What does a naturalist do?
Naturalists are people who educate the public on environmental-related matters. The core responsibilities of this position are preserving, restoring, maintaining, and protecting natural habitat. Other duties performed by a naturalist are; guide work, conducting field studies of local and natural habitats, educating and providing the general public with recreational activities, assisting with administrative tasks that relate to parking admission, and leading and offering guidance during trips and nature walks for both adults and children.
Naturalist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real naturalist resumes:
- Lead tour groups on both bicycles and kayaks, man small retail/rental outlet as only staff person.
- Act as primary historian for all tour groups, ages k-12.
- Assist with naturalist guide hikes, canoe tours and general outdoor learning activities.
- Supervise canoe trips, nature walks, park cleanups, and volunteer groups.
- Develop outdoor survival skills, including first aid and fire / shelter building.
- Organize, implement and execute promotional meetings with various NYC public and charter schools.
- Serve as a naturalist for the center's environmental education programs, train in first aid and CPR
- Specialize in teaching skill building courses such as: canoeing, archery, GPS, and team building courses.
- Perform GPS field mapping of Canada thistle, process GPS data, and used GIS for analysis and mapping.
- Communicate and coordinate with DEP employees and volunteers.
- Guide tours through the aquarium and rainforest pyramids.
Naturalist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Naturalists are proficient in Nature Programs, Cultural History, and CPR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Management skills, Physical stamina, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Naturalists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Nature Programs, 14%
Developed and ran educational nature programs to ages that ranged from 4 to 12 years old and included children with disabilities.
- Cultural History, 11%
Present interpretive commentary on the cultural history, natural history and general ecology of the Pacific Northwest.
- CPR, 9%
Completed all NPS IT training, defensive driver, first aid, & CPR training as required.
- Natural History, 7%
Designed, edited, and produced a variety of educational tools for use in natural history and environmental conservation programs.
- Outdoor Education, 4%
Assisted in community outreach and outdoor education programs.
- Public Speaking, 4%
Gained great presentation skills and enhanced public speaking abilities.
Common skills that a naturalist uses to do their job include "nature programs," "cultural history," and "cpr." You can find details on the most important naturalist responsibilities below.
Management skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a naturalist to have is management skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "conservation scientists and foresters must be able to lead the forest and conservation workers and technicians they supervise." Naturalists often use management skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assist with resource management including weekly shorebird surveys, monthly water quality monitoring and animal rescue. "
Physical stamina. Many naturalist duties rely on physical stamina. "conservation scientists and foresters may walk long distances in challenging terrain, such as steep or wooded areas, and may work in all kinds of weather conditions.," so a naturalist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways naturalist responsibilities rely on physical stamina: "developed and delivered educational programs related to environmental and physical science, health and fitness, and cultural education. "
Analytical skills. For certain naturalist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "analytical skills." The day-to-day duties of a naturalist rely on this skill, as "conservation scientists and foresters must be able to evaluate results from field tests and experiments to determine potential impacts on soil, forest lands, and the spread of fires." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what naturalists do: "help collect data of sites to determine water quality. "
The three companies that hire the most naturalists are:
- Indiana State Police2 naturalists jobs
- Americorps2 naturalists jobs
- University of Washington2 naturalists jobs
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Compare different naturalists
Naturalist vs. Park activities coordinator
Park Managers are responsible for overseeing the operations of parks. Their duties include organizing work schedules and assignments, supervising park maintenance activities, conduct park inspections, and assess revenue channels. They are also responsible for administering park programs, facilitating park constructions, and helping staff training and recruitment initiatives. Park Managers also assist in resource protection services as well as educational outreach operations. They collaborate and foster good relations with the government, local communities, and non-profits in managing natural resources.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between naturalists and park activities coordinator. For instance, naturalist responsibilities require skills such as "nature programs," "cultural history," "natural history," and "outdoor education." Whereas a park activities coordinator is skilled in "traffic flow," "traffic control," "patrol," and "customer service." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, park activities coordinators reach similar levels of education than naturalists. Park activities coordinators are 2.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Naturalist vs. Park superintendent
A park ranger is responsible for maintaining and protecting the natural ecosystem landscape and coordinating with environmental organizations to develop strategies and programs to stabilize the condition of the lands. Park rangers conduct data analysis and research to improve agricultural integrity by utilizing adequate resources through scientific testing and investigations. They monitor the activities of landowners and other businesses that may pose risks to the environment. A park ranger should have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as extensive knowledge of environmental programs and conservation.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that naturalist responsibilities requires skills like "nature programs," "cultural history," "cpr," and "natural history." But a park superintendent might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "grounds maintenance," "equipment maintenance," "resource management," and "osha."
Park superintendents earn similar levels of education than naturalists in general. They're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Naturalist vs. Park manager
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, naturalists are more likely to have skills like "nature programs," "cultural history," "natural history," and "outdoor education." But a park manager is more likely to have skills like "payroll," "human resources," "public safety," and "customer satisfaction."
Most park managers achieve a similar degree level compared to naturalists. For example, they're 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Naturalist vs. Park ranger
Even though a few skill sets overlap between naturalists and park rangers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a naturalist might have more use for skills like "nature programs," "outdoor education," "public speaking," and "environmental science." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of park rangers require skills like "patrol," "customer service," "public safety," and "rangers. "
In general, park rangers hold similar degree levels compared to naturalists. Park rangers are 1.3% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of naturalist
Updated January 8, 2025
