Volunteer Spotlight
Jacquelyn “Jackie” DeGayner
Jacquelyn “Jackie” DeGayner became a volunteer at Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park because a Key Largo neighbor, Bunny, asked her if she was interested in native plants. Bunny, a park volunteer now for over 20 years, invited her on a seed collection walk at the park with then park biologist James Duquesnel. It happened to be the day that a ceremony was being held at the park to honor Dagny Johnson, and Jackie got to meet the park’s namesake. Jackie, who already had an interest in native plants, was hooked, but one could say the park chose her!
Jackie grew up in Flint, Michigan, and now lives, from May to October, in Swartz Creek (near Flint), 60 miles southwest of Chicago. She and husband Ralph first visited Key Largo in 1979 and continued to visit every year for a few months. When Ralph (who has also volunteered for the park) retired in 1987, they came every year from November to April to enjoy the winter weather.
As a child, Jackie lived on 10 acres and she loved walking around and seeing the wildlife. The family raised acres of gladiolas and vegetables that they would sell roadside every autumn. She learned early how to plant, weed, harvest and distribute.
Jackie is a dedicated and hard-working volunteer. Since 2002, she has been the manager of our nursery volunteer crew and has logged over 7,200 volunteer hours, some done administratively from her summer home. Jackie loves teaching people! She loves educating people about native plants and seeing them have a new appreciation for nature. She has been an ambassador for the Florida Park Service in her volunteer role, attending many events and consulted by people and organizations in the community as well as by other parks.
Jackie finds her inspiration in seeing a restored area of the park where she helped collect the seeds, plant and grow them in the nursery, and then organize the planting of the area.
Jackie recommends that visitors walk the trails, appreciating that this is one of the only places in Key Largo where you can enjoy the quiet, while listening to the birds and seeing all that nature has to offer. Jackie invites you to take part in the opportunity to volunteer!