Okoboji, Iowa (NorthwestIowaNow.com) — Dickinson County Conservation has a new face on the team.

Ashley Tieden has joined the staff as the new Naturalist. She tells KICD News she is an Iowa State graduate who developed her love for the outdoors growing up near Rathbun Lake in Southern Iowa.

Tieden says she has already hit the ground running, working on educational programming for all ages—including residents at retirement homes and local preschoolers.

Looking ahead, Tieden says she wants to focus on wetland ecology. She also hopes to use her position to change public perception regarding some of the area’s less cuddly creatures.

You can meet Tieden at the Dickinson County Nature Center in Okoboji.