Each year the Curator of Natural Lands chooses two or three junior or senior students who are familiar with the environment around campus and the Northfield area to be the college student naturalists. Student Naturalists are responsible for the following:
- Organizing and leading field trips related to the natural environment in the area.
- Creating and maintaining an information board detailing seasonal happening and natural events on campus such as tree plantings and phenology.
- Writing letters and articles to the Manitou Messenger and other publications to educate students and staff about the different aspects of the environment and local natural history.
- Organizing tree plantings and other restoration activities on campus.
- Creating environment educational opportunities for the community.
The Student Naturalists for the 2011-2012 school year are John Henn(henn@stolaf.edu), Christina Herron-Sweet (herronsw@stolaf.edu) and Rachel Wieme (wieme@stolaf.edu).
Jon Henn - I’m a senior biology major from Golden Valley, a Twin Cities suburb. My love for nature grew out of many summers at the cabin in northern Wisconsin, camping and backpacking trips to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, and building forts in the woods neighboring my home. A combination of classes and other experiences, such as studying scarlet macaws in Costa Rica last spring and working at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum last summer, have further increased my knowledge and appreciation of nature. I discovered the Natural Lands shortly after I arrived at St. Olaf and spending the summer of 2010 researching prairie and forest restoration projects at St. Olaf increased my awareness of the Natural Lands. I am very excited to have the opportunity to share the wonders that the Natural Lands provide with the St. Olaf community! After graduation, I hope to continue studying ecology most likely by pursuing a PhD in ecology.
Christina Herron-Sweet - I’m a senior environmental studies and music double major from San Diego, California. My love of wildlife and the outdoors started as a kid going to the San Diego Zoo with my grandma, helping my dad in our front yard vegetable garden, and vacationing in national parks with my family. My biology and environmental science classes in high school hooked me on the natural sciences, which led me to pursue an environmental studies major at St. Olaf. I was introduced to the Natural Lands in my first semester here when my first year writing class (writing about the environment) took a tour of the natural lands with former curator of Natural Lands Gene Bakko. Since then, I have immensely enjoyed the Natural Lands in many ways: running on the cross country trails, conducting restoration ecology research in the prairies and forests, taking pictures of wildflowers, and observing wildlife from the benches that overlook the wetlands. I plan to pursue a career in natural resource management or environmental education.
Rachel Wieme – I am a senior Biology and Spanish major from central Minnesota, where I spent much of my time on various activities outdoors. At the time, I did not realize that my love of nature would someday be the main driver of my career choices. Since arriving at St. Olaf I have had numerous opportunities, through various biology and environmental studies classes, to exercise my interest in learning about the natural systems in which we live as well as the impacts that humans actions are causing in these systems. This same interest, and the desire to share it with others who may have the same feeling, is why I became a student naturalist. I have had research experiences on the tallgrass prairies of Kansas, on an organic cacao farm in Costa Rica, and finally this past summer on restoration projects here on the St. Olaf Natural Lands. Although each one was a unique learning experience, together they have prepared me for the task of working on and sharing the natural lands with the St. Olaf community. I also hope to continue research in my future as I go on to graduate school after St. Olaf.
For more information on the student naturalist position at St. Olaf College, contact Dr. Kathleen Shea (sheak@stolaf.edu).
