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Welcome to The Herpetology Collective's initial enrollment campaign for the  Certified Herpetological Guide Program! 

The projected regular cost for tuition is $299 for the all-digital course, so be sure to take advantage of the discounted rates available through this campaign! Plus, campaign backers are eligible to be recognized as Charter Members of the Collective!

UPDATE: The optional hardcover copy of the course textbook is no longer available through this campaign. You may order a hardcopy on our website at learnaboutcritters.org/shop/primer (or download the PDF for free at learnaboutcritters.org/primer)

What is a Certified Herpetological Guide?

It is no secret that the world is filled with myths and misinformation regarding the reptiles and amphibians with whom we share our world. It is human nature to disregard that which we don't understand, so it is no surprise that many of these animals are in serious decline worldwide. 

Graduates of this program will be prepared to be ambassadors for these fascinating creatures by becoming armed with factual, science-based, relevant knowledge about their natural history, biology, conservation concerns, and more. 

In other words, a Certified Herpetological Guide is someone who is serious when it comes to educating themselves about reptiles and amphibians and works to share their passion with others!

What is The Herpetology Collective (THC)?

THC is the brainchild of award-winning author, speaker, and naturalist Micha Petty. Micha and a handful of other seasoned wildlife education veterans are designing a family of courses that offer science-based curricula in an easy-to-digest manner.

Our vision, in a nutshell, is to create a library of digestible, interpretive, science-based lessons about herpetology and use it to build a proactive community of people who care about these fascinating animals and work together to better educate the public about their conservation concerns. 

The CHG program (this campaign) is one of three programs under development. We recently launched our Certified Junior Herpetologist Program campaign (tell your friends!), and we'll also be launching our  Inclusive Junior Herpetologist  (autistic/neurodiverse youth) program soon, so follow us on here or on Facebook to stay abreast of those offerings!

If you really want to read about what we're up to, check out this PDF of our Steering Documents!

About the Certified Herpetological Guide Program

This program is a distance learning (online) course about reptiles, amphibians, and being responsible stewards of the environment. The content is grouped into several categories, including introductory material, biology, natural history, classification, observation, human-animal conflicts, scientific methodology, conservation, and volunteerism.

Candidates must fulfill 20 hours of reading assignments, watch 20 hours of videos, and conduct 20 hours of self-led fieldwork. Once these are completed, students must pass an open-book exam demonstrating proficiency with the information provided.

Once these requirements are met, graduates are awarded a certificate recognizing them as a Certified Herpetological Guide. Besides being suitable for framing, this certificate may also give graduates an edge when applying for other educational opportunities or a position in animal or wildlife-related fields. 

Most importantly, though, this program aims to inspire you to develop a more personal connection to the natural world by deepening your understanding of the organisms that share our planet. 

A Quality Program from Experienced Educators

The core course material comes from our already-published textbook,  A Primer on Reptiles & Amphibians: A Collection of Educational Nature Bulletins. This book created a lot of buzz in the herpetological community and has nothing but 5-star reviews on every sales channel.

Additionally, THC's family of groups and pages on social media have a following of ~56,000 people who constantly report that they enjoy learning in our easy-to-read, family-friendly environments. Our staff has a collective experience level that exceeds:

• 550 years working with reptiles in the field
• 460 years of reptile and amphibian identification
• 220 years participating in conservation initiatives
• 76 years of medical experience
• 220 years of managing online learning
• 240 years of community outreach programs
• 350 years of direct animal assistance work (rescue and rehabilitation), and
• 250 years of science communication and interpretation

In particular, our primary content developer, Micha Petty, has been instructing adults and youth in various facets of herpetology for years, both online and in-person. He has also been developing and conducting herpetology workshops for Master Naturalist programs during this time. The International Herpetological Symposium selected Micha as the 2018 recipient of the Joseph Laszlo Memorial Award for demonstrating "new and exciting views and advances in herpetology." He is also editor-in-chief of The Natural World, president of the Louisiana Exotic Animal Resource Network, and currently sits as the chairperson of Herpetological Curricula for the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council.

If you have any apprehension about backing crowdfunding campaigns, please note that our creator has run multiple successful campaigns in the past and has always delivered all promised rewards. You can view the campaign that launched our textbook here.

Who is this course targeted to?

This course is meant for anyone who would like to learn more about reptiles and amphibians. If you enjoy learning and care about environmental stewardship, this course is for you!

Our textbook was written to appeal to the widest audience possible. This was a difficult task and involved some compromises (such as some words being at a higher reading level than might be optimal for our youngest readers and other sections being already-known information for our older readers), but the reaction from the public and academic community has indicated that this goal was achieved in as much as such things are possible.

On one hand, many readers are teens, tweens, and even younger (many of whom profess the Primer to be their favorite book). At the same time, the notable herpetologist, Dr. J. Whitfield "Whit" Gibbons (Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Georgia), had this to say about the Primer:

"If I were still teaching herpetology, the Primer would be required reading for all students, both graduates and undergraduates. I am going to recommend to others to do the same."

Here's some additional praise from some of the nation's top scientists in the field:

"I hope it gets, because it deserves, wide attention. It is a must-read for anyone, child or adult, interested in or just curious about herps or nature."  —Dr. Brian Crother; Professor of Biological Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University

"A truly extraordinary and exceptional website and a most remarkable effort to put this amount of herpetological information together. I commend Micha's thorough dedication to the teaching and welfare of herps.” —Dr. Stan Trauth; Emeritus Professor of Zoology, Arkansas State University

"This is an unusually broad primer on the subject, with very readable, illustrated, page-long essays on nearly every issue imaginable, within the topic. It would make a great gift for that budding herpetologist that every family has, somewhere." —Dr. Leslie V. Boyer; Professor Emerita of Pathology at The University of Arizona; Founding Director, VIPER Institute

• To read the scholarly review of the Primer from the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles,  click here.
• To read the Amazon reviews of the Primer,  click here  (spoiler alert- every single rating is 5-star!)
• Read even more reviews from scholars and everyday readers on the  Primer's landing page.

What You Get

Tuition covers all required materials to complete the course and gain certification. These include;

1. A digital copy of our award-winning textbook, A Primer on Reptiles and Amphibians: A Collection of Educational Nature Bulletins (in PDF format).
2. Access to numerous educational videos as they are created and posted.
3. Access to the completion exam once the learning requirements are met.
4. Access to scheduled live videos from the instructors.
5. Access to support via chat, email, and (when needed) telephone.
6. An elegant certificate mailed to you upon completion of the course and exam. 

As this is a discounted introductory tuition for a distance learning course, it does not include physical materials at this time.  However, we know that many backers may have the holidays in mind when supporting this project. For those who desire something tangible for the holiday season, we have a few options to meet that need.

1. We will be scheduling multiple live videos on and around Christmas where candidates can log in and be welcomed to the course. These orientations will provide an exciting opportunity for candidates to immediately feel that they are a part of this exciting program.
2. While a physical copy of the textbook is not necessary to complete the course, many CHG candidates may wish to have one of our elegant hardcover copies. You can select that perk from this campaign page and Priority Mail shipping is  FREE to all US destinations! 
3. Once the campaign reaches its funding goal, we will also be adding perks such as tee shirts and custom wildlife journals, so stay tuned to the campaign for updates! These will make great holiday gifts!

What will the money from this campaign be used for?

1. Content Creation
   Our learning model is based on getting perspectives from as many experts in the field as possible (hence the name "Collective"). We will be compensating these contributors for their time. The success of this campaign equates to more quality content we can offer to the students!
2. Audio and Video Equipment
   We aren't planning on going too crazy in this arena. Yes, people create popular videos all the time with no more than a cellphone, but there is a baseline amount of video equipment that will facilitate quality content that we hope to procure.
3. Routine Overhead
   Of course, there are a lot of mundane expenses that go into a program like this. Examples include costs such as incorporation, insurance, web hosting, editing software, and more.
4. Marketing
   Our vision is to develop and expand this program to make it a widely-used resource in a variety of environments. We are depending on you to help spread the word, but we also expect to utilize a variety of advertising routes to help get as many kids as possible fired up about valuing and conserving our natural heritage.
5. Referral Rewards
   We are offering monetary rewards to those who wish to help grow this program and expect this to be a substantial portion of our growth. Visit the FAQ section for more information on how to generate a unique hyperlink to participate in this opportunity.
6. Direct Animal Assistance
   The Herpetology Collective is being nurtured by the existing nonprofit  L.E.A.R.N.  L.E.A.R.N. operates a large wildlife rehabilitation and exotic animal rescue facility and is in desperate need of assistance to continue serving these animals. We hope to raise enough to contribute to the care of these animals and the continuance of this valuable organization, particularly since L.E.A.R.N. is fostering this program.
7. Mobile Application Development
   While we are capable of using free resources such as email, video hosting, conference rooms, etc., to provide the course materials and support for this program, we recognize that having a devoted app will drastically increase engagement and streamline the learning process. We have a blueprint for an app to suit our needs and hope to begin development from the proceeds of this campaign.

The Impact

Our sincerest hope is to encourage the upcoming generation to value and respect our natural heritage. In order to do so, we understand that they need to develop a personal connection to the natural world. Our intent is to interpret these resources to receptive young minds in a way that inspires them to take personal ownership in the conservation of our world.

All of the leadership involved in The Herpetology Collective shares this vision and is honored that you are considering being a part of this lofty goal.

Risks & Challenges