Staff Spotlight: Donna Loomis

 

Whether you go hiking, riding, bird watching or kayaking in our conservation parks, you may not have had the opportunity to speak with our staff. More than 140 staff members staff and manage Hillsborough County's Conservation Parks and Nature Preserves, which are spread out throughout our county. This is an opportunity to meet and learn about the people who work hard to keep the County's conservation parks and nature preserves thriving and beautiful for all to enjoy. Our staff do everything from mowing and fence construction to prescribed fire, invasive species removal, ecological restoration, guided programs and more!

Just a walk from the Tampa Executive Airport is a park that’s just a little different from the rest. Eureka Springs Conservation Park stands out from our other parks and preserves because of its botanical gardens, stunning orchids, and rich history – a history one of our Park Rangers has seen bloom for nearly 35 years.

Eureka Springs' original sign, which Donna says she misses, and the greenhouse where you can find beautiful blooming orchids.

When we’re little kids we always find that one adult that just seems like the best person and we want to grow up to be like them, and to Donna Loomis that was her aunt. 

“My favorite aunt was a park ranger out west, and she was like a role model for me,” Donna says when asked why she had always wanted to be a park ranger.  

After working in landscaping and lawncare for a short while, Donna finally got that dream job in 1989 when she became a Park Ranger at Eureka Springs Conservation Park, and she hasn’t strayed since. She says the department changes,

“I feel like I’m one of the last original park rangers, I don’t recognize a lot of the faces anymore at functions” she says while she’s more ‘old school’ that changes happen and they’re usually for the better.  Right now one of the biggest challenges for her in the job is one echoed by many park rangers – “Keeping the park looking and running exceptionally while working with minimal staff.”

One moment of conversation with Donna and you can tell how much she loves Eureka Springs, she stops to talk to guests and offer them advice of where to picnic and what you cannot miss when visiting the park.  “When I first became a park ranger, I was so shy, but you really must get out of your shell. Now I talk all the time!”

When Donna isn’t at the park, she may be junking or antiquing, looking for hidden treasures to help her and her boyfriend renovate or decorate their 1905 home (ask to see photos, it’s gorgeous). She also takes long weekends to travel with her niece every year.

Donna’s advice to new staff seems so perfect when learning about her work, all 30+ years at Eureka Springs, “If you find a park that you enjoy working at, it wont be a ‘job’ and the years will go by faster than you know.”

And the best part of the job? Besides working in one of the most beautiful and unique parks, Donna says the best part of the job is “the regulars! A lot of my regulars were little children when I started, and they’ve grown up and brought their families, and some have even brought grandkids and it’s so neat,” she is beaming when she says this.

“They’ll say ‘that’s Miss Donna, she’s been here for forever!’”

Very few of us get to actually grow up to be that adult we admired, but Donna sure did. I bet that some of those kids meeting Miss Donna will be inspired by her to become park rangers one day, too.

Ranger Donna, and a blooming orchid at Eureka Springs.

You can still find Ranger Donna at Eureka Springs Conservation Park, she’s not leaving us just yet. She says there’s some four-legged regulars she’s sticking around for.

“The senior dogs, they might not even want to walk the park anymore but they still visit for treats from me, and I don’t want them to think I abandoned them!”

Seriously, Donna is a treat and we are lucky to have her.