Emily Reyes

Emily Reyes is a park ranger and prescribed fire team member for the Wekiwa River Basin State Parks.

The mission of the Florida Park Service is: "to provide resource-based recreation while preserving, interpreting, and restoring natural and cultural resources." What role do you play in this mission?

I work in the Wekiva River Basin State Park system which consists of three properties: Wekiwa Springs State Park, Rock Springs Run State Reserve and Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park. These three properties consist of approximately 42,000 acres and are home to a plethora of cultural sites such as Indian shell mounds and turpentining plantations.

I help to fulfill the park service mission primarily by participating in prescribed fire operations that help to preserve and restore the natural and cultural resources these parks have to offer.

How does your heritage influence your experience in the outdoors?

My Puerto Rican father has always shared with me a love for nature and wilderness survival. At home, we had a garden filled with fruits and vegetables that we would harvest for dinner, and when we went hiking, we would try to identify edible and poisonous plants.

Sharing these experiences with him has strongly influenced my love for the outdoors, and I'm grateful to be able to spend each day working in the woods.

Any advice for Latinx who are interested in a career in conservation or recreation?

Learn all that you can about your area of interest. There are tons of volunteering opportunities at Florida State Parks and local environmental education centers. You can also sign up for environmentally-focused courses such as those offered by the Florida Master Naturalist Program that is available for anyone interested, no prerequisites required!

I've always enjoyed just going for a hike with the Audubon Field Guide to Florida book in hand to see what I can find and identify.