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Natural Areas Training Academy Graduate Profiles
Robert Kluson
rkluson@scgov.net
Robert Kluson earned his Certificate in Natural Areas Management from NATA in December, 2003. At that time he was a land manager for the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program (ESLPP) of Sarasota County, FL. His land management responsibilities included the restoration of wetland and upland native habitats, the protection of listed species, and the implementation of public access and nature-based recreation. While conducting land management, he strived to develop and implement tools for sustainable land management, including community-based participation, ecotourism, and environmental education.
In March 2005 Robert joined the UF/IFAS Extension Office of Sarasota County as the Agricultural/Natural Resources Extension Agent. As part of his extension responsibilities, he strives to support the activities of the county land managers with educational programs, including the FL Master Naturalist Program and the Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program. He also is developing programs in sustainable agriculture to demonstrate the benefits and opportunities between ecological restoration projects and agricultural production, such as whole farm biodiversity conservation and connectivity to neighboring natural areas.
Robert earned a Ph.D. of biology in a multi-disciplinary program at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems Program of the University of California at Santa Cruz. At that time he participated in field studies of restoring agroecosystems and protecting natural ecosystems with sustainable agriculture. He completed a post-doc at the University of South Florida where his research looked at the restoration ecology of phosphate mine reclamation in central Florida. He has worked at the Florida Institute for Phosphate Research in reclamation research for 3 years.
