Falling In Love with Nature

I grew up here in Northwest Indiana. My childhood home was in a beautiful place, surrounded by woods and lakes. That’s where my love for nature began, I would spend most of my days playing outside. At the time, we had a creek in the woods in the back of our land. I used to go down there all the time, to play and explore for hours. I’d play “house” and pretend I had a home in the woods, collect bugs, make things out of mud, the possibilities were endless. There was always room to use my imagination. It didn’t matter the season, if there was time to play, I was outside. Hot summer days or cold snowy ones, I’d still be out there.

As I got older, I didn’t spend as much time outside. I would go hang out with friends, play sports, go to school football games --- typical teenager things. Nature was still something I loved, but I had found new interests. Even with my new interests I still dreamed of going to new places, camping, and exploring but I just never made the time for it, or it just never seemed possible.

 As an adult, I was lucky enough to find a group of friends that helped me turn those dreams I started to forget about into reality. We planned camping trips, went on hikes, and started taking road trips. They helped me remember the love that I had put on the back burner. I have visited many of our national parks here in the United States with them. I’ve climbed mountains, trekked through rainforests, seen bears and other amazing wildlife.

Honestly, I didn’t have a direction in my life until I started to immerse myself in nature. That’s when I truly began to fall in love. I fell in love with how hiking made me feel. If I was having a bad day, I knew getting out on a trail would make me feel so much better. I fell in love with learning, there is so much to learn about while outdoors. Tt’s never ending. There is always something that can spark curiosity.

 I started college when I was 25, at that point in my life I knew I wanted to become a Park Ranger. I was lucky enough to become a cabin leader for Dunes Learning Center in the summer of 2019. I was shy and timid, but I knew I wanted to do this. At first, the job was hard for me; I oversaw 8-9 kids every week. It felt like a lot of pressure. Once I started getting into it, it was a breeze. I loved hearing how the kids’ days went with the naturalists. I gained confidence; I was able to come out of my shell; I was able to learn how to make my voice heard.

After my summer at the Dunes, I knew I wanted to go back. I was hired in as a naturalist in the summer of 2020 after I graduated college. Unfortunately, that is when Covid-19 hit us. I felt at a loss, everything I was working for felt like it was just ripped away from me, but I did not give up my dream. I reapplied and started working as a naturalist in the summer of 2021!

 So far, I have learned so much and I am grateful to have this opportunity. I cannot wait to build my knowledge in this field and help make positive impacts on our youth. We have an amazing staff this year and I am so excited for you all to get to know me and my fellow naturalists. Things around here might look and feel different these days with Covid still looming over us… but fear not! We are still working hard to make unforgettable experiences for everyone.

Stephanie Husek

Interpretive Naturalist