New naturalist plans new events, displays at Nature Center

By Kyle Troutman ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com

The Roaring River Nature Center has seen change stream in over the last year, with a new naturalist at its helm, new displays in its building and some new events aiming to attract park-goers.

Anna Skalicky, 23, a Springfield native and 2021 graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., is the new naturalist/resource interpreter at the Nature Center, replacing longtime naturalist Kelly Koch.

A frequent visitor to Roaring River in her youth, Skalicky was a seasonal employee in 2019, and her work with Koch then circled back to her now.

“I didn’t think I would leave Minnesota, but when the position was opening, Kelly let me know about it and even wrote me a letter of recommendation,” she said. “I love the outdoors, but I also love people. A lot of jobs working with people aren’t outside, and jobs working in the outdoors aren’t always around people. This is a perfect combination.”

An employee at an environmental learning center after graduating college, Skalicky said conservation has always influenced her career path.

“I’ve always wanted to work in conservation, so this is my way of being involved and getting others involved in the outdoors,” she said. “I grew up here and love the Ozarks so much and love getting people excited about Roaring River and Missouri.”

Skalicky began her duties in July 2022, jumping right into the busy season of events and running the Center.

“The offseason has been nice because I’m able to reorganize our archives and collections just to see what all we have,” she said. 

Changes in the Center include the addition of new display cases, which house live animals mostly captured at the park.

“We have a couple new display cases, and that will allow us to rotate our displays a little more,” Skalicky said. “We have a skull search display that is amazing, and we have a live tarantula, scorpion and skink. We’re still brainstorming all we can do, but it’s nice to have more display cases.”

Outside the walls of the Center, the event schedule will look mostly the same, but Skalicky is adding a couple of new events.

“We’ll do many of the same things like Eagle Day, Earth Day, H2Olympics and birding boot camp,” she said. “We’re also doing a wildflower hike at Big Sugar Creek and a nature journaling workshop. For that one, we are bringing in a Shoal Creek Nature Center person to help show us what nature journaling is and how to do it; then we will probably go to some spots in the park and practice.”

Another new event scheduled is Women in Nature, where women connect with nature through activities like fishing, hiking and archery. The program is also led by women employees of Missouri State Parks.

Skalicky said to make each event a success, the Center has been exploring ways to reach potential participants.

“One of the big things we are working on is figuring out the best outreach,” she said. “We’ve been using Facebook a lot, but we also want schools to know that programs here are free. In the summer and early fall we had several new groups come, so we will try to get more.”

The Nature Center is open from 10 a.m. to noon on March 1, and from March 2 onward, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Skalicky may be reached at the Center at 417-847-3742.