As long as Sam (Samantha) Hanson can remember, she has always enjoyed the out-of-doors. That love makes her the right person for Wright County’s new naturalist, through the county’s conservation department. She was hired mid-April and will be residing in Belmond.
Hanson hails from Waterloo, where she graduated from high school. “I graduated from Hawkeye Tech with a two-year degree in the natural resources program,” she said. “Then I went to Upper Iowa for my next two years, graduating from the conservation management program.”
As a young kid, Hanson always enjoyed camping. “I participated in many backpack programs through the scouts, eventually leading some of them,” she said. “Kayaking and hiking are among the things I like to do, too.”
While this position in the county is her first full-time employment, Hanson has had a number of internships in the past five years. As a county employee, she will be a park ranger when she doesn’t have naturalist ‘gigs’. But she is full of ideas on what could be done in Wright County. “I look forward to getting back into the schools with programming, as COVID restrictions lessen,” she said. “But some classes, I would like to have outside. Like maybe taking groups snowshoeing.”
Because of the number of people camping at Lake Cornelia, Hanson would like to offer family and adult programs; night hikes, mini-hikes, outdoor cooking demonstrations and competitions; as well as outdoor movie nights a time or two a month at the park.
“I have found everyone to be welcoming with a willingness to help,” she said. “While it has only been a few days, I appreciate everything that has been shown or done for me.”
