Staff Spotlight: Danielle Ivey

Meet the amazing, dedicated staff who help to keep our nature preserves healthy, clean, and accessible!

Even if you go hiking, riding, bird watching or kayaking in our nature preserves all the time, you may not get a chance to talk to our staff too often. Fewer than 40 staff manage Hillsborough County's over 63,000 acres of nature preserves, so they're pretty spread out. We want to give you this opportunity to meet and learn about the people who work hard to keep the County's nature preserves in good shape. Our staff do everything from mowing, trash pickup, and fence construction to prescribed fire, invasive species removal, ecological restoration, guided programs and more!

For our first staff spotlight, we interviewed Danielle Ivey, one of our area coordinators. She oversees all of the nature preserves in the central area of the county, including favorites like Balm Boyette Scrub Nature Preserve, Alderman's Ford Nature Preserve, Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve, and many more! Danielle is a Florida certified prescribed burner, has spearheaded lots of ecological restoration projects, and manages the entire central region environmental land management team. She also creates some amazing nature-focused art in her free time, so we've included some of her drawings for your enjoyment.

Thank you, Danielle, for everything that you do for our public lands!

Pointillism moth drawing by Danielle

How did you get into this field?

When I was a kid I was a big nature nerd, always outside. I actually went into college thinking I was going to be an artist/animator, but I took an Environmental Studies class and I changed my major. I was so lucky to have found a job right after college working with St. Johns River Water Management on the Lake Apopka Restoration project. After that I was fortunate enough to find a  job with the Department of Environmental Protection doing regulatory work. This was by far the job where I learned how to try to balance the needs of individuals with the need of the environment. The two are not incompatible, but it takes a willingness for both parties to compromise. When I finally found a job in land management I believed I had found my niche and I have been working in Land Management for the last 13 years.

Danielle riding a horse in her fire uniform

What's your favorite thing about your job?

I like that things are different every day and there are a lot of challenges. One day you may be on a prescribed burn, talking to residents about what we do, planning a restoration project, or even good old mowing. There is no way you can get bored. Also, this job forces you to wear many different hats - you have to be good at making stuff work with what you have on hand like MacGyver and make sure you can finish your work in the field. We work with a lot of different equipment, so problem solving skills are a must.

Danielle working on a prescribed fire

What’s the biggest challenge you face at work?

Hands down prescribed fire in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Prescribed fire plays such an important role in many Florida ecosystems. As we build more and more houses it get harder and harder to burn. It is actually not the fire itself that is the problem, it is the smoke. It has to go somewhere, and we are quite careful to use the best conditions possible to make the lowest impact to our neighbors. Most residents understand the importance after it is explained to them. We also have a very professional, well educated fire team that make a big difference when applying fire in the WUI.

Danielle with her pup

What are some of your hobbies outside of work?

I still try to spend as much time outdoors as possible, so I love to hike, camp, cycle, kayak, and take care of my chickens. I also love to read and I am an artist, so I produce animal related art. I also had a nature journal club (we have not met in a while due to social distancing). Nature journaling is one of the best ways for people to learn about the nature around them. The best part is, you don’t have to be an artist or a scientist. You are going to draw, yes, and take scientific notes, so as you do both you will get better and better. It is really about learning and taking time to notice the details you haven’t noticed before. Just grab a notebook and your favorite writing utensil, walk out the door, and start observing. It is as easy as that.

Snake drawing by Danielle