About The Acorn Group

Blending the skills of nationally certified interpretive planners, designers, architects, educators, and artists, The Acorn Group offers services in interpretive and educational master planning, exhibit design, interpretive center design, playscape design, trail interpretive panel design, curriculum development, and program evaluation. Acorn Group projects have been recognized nationally, receiving such awards as the Exhibit Design Award, Print and Media Design Award, and Interpretive Media Award by the National Association for Interpretation, Best of Show by the Western Fairs Association, Award of Excellence by the California Parks and Recreation Society, and National Education Award by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. The Orange County League of Conservation Voters presented The Acorn Group with the Orange County Environmental Business of the Year Award. The Acorn Group, in collaboration with The Laguna Canyon Foundation and SoLa Creative, received the First Place Interpretive Media Award from the National Association for Interpretation for design of Nix Nature Center. 

The Acorn Group was established in 1990 and incorporated in the State of California. It is certified as a Small Business and Women's Business Enterprise.

Our clients are diverse, ranging from government agencies to private and non-profit institutions. Project sites include visitor centers, ecological reserves, museums, botanical gardens, zoos, parklands, educational institutions, parks and trails. Our projects hold in common a celebration of cultural and natural history and a message of stewardship. 

Capabilities include development and management of interpretive master plans and feasibility studies; architectural and graphic design of exhibits, interpretive panels, and other media; large-scale curriculum projects and environmental education initiatives; development of trails and playscapes; evaluation studies (front-end, formative, and summative); and professional development in the fields of environmental education and environmental interpretation. 

Recently completed projects include exhibit planning and design for Garvan Woodland Gardens, Placerita Canyon Natural Area, Cooley Landing, and West Basin Municipal Water District’s new Water Education Center. Other projects include interpretive panel design for Lodi Lake Park, Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, PlayCore, Orange County Historical Commission, Big Canyon Creek in Newport Beach, Dana Point Headlands, George F Canyon Nature Center, White Point Nature Preserve on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and Agua Hedionda Lagoon's Discovery Center.

The Acorn Group, in association with the State Education and Environment Roundtable, completed a six-year project developing the K-12 Curriculum for the State of California’s landmark Education and Environment Initiative. The initiative mandated the development of a unified education strategy to bring education about the environment into California's primary and secondary schools. It required working closely with the State Board of Education, the Office of the Secretary of Education, the Curriculum and Supplemental Materials Commission, The State Department of Education, California Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Natural Resources Agency. The initiative received unanimous approval by the State Board of Education, a first for environmental education in the state. The Acorn Group also served as project manager for California's master plan for environmental education (Education & the Environment: Strategic Initiatives for Enhancing Education in California, CDE Press); the State Curriculum and Compendia Project; and the Unified Education Strategy on the Environment (Senate Bill 373).

Current projects include interpretive planning and design for Quail Hill Community Center (California), Alameda Creek Watershed Center (California), River Oaks Park (California) and Randall Davey Audubon Center (New Mexico). Other projects include interpretive panel design for Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Santiago Oaks Regional Park, Wilmington Drain, Deforest Wetlands, and Chadwick School's Green School Initiative.

Our Approach to Interpretive Planning

Interpretation is a communication strategy used to help visitors form meaningful connections with extraordinary places. Effective interpretive experiences provoke visitor interest, relate the significance of the message to the visitor’s everyday life, and provide a genuinely enjoyable encounter.  

Interpretation moves beyond the presentation of factual information to reveal larger messages through thematic communication. Themes—key messages that resonate with visitors, spark connections, and inspire supportive behaviors—ensure that visitor experiences at a particular site are both memorable and meaningful. Themes take the tangible, physical qualities of a site’s resources and transform them into portals to their intangible meanings—and, over time, build understanding, appreciation, and support for the land’s unique story among visitors as well as the community at large. 

At The Acorn Group, we believe that interpretive master planning, by its very nature, should ensure that designs, products, and services are cost-effective, seamlessly integrated with site design, and able to evolve over time and generate the goodwill and material support vital to an institution’s long-term success. A quality interpretive planning process creatively addresses the management objectives of the client, other relevant planning efforts, the needs and interests of visitors, input from the surrounding community, and the long-term needs of the site itself. Our planning process bears this in mind. We analyze the physical conditions. We capitalize on the opportunities and we transform the challenges. In client meetings, charrettes, and front-end evaluation work, we strive to create forums for open, honest discussions. Last, we create thoughtful and comprehensive, and creative planning tools that support the visitor’s experiences over long-term implementation.  

Company Philosophy

The Acorn Group is committed to delivering the finest services and products related to environmental interpretation and education. We enjoy the challenge of fulfilling the interpretive and educational needs of visitors and agencies while promoting stewardship of natural and cultural resources. We bring with us extensive knowledge of interpretive planning and frequently work with clients who are tasked with merging the needs of constituents with sensitive resource management issues. We also bring extensive knowledge of environmental education, both in theory and practice, and exercise care in the development of programs and policies that enlighten without advocacy.

The Acorn Group is well known for its professionalism and range of capabilities. Twenty-one years ago, the company was founded on the tenets of integrity, innovation, and responsibility. We consistently reflect these values in every project we undertake, regardless of scope and size. Together with its partner company, Acorn Naturalists, The Acorn Group seeks to strengthen the capacity of educators, interpreters, and naturalists to deliver programs that forge connections between natural and human communities. Ultimately, our goal is to advance environmental literacy through inspiration and knowledge.

The Team

Jennifer Rigby

Director of The Acorn Group, Jennifer Rigby’s training and experience have earned her a reputation for creating effective, dynamic educational and interpretive experiences. Her projects are nationally recognized, earning awards for Exhibit Design, Print and Media Design, and Interpretive Media Design from the National Association for Interpretation (NAI); Best of Show from the Western Fairs Association; Award of Excellence from the California Parks and Recreation Society; and the National Education Award from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. She is the recipient of the 2002 California Project Learning Tree Award for Service to Environmental Education, the 2002 California Institute for Biodiversity Educator of the Year Award, and the 2005 Howard Bell Award for outstanding achievements and contributions as a leader in the field by the Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education.

Jenny is a founding member of the National Association for Interpretation (NAI). Currently she serves as a member of the board certification team for that organization, as well as the ad hoc California State Environmental Literacy Plan committee. She is also a board member of American Trails, a national organization dedicated to the creation, conservation, and enjoyment of quality trails and greenways.

Jenny has served as an advisor on several national curriculum projects, directed the California Department of Education curriculum and compendium project, and served as project manager of the California Plan for Environmental Education and Senate Bill 373 (School Diversion and Environmental Education Law) and as co-consultant on Assembly Bill 1548 (the Education and the Environment Law.

Her background includes teaching in formal and non-formal institutions, including zoos and aquaria; interpretive writing, exhibit and graphic design; and program evaluation, research and training. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social ecology, master’s degree in education, and two California teaching credentials. She is certified by NAI as a Certified Interpretive Planner. When she isn’t writing about the outdoors, she’s likely hiking in it with her family. 

James Freed

James Freed is a gifted exhibit designer with 13 years in the industry. His specialty is conceptual design and three-dimensional development of educational exhibits. A skilled draftsman and illustrator, he also has a background in architectural design. Jim grew up in the Bay Area and earned a BFA in Illustration at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.  

Kris Whipple  

Kris Whipple began teaming with The Acorn Group as an interpretive planner in 2006, lending assistance with the interpretive master plans for Garvan Woodland Gardens and the State of Oregon, Coos Bay Region, and statewide assessment of education and interpretive programs for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Currently, Kris is conducting interpretive training workshops throughout the South and East, and helping develop the interpretive master plan for the Alameda Creek Watershed Center.

Her diverse background includes 25 years as a field naturalist, park ranger, education specialist, trainer and curator in parks, museums, zoos and aquariums.  Most recently, Kris served 14 years as the education curator for Group Programs for Walt Disney World Animal Programs. In this capacity, she was responsible for leading the education teams at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, The Living Seas, Disney’s Discovery Island and Disney’s Wilderness Adventures, as well as interpretive training programs for Walt Disney World Animal Programs and environmental programming at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney Vacation Club, Disney Cruise Lines and The Disney Institute.

Laura Stahlberg 

Laura Stahlberg has been creative director with The Acorn Group since 1996, bringing both expertise and over a quarter century of experience in the graphics industry. Laura is responsible for design and production development and coordinating media selection, commissioned art, and photography for The Acorn Group's projects.  She travels to numerous trade shows throughout the year to search for new and innovative fabrication media. Her work is showcased in The Acorn Group portfolio. Like others within The Acorn Group, Laura thrives in the outdoors—she volunteers as a docent for the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, The Nature Conservancy, and Crystal Cove State Park and serves as a board member for Laguna Greenbelt, Inc.

Her current projects focus on designing interpretive media for the Quail Hill Community Center, Bolsa Chica Wetlands, Santiago Oaks Regional Park, and the Orange County Historical Commission.

Brian Burton

Brian Burton is a graphic designer for The Acorn Group. His areas of expertise include interpretive panel design and production, as well as design and production of brochures, catalogs, ads, and packaging, design and implementation of corporate identity and standards, magazine layout and production, website design, and creative art direction of books.

External clients of Brian Burton range from Fortune 500 companies and advertising agencies to small businesses and nonprofit organizations.  They include Shea Properties, the University of California, Irvine, and Insight Investments. With more than 25 years experience, Brian’s work has encompassed hundreds of logos, brochures, posters, and packaging, and recently, interpretive panels and other media related to outdoor interpretation of natural and cultural history. Brian’s creative talents can be seen in work created by The Acorn Group for the Dana Point Headlands, White Point Preserve, Coral Mountain Discovery Park, Agua Hedionda Lagoon and Discovery Center, Environmental Nature Center, Big Canyon Creek Nature Park at the Upper Newport Bay, West Coyote Hills, and Laguna Lake Park. In addition to digital art, Brian works with traditional art methods, such as pencil, ink and airbrush.