Current Position: Interpretive Naturalist/Turtle Mountain Outdoor Learning Center Coordinator
How long have you been with North Dakota State Parks and in what capacity?
I have been working for the North Dakota Parks & Recreation Department for 2 1/2 years. Currently, I am the LMSP Interpretive Naturalist and the Coordinator for the Turtle Mountain Learning Center.
How did you become involved in working as a Park Naturalist?
After graduating high school in Mandan, ND, I moved to work as a waitress at the Cowboy Café in Medora, ND to make some money for college. Medora is a little tourist town that also home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. While working at the café, I became good friends with the park rangers that came in to eat. I always enjoyed listening to their stories and how much they loved their jobs. Ever since I was little, I loved being outside and never realized until then that I could get paid for working outside!
One day, the rangers came in and the café wasn’t very busy. Finally, I got time to sit with them and visit about career opportunities. I flooded them with questions about their education, how they got into their jobs as well as the steps I needed to take to get into the park system. That fall, I took their advice and registered for biology, ecology and botany classes. When the seasonal positions were advertised that winter, I applied and was offered an interpretive position at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Naturally, I accepted the position.
For the next few years, I worked summer seasonal positions for the National Park Service at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and went to college at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. I eventually got my bachelors degree in Natural Resources Management. As a summer seasonal, I worked as an interpreter, a biological science technician and a fire fighter. During that time, I led guided hikes, delivered interpretive programs, fought fires and assisted resource management with horse and buffalo roundups. While working as a biological science technician, I got to travel to other National Park Service sites such as Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Devils Tower, Scotts Bluff, Knife River Indian Villages and Fort Union to assist with their exotic plant management efforts. The best part was that I was able to not only work outside, but to also get paid to see these other park sites along the way!
In 2005, I accepted a full-time, year-round interpretive position at Cross Ranch State Park, near Washburn, ND. I was responsible for the interpretive programming as well as assisting with selling park passes and camping permits, canoe rentals, cabin reservations and training seasonal interpreters at other ND State Parks. Six months later, an interpretive position opened up at Lake Metigoshe State Park, near Bottineau, ND. I was offered and eventually accepted that transfer, which worked out as my fiancé (now husband) lived and worked in the area. I am now the Coordinator for the Turtle Mountain Outdoor Learning Center as well as the Interpretive Naturalist for Lake Metigoshe State Park.
Describe a typical day at your job.
(If there is no such thing as a typical day, then please tell us about your primary responsibilities and duties.)
My main job is to research and develop environmental education programs. Throughout the year, school groups can make arrangements to visit the center and take part in programs pertaining to outdoor living skills, birding ecology, canoeing and orienteering to name a few. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, my staff and I also deliver multiple interpretive programs during the weekends.
Other job duties include providing training to summer seasonal interpreters from the other state parks, apply for grant opportunities, represent our department at sport shows, attend teachers conferences to market the learning center, coordinate annual park interpretive events, provide assistance to seasonal interpretive staff, write press releases and other various duties around the park.
How many hours a week do you work in this position?
Usually, I work 40 hours a week but from April-August, it is common to put in 50 + hours a week. That is a busy time of year due to scheduling and putting on training, accommodating school groups, starting interpretive programs and bringing new staff on board.
What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy putting programs together to show people what I think is fun and exciting about the outdoors. Our facility takes pride in the fact that we teach people through interactive, hands-on activities. For example, for the orienteering programs, we do activities that enable people to actually use compasses so that they can develop a better understanding as to how compasses work. It’s satisfying to see that the participants think the activities are just as exciting as I thought they were when I first learned them.
What do you find to be the greatest challenges of your job?
One of the great challenges I face is budgets. There are so many educational resources, displays and activities that I would like to add to our current programming, but that all cost money.
What kind of training/schooling is required in your position?
A four year degree in biology, natural history or relating science. I’m sure a teaching degree would be accepted as well!
Is there any kind of training or general experience that you wish you had before taking your job?
I wish that I had more experience with regard to being a supervisor. I had never been a supervisor until I worked for this department and I think that some training and or general experience would have assisted me.
Some experience or training with grant writing would have also been beneficial as there are many opportunities for folks to obtain funding through grants. Your chances of securing those grants increases if you are effectively expressing your ideas and projects in such grant applications.