20 Under 40: Clinton Nienhaus

Clinton Nienhaus, 27, Duluth

What do you do?

I’m an environmental educator and naturalist - the head naturalist with the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog and education manager at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. Non-paid roles include secretary and Education and Field Trip Committee co-chair for Duluth Audubon Society, and Young Birders Committee chair for the Minnesota Ornithologists Union.

Education

Bachelor of Art in environmental biology from St. Mary's University of Minnesota, Winona and Master of Education in environmental education from the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Community involvement

My community involvement stems from the work and volunteering I do through Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory and Duluth Audubon Society. The fall season at Hawk Ridge includes interactions with local school groups, adult groups and passersby. With Duluth Audubon, I lead field trips and programs. I’m active in the local and greater Minnesota birding and dragonflying communities.

Tell us about your loved ones

I am thankful for my parents and grandparents for their support and daily inspiration. My younger brother amazes me with his accomplishments. I am lucky and ever grateful to have found an amazing and inspiring partner in Kristina. I am doubly lucky to have found community in Duluth, and those friends are family to me.

What do you do in your free time?

Much of my free time is spent in the field with Kristina - hiking or snowshoeing, or chasing around dragonflies and damselflies, birding, looking for orchids or moths or butterflies or fish or reptiles and amphibians ... you get the idea! The outdoors take up much of my time, but the little that is left is filled with music, reading or exploring Minnesota's state parks with my sweetheart.

Tell us about an influential person in your life

One person that does tend to stick out time and time again was a professor who taught me at St. Mary's University, Dr. Phil Cochran. Dr. C, as we called him, passed away a couple of years ago, but there isn't a day that goes by where something I do hasn't been influenced by him. He inspired my brother and I to write our first publication and he allowed me to test my teaching chops by letting me teach a portion of an ichthyology lab, simply because he saw that I was able and interested in teaching. He truly is an inspiration in my life as being both an educator and a scientist.

What's the best decision you've ever made?

One of the best decisions I’ve made was joining the Phi Mu Alpha Music Fraternity at St. Mary's. It was great to be part of a group of folks as invested and interested in music as I was and continue to be. I met some astounding musicians and men in the fraternity and they made a major impact on my development as a person; pushing me outside of my comfort zone, little by little, and all the while being there to support me when those challenges seemed too great.

What is your biggest accomplishment?

It’s the role I play in this community as an environmental educator. When I am sharing a passion for all species, I can have an impact through small achievements that make a huge influence on people's lives: encouraging folks to take a longer look (or listen) at what is around them, or under their feet, or up in the sky. I hope that I can make the outdoors a place for lifelong learning.

What keeps you in the Twin Ports?

We are in a special part of Minnesota ecologically and many of the birds and bugs found here are unique. We also are amazingly lucky in this area to have an incredible environmental education community that collectively is doing special things.

Describe your happy place

One of my favorite places is the Driftless Area. This un-glaciated region - making up much of southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois - makes me incredibly happy; the ecology is diverse, as is the landscape. My other happy place can be found at Mounds View Grassland, in Iowa County, Wis. I spent two summers there doing prairie restoration work and got to intimately know every inch of the 576 acres of this incredible prairie complex. I grew up "on the prairie," as I like to say, and the wide-open spaces and compass plants on Mounds View Grassland sing to me constantly.

What’s your five-year plan?

I don't have a defined plan, honestly. I am in a pretty good place in my life and I hope I can stay in Duluth and continue to educate and inspire about the natural world.

What words of wisdom do you have for young adults?

Don't be afraid to take a chance on an opportunity outside of your comfort zone. This is one of the best pieces of advice I’ve received and it has resonated with me ever since.