I have had a good day at work."

Nadine Fletcher

"Interpretation can and should extend people's connection to their home ecosystem, to nature as a whole, to the planet"

Peter Duck

"Interpretation has been one approach I have used to encourage others to come to the conclusion that natural systems are worth protecting"

Peter Lemieux

"I feel that it is important to let our guests see and experience nature for themselves. Our world, and our survival as a species, truly depends on a healthy environment. A population that is removed from the natural world and a knowledge of its systems is doomed to fail. Interpretation has a role to play here, in helping people to understand the natural systems that allow us to survive and prosper. As an interpreter I can stimulate curiosity and raise questions that help guests truly experience and care about what lies before them."

Join Peter for an interpretive Icewalk on the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield (https://www.icewalks.com/).

Ronna Schneberger

"Interpreters are the storytellers. We are the ones that infuse one’s consciousness with stories from the land and stories of connection. Most people live very disconnected to nature (and themselves) and when they can go out with a good interpreter, they start to remember their connection on a very visceral level, and it touches them. It can create change in attitudes and behaviour."

Join Ronna for an interpretive hike, forest bathing or one on one coaching in this big, beautiful landscape (https://www.forestfix.ca/).

Tracey Gage

"A good guide creates connections and meaning between the people we guide and the places we take them. Interpretation is a communication tool that will help us get there by helping people discover and experience the places we take them in a much broader and deeper way than they could on their own. It can be used to help open their eyes, to see all the nooks and crannies, creating depth, understanding and experience. A good professional interpreter can change an individual’s sense of perspective and turn them into ambassadors of these landscapes."

Ward Cameron

"The more I help other people to achieve their goals, the more I am able to reach my own"