Introducing the
Audubon International Certified Environmental Professional Program Laura Karosic
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e are excited to introduce the Audubon International Certified Environmental Professional (AICEP) program, a brand-new individual-level certification program. The program was developed for individuals seeking to increase their capacity to sustainably manage natural resources on a wide range of property types, including recreational, agricultural, commercial and industrial lands. As our members know, for the last 25 years, Audubon International has administered certification programs that evaluate and recognize the environmental performance of facilities, operations, (i.e., golf courses, resorts, residential developments, agricultural lands, etc.) and communities. AICEP will build on these long-standing programs by offering professional training – and subsequently conveying the appropriate credential – to individuals. The AICEP program offers concentrations in specific industries, including: • Golf Course Management: For golf course superintendents (head or assistant), greens keepers, golf course horticulturalists, golf course agronomists, and other golf course managers. • Land Management: For ski area managers, cemetery managers, park managers, grounds managers, timber harvesters, landscape management companies, utility ROW managers, and many others. • Building Operations Management: Intended for professionals focused on operations and functions of built infrastructure at the facility level, including operations managers of schools, resorts, hotels, hospitals, and other facilities.
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• Hospitality and Tourism Management: For professionals focused on the business aspects of hospitality, leisure, and tourism, including general managers of hotels, resorts, ski areas, cruise ships, and other facilities. • Sustainable Community Planning: For professionals involved in community and regional planning and decision-making, such as community planners, municipal officials, private association officers, commercial and residential developers, and others. • Architecture and Design: For professionals focused on planning and designing the built and natural environment, including those who design (or plan to design) ski areas, hotels, resorts, golf courses, landscapes, hospitals, schools, arboretums, commercial and residential developments, and other facilities. Here at Audubon International, we have long known and worked with the many professional organizations and university research departments that provide current and relevant training in each of these areas. When designing AICEP, it was our goal to incorporate this extensive knowledge and experience into the AICEP curriculum. Thus, a unique curriculum model was born – individuals acquire AICEP credit through academic credit or professional training that they have taken in the past or plan to take in the future as part of a degree program or in fulfilling continuing education requirements for another professional designation. This means that academic credits earned in a bachelor’s program or education points gained from a GCSAA conference workshop may count toward the AICEP requirements. Because relevant