Each year the Director and Manager of the Natural Lands choose several students to be the Natural Lands Technicians. Natural Lands Technicians are responsible for the following:
-Seed collecting from native plants
-Removing invasive plant species
-Maintaining trails
-Participating in Prescribed Burns
-Learning about land management
…and more!
If you are interested in working as a Natural Lands Technician, check the St. Olaf student employment job board for open positions. We typically hire for the upcoming school year late in the spring and openings are usually posted at the beginning of Spring semester.
- Visit our Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stolafnaturallands/
- Visit our Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/stolafnaturallands/
The Natural Lands Technicians for the 2024-2025 year are: Emma Coen-Pesch (’26), Lexi Daniels (’25), Fiona Kelley (’26), Jack Maurer (’26), Lucas Pierce-Ralph (’25), Osvaldo Rodriguez (’27), Kieran Sheridan (’25), Ismail Taariq (’26), Lucia Witzke (’27), Ava Craven (’25), Josaphine Nguyen , Alice Wagner-Hemstad, Cydne Lloyd, Sila Lilljedahl (’27), Yanchen Tamang, and Jenna Graph
Emma Coen-Pesch (she/her): Hello! My name is Emma Coen-Pesch and I’m a Music and Environmental Studies (Natural Science) major. I love being outside, I love spending time with wonderful people and I also love manual labor, these three passions intertwine for me as a Natural Lands Technician which is why I’m back for my third year in this position. Last summer I worked as a trail guide for youth in the BWCA and Quetico and I loved it! I have a passion for wilderness travel and youth development. I’m excited to continue maintaining the wonderful natural space we have on campus for myself and other students, staff and community members to enjoy and learn from!
Lexi Daniels (she/her): My name is Lexi Daniels, and I am from Big Lake, MN. I’m a senior majoring in environmental studies. This will be my second year as a Natural Lands Tech. I love walking through the natural lands, learning about new prairie plants, and catching frogs! The Natural Lands is my favorite place to destress, and I can’t wait for another year of maintaining such an important place for the St. Olaf community!
Fiona Kelly (she/her): Hi!! My name is Fiona, I am originally from Portland, Oregon. I am a SOAN and Psych double major and this is gonna be my second year as a Natural Lands techie! I love anything and everything about plants, if you ever see me walking around give me a plant fun fact or quiz me on my ID skills. Over the summer I worked teaching wilderness survival skills to kids and moved my friction fire PR to 45 sec 💪. My favorite board game is called Wingspan, my favorite tree is a western red cedar, and I am stoked to be in the Natty Lands all year! Hope to see you out there!
Jack Maurer (he/him): I’m a junior double majoring in Bio and ES, with a research interest in Forest Ecophysiology. I am from Madison, WI, and grew up romping through the natural landscape in Wisconsin where I found my passion for protecting the environment. This past summer I had the opportunity to work as a Horticulture Intern at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in my hometown, the same place where I had some of my first exposures to the world of plants as a kid. I also got to present some of the research I’ve done in the Natural Lands at a major ecology conference! Can’t wait for another year with this awesome crew.
Shay Pierce-Ralph (they/them): My name is Shay. I’m a Junior biology and environmental studies double major. I’m super passionate about plants and ecosystems and you can find me working at STOGROW this fall. Super excited to be joining the team for 2023.
Osvaldo Rodriguez (he/him): Hei!! I’m Osva! I’m a freshman doing an Environmental Studies and Norwegian major with concentrations in French and International Relations. I’m originally from Panama but went to school in Colombia and Costa Rica. I enjoy spending time among the trees and writing poetry about nature. I also love the sea and hope to be a marine ecologist someday so I can help save our oceans and learn about all the funky critters in it. This past summer I was a field intern for a herpetologist working for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. I spent my time helping him research frogs in the rainforest. During our fieldwork, we saw many animals, including one of the most venomous snakes in South America, the Bothrops asper!!! In my free time, I enjoy hiking, hanging out with friends, swimming, and reading. My favorite animals are the sea turtle and the tiger. I am super excited to learn all about the Natural Lands this year!!!
Kieran Sheridan (he/him): Hey! I’m Kieran, a senior environmental studies major. I love everything and anything to do with being outdoors and this is my third year covered in dirt from the Natural Lands! I love skiing (both Nordic and Alpine) and I can’t wait for the snow to fall. You can catch me hammocking outside on a hot day or probably romping the forests on the cool days.
Lucia Witzke (she/her): My name is Lucia! I’m an incoming St. Olaf freshman from St. Paul, Minnesota. I love going on hikes and being outdoors. I’m continually fascinated by the wide variety of things nature has to offer. In fact, my dream is to travel to all of the U.S. National Parks! Over the past few summers, I have volunteered with a professional gardener who shared her knowledge of native Minnesota plants and expanded what I knew about gardening as a whole. I’m excited to discover more about the St. Olaf Natural Lands this year!
Sila Liljedahl: My name is Sila and I am a sophomore from St. Paul, MN. I spent lots of time growing up walking in the woods along the Mississippi River, cross country skiing, hiking, paddling, and tromping around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, which has filled me with a love for Minnesota and desire to help protect the beautiful nature that we have here. In my free time I like to sing, go on walks, learn new card games and dilly dally! My second home is in Ely, MN, where I’ve spent my past few summers working at a family camp. I get to teach some art, help bring kids and adults into the northwoods, and deepen my relationship with the wilderness of northern Minnesota. This will be my first year working as a tech and I am so stoked to learn more about the natural lands!
Alice Wagner-Hemstad (She/Her): Hello! My name is Alice and I am a first year majoring in Biology and Environmental studies. I’m from St. Paul, MN. I enjoy spending time outside, gardening, and exploring new outdoor spaces. Other hobbies I have are reading, playing sports (especially basketball), and taking care of houseplants. I’ve spent summers in the north woods on Rainy Lake observing and learning about the natural life there. I care about the environment and look forward to contributing to the preservation of the natural lands and ecosystems at St. Olaf.
Josaphine Nguyen (She/Her): I’m majoring in Bio and Environmental Studies! A couple fun facts about me are that I’m a triplet, my favorite movie is Clue, and my favorite animal is a Prairie-Chicken!
Ava Craven: I am an Environmental Studies (Social Science) major with a concentration in Education. I am from Delafield, Wisconsin and my favorite biome is Oak Savanna or Boreal Forest. I love spending time outdoors, especially doing fun activities like mountain biking, birding, climbing, running, paddleboarding, really anything! This last summer, I worked as a CURI Researcher at the St. Olaf Bird Banding Station. Our project focused on Passerine (songbird) crèching (juvenile mixed-species flocking) within the midwest. It was an awesome experience that allowed me to better understand and conserve the natural world, just like our role as Natural Lands Technicians!
Taariq Ismail: I am a Junior majoring in economics (I know right, what am I doing in the natural lands?!). Despite that, I enjoy learning about the environment and I love working outdoors. The St. Olaf Natural Lands is one of my favourite spots on campus, and I’m excited to spend more time there this year. Overall this will be my second semester working as a Natural Lands technician. A fun fact about me is that I am also an international student from South Africa.
Cyd Lloyd: I’m a junior studio art major with a concentration in environmental studies. I’m from Albion, Idaho, and a fun fact about me is that I used to own three llamas. They got old and died.
For more information on the Natural Lands Technician position at St. Olaf College, contact Director of Natural Lands Charles Umbanhowar (ceumb@stolaf.edu).
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