Schmeeckle Reserve Interpreters

Interpretive Consulting Services

Schmeeckle Reserve Interpreters is a consulting team based at UW-Stevens Point. We provide interpretive services to nature centers, parks, scenic byways, and other heritage sites nationally and internationally. Our team has a broad range of expertise and experience assisting clients in achieving their goals.

Our connection to the university makes us unique. Our team members teach interpretation courses at UW-Stevens Point, training the next generation of natural resources professionals. We operate an actual interpretive facility on campus, Schmeeckle Reserve. All proceeds from consulting directly fund Schmeeckle Reserve and students in the environmental education/interpretation program.

Our team specializes in:

Interpretive Master Planning: Comprehensive plans to document the visioning process and guide the development of interpretive facilities, trails, site plans, exhibits, outdoor media, publications, wayfinding, digital media, and other interpretive elements. Click here for more info.
Interpretive Media Design: Research, writing, image acquisition, graphic design, and fabrication of unified interpretive signs, exhibits, and publications that effectively share your stories. Click here for more info.
Interpretive Workshops and Training: Custom-tailored workshops and sessions that provide training in all aspects of interpretation. Click here for more info.

Team Members

Schmeeckle Reserve Interpreters consulting team

Left to right: Megan Espe, Jim Buchholz, Brenda Lackey

Jim Buchholz (jbuchhol@uwsp.edu)

Jim is the director of Schmeeckle Reserve, a 280-acre natural area on the campus of UW-Stevens Point. Growing up in the state park system of Wisconsin, he was inspired by naturalists and began leading public nature programs at a young age. He received his Master of Science in Environmental Education and Interpretation from UW-Stevens Point in 2002, and has been an integral member of the interpretive consulting team ever since. Jim has helped to complete over 30 interpretive master plans and media projects for a diversity of agencies and organizations. He assists in teaching several interpretation courses in the College of Natural Resources, and developed a series of hands-on lab sessions for the Interpretive Media course. He is co-author of The Interpreter's Handbook Series, a series of interpretive training guides sold internationally. Jim specializes in public speaking, interpretive planning, and media design.

Megan Espe (mespe@uwsp.edu)

Megan is the outreach coordinator at Schmeeckle Reserve. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in environmental studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She worked for eight years as a newspaper copy editor, writer, and editor. In 2013, she earned a Master of Science in Environmental Education and Interpretation from UW-Stevens Point and joined the staff and consulting team at Schmeeckle Reserve. Megan has worked on diverse interpretive media projects and master plans. She assists in teaching interpretation courses in the university’s College of Natural Resources, and specializes in writing and editing, media design, and interpretive planning.

Brenda Lackey, Ph.D. (Brenda.Lackey@uwsp.edu)

Brenda is a Professor of Environmental Education and Interpretation in the College of Natural Resources at UW-Stevens Point. Brenda brings 30 years of experience in the profession of heritage interpretation, working as an interpretive park ranger for the US Army Corps of Engineers, a program manager for Cleveland Metroparks, and an instructor of undergraduate and graduate interpretation courses at UW-Stevens Point since 2004. Brenda has worked on communication research in Yosemite National Park, collaborated on interpretation ideas with colleagues in Belarus, and worked with other various agencies and organizations throughout the US. She is a co-author of The Interpreter's Handbook Series. Brenda specializes in research related to environmental education and interpretation, and training in personal and non-personal interpretation.

Our Planning Philosophy

Planning is the process of consensus building, of achieving a shared perspective by all stakeholders of why interpretation is needed, who it will serve, and what significant stories it will tell. Answering these three basic questions, “why, who, and what,” is the foundation for developing a vision.

Why? - Establish the mission of the organization or agency and goals for interpreting the significant resources.
What? - Inventory the tangible resources of the site and describe their intangible meanings, then distill these tangibles and intangibles into unifying themes and messages.
Who? - Determine current and future visitors and the experiences they are seeking.
How? When? Where? - Based on the why, who, and what, plan and develop interpretive media and programs that best facilitate resource/visitor connections.

We are committed to working cooperatively with our clients to deliver an interpretive master plan that helps connect visitors to the significant meaning of the site.