The Swamp Stomp

Volume 16, Issue 1

I want to wish you a happy and prosperous new year. Last year presented many challenges and opportunities in the Swamp and I want to let you know about some of the new and exciting developments we have in store for you in 2016.

Technology

The Swamp School first offered an online version of our wetland delineation class in 2006. In the ensuing decade we have learned a lot about what to do and what not to do with this type of training. Today we have a state of the art classroom management system that rivals any university online program. This past fall the Swamp School engaged a leading software and hardware consulting firm to take apart and rebuild our entire online learning system. Our new system is faster and more stable than ever. Plus it is entirely complainant with advanced security features including Department of Defense (DoD) protocols ensuring that your student information and data are completely secure.

Be sure to check out our all new Swamp School website. We have made it mobile friendly and a lot easier to use and find stuff.

Customer Service

We value you the customer as the most important focus of the Swamp School. Without you there would be no school, just a swamp. Consequently, we have invested and expanded our customer services to better serve you. Today, you can call our 800 number and speak to a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Now we are not in the office 24/7, but your question or concern is our priority and it will be forwarded to the appropriate person and responded to within one business day. Oftentimes this is less than an hour if it is during the work week which is Monday through Friday from 10 am to 3 PM EST.

If you have a technical question we are only too happy to answer it. Leave a message with Rod our Registrar and he will track one of our Subject Matter Experts down. Even if you are not a student we are happy to help you with whatever wetland question you may have.  You can also check our FAQ at SwampHelp.com.

New Online Classes

We have just retained new experts in a variety of wetland related fields. We are very pleased to announce that we are offering a brand new online class on Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA). This class is based upon the EPA ERA protocols and can be used for regulatory, policy, risk and other decision making processes for ecological management.

We are offering a new Basic Botany class to help our students catch up on botanical terms, plant identification techniques and other botany fundamentals. This is a great class to take to help supplement any of our field identification programs.

Starting in February we will be releasing a brand new wetland design class. This is a new approach to understanding wetland design. This 12-week class will prepare you to diagnose and understand how a wetland should function as well as ways to improve wetland projects in peril.

We have been asked by many students to offer a Phase I environmental training program. In the coming weeks we will be announcing the release of this new online program. It is entirely consistent with the ASTM standard practice method for environmental site assessments (ASTM 1527-13). We are hoping to make this announce in late February.

Wetland Certification Program

We are very pleased to let you know that we have graduated two complete classes of Certified Wetland Delineators. These students have completed all 4 of our certified wetland training classes and are now certified. They have a career distinction that sets them apart from their peers. We would love to include you as part of their ranks. The final class of the series is the Certified Wetland Delineator class. It will start in March and the field exam will be in Pittsburgh, PA in June. The other three (soils, vegetation and hydrology) will be each offered about once every 12 weeks.

New Field Classes

We are offering a new field augmentation program this year. About every month or so we will be hosting a one-day field workshop to help you with your field work. This is a perfect supplement to our online program as well as a nice brush up if you are a bit rusty with the new ACOE methods. The next session will be in Wilmington, NC on January 21st.

We are also looking to add a few more Basic Wetland Delineation Field training workshops in several new locations. We could use your help with this. Please post a comment below if you have any suggestions of locations that would be ideal for a wetland class.

Wetland Toolbox

We are now offering micro-traning in the form of an on-demand toolbox.  Do you just need to know what the difference between and F3 and F6 is?  Watch a short 10 minute video and you are all set.  This new service is also mobile friendly so you can access the videos and other reosuece form the field using a smart phone or other mobile device.

Custom Training

We have expanded our custom workshop training to include online versions. If you have a staff to train and do not want to travel, either have us come to you or have us prepare a customized online training program for your team.

As you can see the Swamp School is growing. We are excited about the opportunities that are before us and we are always looking to those on the horizon. Our core mission is to offer products and services that will help you grow your wetland career.

Thank you for being a loyal Swamp School subscriber. None of this would be possible without the support of our students and subscribers. We are very grateful for all the support you have shown us and we look forward to helping you in 2016 with your wetland needs.

All the best for a great new year!

– Marc