Free conservation awareness training available for tour operators and guides

Maui Mauka Conservation Awareness Training will be held Nov. 16 to provide education about native ecosystems and species found in Hawaiʻi — and the projects that are helping to conserve them — to tour operators and guides.

This free training will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Education Center in Kīhei. Tour operators and guides are encouraged to come. Spots can be reserved by registering at www.mauimauka.org

Environmental interpretation plays a significant role in nature-based tourism and is mutually beneficial to tour operators, visitors, conservation groups and the nature-based tourism economy.

Presentations about conservation and our natural environment are given by representatives from the Maui Invasive Species Committee, East Maui Watershed Partnership and the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project.

Guest speaker for this training is Patty Miller, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. She will discuss her organizationʻs mission and work being done to research and protect humpback whales and other marine life in Maui Nui.