From the time Maria Anderson started working at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center, she’s taken to her job with passion.

For a few years, she spent her time as an intern, learning the ropes of teaching classes and taking care of the center’s critters. Now she’s ready to move into a full-time position.

And it all started from necessity.

In 2010, the nature center’s intern accepted a job at Quarry Hill Nature Center in Rochester, leaving director/naturalist Larry Dolphin and office manager Julie Champlain in a tight spot just before the busy spring season of school field trips.

Dolphin and Champlin asked former intern Luke Reese to help spread the word. Reese knew Maria and told her about the job.

“Before I knew it, I was learning how to teach kindergarteners and take care of our hawk and owl,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s internship period was longer than the average intern’s one-year stint because she started in April 2010 and continued as the 2011 intern.

“I hadn’t expected to be asked to come back, but the need was there,” she said.

To stay in tune with her teaching skills, Anderson decided to work as a substitute teacher in the Austin Public School system in 2012, which gave her flexibility to come back and help at the nature center when she could.

It also left her summers open and when Dolphin asked her to come back as the 2012 summer intern, she told him, “I couldn’t think of anything else I’d rather do.”

Anderson was able to help out again in 2013 when photographer John Duren shortened his internship to pursue nature and wildlife photography full time.

Anderson said some of her favorite things about working at the nature center is the perk of getting fresh air and exercise, and enjoying the seasonal changes with school groups.

“It feels good to set an example for them of getting outside in all conditions,” Anderson said. “It’s fun to be outside with a group of kids and get really excited.”

“And even if it’s going to be a day in the office catching up on computer work, it’s really refreshing to start each work day with a beautiful view of the prairie glistening in the morning dew, or hoar frost on branches and pine needles,” Anderson added.

As a seasonal employee, Anderson’s duties include teaching, creating curriculum, writing and designing the newsletter, maintaining the center’s website and social media and helping visitors.

Things have only gotten busier since she first started, with new programs and keeping the public informed about those programs.

“When Larry was working on creating this new full-time position, he and I made a list of my responsibilities, and it really hit home why I feel so busy all the time,” Anderson said. “And since we have a small staff, we’re all pulled in many directions.”

Even when she’s working in the office, she’s always ready to help patrons with “anything and everything,” which might include handling the snakes, answering questions about renting the Ruby Rupner Auditorium, or identifying leaves, insects or birds.

Despite a long list of duties, Anderson said she’s excited to move to full time and doesn’t expect have many new duties added on, except to have more time to fully apply herself to the ones she already has.

Once the new $7 million interpretive center is completed, Anderson and the staff will have more teaching space, allowing them to add more field trips for schools outside of Austin.

“It’s nice to brainstorm ideas that fit my passions and have the staff support to go ahead and turn them into a class or program,” Anderson said. “That will be easier to do with more time to plan and prepare. Teaching is a big part of the position, with field trips throughout the school year and even busier summers.”

With her current seasonal position, Anderson said she has to watch her hours closely to make sure they have enough staff coverage for scheduled programs. Anderson, Champlin, Dolphin, current intern Ben Sherman and land manager Mike Goetz work all chip in and teach at the nature center.

“It will be nice to have that burden lifted,” Anderson said. “And just having more staff support to handle phone calls, visitors … will help everyone out. I think it will also save us time overall to not have me in catch-up mode all the time.”

The funding for her full-time position will be shared between the city and the Friends of the Hormel Nature Center for a few years and then the city will take it over completely.

Anderson hopes the Friends will also continue to budget for another seasonal position.

“When I compare our programming schedule to that of other area nature centers with more staff, it’s amazing how much we’re able to accomplish, but our staff is stretched thin,” Anderson said. “We always have community members coming in with great new ideas that they’d like us to try, but we just can’t physically do everything we’d like to do until we have more staff.”