A field guide or nature guide is a trained and experienced professional who leads tours and provides education and interpretation about the local flora, fauna, and natural heritage, history, folklore and beauty of an area. Field guides are often employed by tour companies, national parks, and other organizations that offer guided tours and educational experiences in natural areas.
as a guide you have the potential to provide your guests with life-changing experiences. This is a powerful and rewarding ability!
Field guides are typically highly knowledgeable about the natural environment and are trained to identify and interpret a wide variety of plants, animals, and other natural features. They are also skilled in tracking and spotting wildlife, and they use their knowledge and expertise to help guests have the best possible experience.
Because of their knowledge of nature and wildlife, a field guide is also often called a safari guide, a wildlife guide or a nature guide. While in the field, a guide often carries a field guide, a reference book to help identify plants and trees, birds and animals, tracks, or other natural objects like rocks and minerals.
In addition to leading tours and providing education, field guides are responsible for the safety and well-being of their guests. They are trained in first aid and emergency procedures, and they work closely with rangers or other staff to ensure the safety of the guests.
A nature guide (field guide) has an educational role to create awareness of the importance and vulnerability of the natural and cultural environment and acts as the link between the guests and the natural and cultural surroundings. The guide provides a learning experience in a manner that the individuals learn more from the environmental and cultural interaction in the company of the guide than they would without the presence of the guide.
A game ranger usually doesn't deal with guests in an educational way and focusses on conservation management of a specific area.
The main aim of a nature guide is to reveal and expose people to the natural heritage, history, folklore & beauty of an area. They need to create awareness of the complexities of the natural environment by sharing factual knowledge and meaningful interpretation of the events taking place around them.
Nature guiding is carried out within the framework of providing a high standard and quality service with safety and enjoyment for learning.
An ethical nature guide has passion, knowledge, and above all respect for wildlife, the environment and cultural heritage. A field guide gives the guests the best possible guided nature experience without interfering with, or negatively influencing or damaging the natural environment in which they are guiding.
Sustainable tourism is a key concept in the definition of guiding, qualifying the way in which present generations should utilize the earth and its resources. It is important to be in balance and to live in harmony with nature so that future generations can benefit from wildlife reserves.
To become a qualified guide you need to:
As official partner and ambassador of EcoTraining, the pioneer and leader in Safari Guide and Wildlife Training, you can book your courses through us!
I'm an accredited FGASA & CATHSSETA Field Guide (NQF2) able to share my personal experience with you. Find more information about the Field Guide Courses or fill in the form below to receive more information straight to your inbox.
The function of the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa or FGASA is to provide professional guiding principles, encouraging an ethical code of conduct, quality assurance and official certification of field guides.
The FGASA Code of Conduct consists of 11 principles for guiding:
In order to legally operate as a nature guide you have to be registered with the National Department of Tourism (NDT) where you will get a badge and a card, valid for 3 years.
There are a few requirements for a field guide to register as a qualified tourist guide, namely:
A nature guide will learn everything about the following subjects in order to conduct a guided nature experience for guests:
You now know what a field guide does and the requirements of becoming a nature guide. Do you like the skills and subjects you will learn on a safari guide course and do you see yourself in a nature guiding position to give your guests a life-changing safari experience? Consider signing up for a field guide course.
Completing a (professional) field guide training or wildlife course can open up a wide range of career opportunities in the tourism industry, both in Africa and beyond. You could work as a safari guide, leading tours and helping guests spot and identify wildlife, or you could work as a conservationist, helping to protect and preserve African wildlife and their habitats.
As an official ambassador and partner of EcoTraining, you can book a course through me. Advantages are that I can help you with all related course questions to be well prepared for the course and I'm able to share my personal experiences with you as I did the 35-day Practical Safari Guide Course in Kenya (Field Guide NQF2) and the 7-week online Field Guide course.
Pro-Tip: If you book through me, I can offer you interesting extras - including a zoom meeting - to make studying for your exam much easier.
fill in the form below to receive more information straight to your inbox or visit my page with all guide training and wildlife courses. I'm also available for a zoom call to answer all your questions.
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