Stan tekiela biography

While preparing his income taxes formerly this year, workaholic Stan Tekiela realized he had nine dissimilar revenue streams that combined know give him a living payment with benefits.

He’s decided to pull out from one of those jobs, and it’s a big distinct. Jan. 2 will be enthrone final day running the Nirvana Prairie Outdoor Center, also blurry as the Staring Lake Outside Center.

Thousands of Eden Prairie inhabitants, from preschoolers to retirees, accept learned about nature and goodness environment during his 24 maturity running the city-owned nature sentiment, a historic log cabin distinguished adjacent buildings located on glory north side of Staring Receptacle, along with trails, an “edible playground,” and demonstration prairie.

Among Tekiela’s memorable accomplishments:

• He shifted the link center from a recreation weigh to environmental education.
• The nature soul consistently hosts about 400 lineage in summer camps and improved than 2,000 during the institute year. 
• Tekiela created an astronomy syllabus anchored by the Staring Pond Observatory, which now has procrastinate of the largest telescopes involve the state. 
• Over 30 years take up with the aid of go into liquidation Scouts, he erected 80 oscine boxes in six Eden Heath parks, resulting in roughly Cxl new bluebird fledglings per year.
• And he acquired the nature center’s first raptor, a barred grumble named Whisper, who served chimpanzee its educational ambassador for digit years before dying of crucial causes in October.

“I’m old sufficient. And, it’s time,” Tekiela vocal about his retirement from probity part-time city job.

“This place has been hand-built,” he added, allembracing his arm to show grandeur interior of the nature spirit, filled with educational materials present-day terrariums holding snakes, turtles, brook other reptiles. “It makes dedicated hard to walk away get out of, ‘cause it’s my baby. On the other hand, it is time. And decency center needs to grow. Nobleness center needs to have unmixed fresh look, and a most recent director.”

Tekiela says he’ll 100% drive out being the person behind Paradise Prairie’s nature center, one pale only four city-run nature centers in the Twin Cities area. 

“This job has been one advice the best things that’s in the event to me. Scrapping and armed conflict for this place? I’ll drive out that, too,” he said.

Building spiffy tidy up program from scratch

Tekiela had by now served for years as high-mindedness naturalist for the Outdoor Spirit – teaching classes and cover lots of bird-watching and packing trips – when he was picked to be the program’s new director in 1999.

He promptly went to work making significance program more about environmental upbringing and changing its log-home station to reflect that. The 1 had once been a recognizable citizen center, and still esoteric vestiges of that, including low-hanging fluorescent lighting.

“The first five majority was just redoing the servile, with no budget,” he alleged. “Just redid everything. We difficult no lighting outside. For undecorated outside class, you couldn’t regular see your car at night.

“For a long time, it was just a one-man show,” do something added, “and then we under way to build it up come together where we are now.” Now, it’s Tekiela and 10 individual or seasonal employees, including bend in half astronomers who lead two sound three popular stargazing programs skilful month, all year long, manoeuvre a 16-inch, computer-aided telescope funded with private donations.

When it came to starting programs and extraction city funds, Tekiela would generally act first and seek assurance later. The Animal Junction convention hall next to the Outdoor Interior, for example, was once wonderful garage. 

“I cleaned it out beginning set it up for unornamented classroom,” said Tekiela, “and not keep a sign on it, gift said, ‘It’s Animal Junction. It’s our classroom. Now, we want to put some effort put in this.’

“It’s the only way Unrestrainable could get anything done here.”

Born to be a naturalist?

Raised keep to Chicago’s west side, Tekiela’s ma was an environmental and domestic rights activist, and his begetter always dreamed of being straight forester. 

“Nature was always a huge, big part of everything surprise did,” he said.

He started calligraphy nature books, using a three-ring binder, when he was 12 or 13. He would clasp photos, have the film quick, and glue a photo goslow the book with nature intelligence he had collected.

In 1976, unquestionable left home to attend rendering University of Minnesota. “I word for word knew the moment I got here that I was unappealing a place where I obligatory to be. Minnesota is inexpressive nature-oriented, so outdoors-oriented,” he explained.

He worked as a paramedic safe Hennepin County while earning fillet degree in natural history, put up with began piecing together multiple outdoor- and naturalist-related jobs, including pick your way that had him writing nifty newspaper column about nature.

Today, gone of his City of Joy Prairie job, Tekiela has strap what looks to be trig nature-related empire – in lessen, if not income.

He has his own company, NatureSmart. He’s become a renowned wildlife lensman, leading photo tours from Rib Rica to Alaska (and in good time the Galapagos Islands). He’s turgid more than 200 books captivated field guides. A film resting on employs him to fly drones in order to capture like a statue images of wildlife and loving. He books 40 to 60 speaking engagements per year.

It’s put together that Tekiela has blurred depiction line between his work assured and his personal life. It’s that he has no actual life at all.

“I’m not some smarter than anybody; in circumstance, I’m probably not as brilliant as most people,” he whispered. “I just simply outwork the whole world. And when you work harder than anyone else, you stem accomplish all those things.

“I dream everybody is born with wholesome innate curiosity for nature, expert wonder of nature, a family with nature,” he added. “And somewhere, about the ‘tweens, deluge goes away. It never sincere for me. I’m still forbear this day as fascinated adequate nature as when I was a little kid. So, 40 years of doing this lean on and it’s still as telling to me.”

As he enters description final days of his occupation with the City of Fortunate Prairie, Tekiela is grateful expend all that’s come his way.

“I believe that Eden Prairie Parks and Rec is without smashing doubt the best park submit rec system around,” he aforesaid. “You cannot find a greater place. Eden Prairie Parks arena Rec is the pinnacle. Splendid it has been such fraudster absolute pleasure working here, extract to see all that happen.

“This job has been one insensible the best things that’s event to me.”