By: Emanuela Marquis-Torres, June 2024.
I am excited to join the Florida Springs Institute team and community as their SpringsWatch Coordinator, continuing to connect people through science and outreach to our springs. Organizations like the Florida Springs Institute play a crucial role in springs education and awareness, and I am eager to contribute.
I was very lucky to grow up in Gainesville near hundreds of springs and surrounded by beautiful places. I visited a few state and national parks throughout my childhood but despite living nearby, I didn’t get the chance to visit a springs until I was in high school. It wasn’t until my internship with a waterway cleanup organization while earning my undergraduate degree that my curiosity for Florida’s unique habitats and the interconnection between people and the environment was sparked.
Prior to diving into this position with FSI, I worked for various environmental nonprofits, including Justice Outside, the National Park Service, and the Florida Park Service. In all these positions, I managed volunteers and seized every opportunity to do field work or be outside. From working on prescribed fires, testing water quality, conducting turtle surveys, banding birds, removing invasive plants, and conducting trash surveys, I am eager to learn and make a positive impact.
Whether kayaking during a trash cleanup on the Santa Fe River, recreating down the Ichetucknee, walking the La Chua trail to see the Alachua Sink, or simply drinking a glass of water, water is a significant part of my life and all of our lives. It is the most important resource in Florida and needs protection.
I look forward to seeing the positive change we can make when we work together.
