Staff Spotlight, Emily Scalco
Emily Scalco, Park Ranger
Emily was born and raised in suburban New York and has always loved working outside. At 18, she was a mail carrier for the postal service but yearned to be surrounded by nature rather than neighborhoods. At 19, she moved to Florida to attend college and pursue a career in environmental protection.
At 22, with two Environmental Science degrees in hand, she wasn't sure what she wanted to do with them until she drove by a prescribed fire being conducted along a scenic highway at a Florida State Park. With stars in her eyes, she applied to become a Park Ranger and accepted a position at Wekiwa Springs State Park where she has been working since 2019.
Emily's favorite aspect about working for the park service is being outdoors nearly every day and enjoying various wildlife sightings throughout the year. You'll see her on every prescribed fire she has the opportunity to work on, a dedication that earned her the park services' district three Top Burner Award in both 2021 and 2022! When she's not burning or clearing trails, you'll find her making repairs and improvements throughout the park, stopping occasionally to check the skies for migrating birds or the forest edge for snakes.
Emily's peers have seen her dedication first hand and her willingness to help in any circumstance is never unnoticed. She saw a need for trail maintenance at the Fechtel Tract portion of the Lower Wekiva River Preserver State Park. She worked hand in hand with the local volunteers who had been giving love to the park for years and she gave them support and resources to help bring the park to a beautiful state.
"Even when it's ridiculously humid and the bugs are out in force, I consider myself lucky to work under the sun and in the elements day after day in a place where Florida can be itself in perpetuity. It's a privilege to play a role in the protection, restoration, and interpretation of these lands." - Emily Scalco