Kimberly Rohling

Kimberly Rohling joined the Franklin, Jackson, Perry, Randolph, and Williamson County Extension unit as a horticulture educator in 2022. In her current role, Rohling coordinates, leads, and trains volunteers in the Master Gardener and Master Naturalist programs. Rohling also manages a food donation garden within the local community. She is available to assist the community and answer questions on various horticulture-related topics, including home gardening, birdscaping, wildlife-friendly gardening, invasive species, and integrative pest management.

Rohling began her work with Extension in 2020 as a program coordinator in Alexander, Pulaski, Johnson, Union, and Massac counties. She earned her master’s degree in Zoology from Southern Illinois University in 2019, where her research focused on the demography, home range, and macrohabitat selection of state-threatened ornate box turtles. While earning her master’s degree, Rohling received the 2014 Florence M. and Charles L. Foote Award for Outstanding Teaching Assistant in Zoology. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Oceanography and Environmental Studies from Eckerd College in 2008. As an undergraduate student, she was a 2006 NOAA Hollings Scholar who researched amphibians at Elkhorn Slough National Research Reserve.

Prior to her time with Extension, Rohling worked as a Conservation Worker at Cache River State Natural Area and Dixon Springs State Park for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). She worked as a Conservation Education Representative for two consecutive seasons at the Barkhausen Cache River Wetlands Center for the IDNR. She played a role in the development and implementation of environmental programming. She also served as a Land of Lincoln/Southern 7 AmeriCorps Member at Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, assisting with bald cypress-tupelo swamp restoration, environmental education, and biological technician work.  Rohling has also worked as a field technician or research assistant for noteworthy organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, Great Basin Institute, Lake County Forest Preserve, Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Nevada-Reno, University of South Florida, and Eckerd College.