Buena Vista County Naturalist, Katie van der Linden
My name is Katie van der Linden and I am the new naturalist. I am very excited to be here in beautiful Buena Vista County! I grew up in the small town of Belmond, Iowa, just a couple hours west of here in Wright County. I learned about nature from a small creek that ran close to my house, as well as spending a summer weekend at my grandparent's house on Spirit Lake. I graduated from Simpson College in 2009 with an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science. My studies in college focused on herpetology (the study of amphibians and reptiles), which has always been a passion of mine. After graduation I moved to Clinton County and spent the summer as their intern. After my internship ended, I spent a year at the Wapsi River Environmental Education Center (Scott County Conservation) as an AmeriCorps naturalist. Now I am very excited to begin my new adventure here in Buena Vista County!