Florida Master Naturalist
Type: Nomination of a group, possibly including the nominator
Category: Achievement - Early Career Leadership
Early Career Leadership Award Narrative
Nominator: Richard Tyson, Orange County Extension Director
6021 South Conway Road, Orlando, FL 32812, 407-254-9201, rvt@ufl.edu
Nominee: Jennifer Ramos, Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Courtesy Agent
6021 South Conway Road, Orlando, FL 32812, 407-254-9224, Jennifer.Ramos@ocfl.net
Jennifer Ramos began employment in Extension three years ago as the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Courtesy Agent. During the past three years Jennifer has expanded the FYN program to include classes that focus on the use of native plants and the attraction of wildlife through the creation of native habitats within the urban landscape. While serving as the FYN agent she searched for other ways to enhance her program and found the Florida Master Naturalist program. After submitting her application she was accepted as the lead instructor for The Florida Master Naturalist program from IFAS. She manages to offer at least two, sometimes three Florida Master Naturalist courses per year while continuing to offer FYN classes throughout Orange County. In order to combat water consumption and water quality issues, she partnered with the Orange County Utilities and the Florida Nursery, Growers, and Landscape Association to conduct yearly classes to employees of Home Depot and Lowe’s stores. Employees of these stores are seen as a major point of contact for residents so Jennifer developed level 1 and 2 Power Point presentations for Spring and Fall focusing on the major concerns with water, fertilizer and pesticides so that the employees may pass University of Florida research and information to customers. Jennifer was awarded the “Best Partner Award” for her efforts by the Orange County Utilities and her programming for these classes and her Florida Master Naturalist classes have received great reviews by attendees.
Jennifer has changed the format for the Florida Master Naturalist courses. She includes more field trips with lectures from field professionals from Orange County Environmental protection Division, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and other related biological entities. Her field trips not only encourage the study of the habitats ecology but the urban pressures on natural communities. She has created her own color field manuals / reference guides for her students as well as field assignments that the students must finish so that the answers can be discussed during the various field trips. She has also created two types of “Habitat Matching Games” which the students play on the first day and again on the last day of the course. The game utilizes plant and animal information from their workbooks that they must match to specific habitats. Each FMNP student must take a pre and post test for each upland, wetland and coastal module.
She has also been asked to conduct homeowner Best Management Practices classes for the Orange County EPD to combat water quality issues facing most of Orange County’s water bodies. She has aggressively sought to conduct classes in areas specified by Orange County EPD that are the highest priority as measured by their water quality data. In order to increase class attendance she has marketed the programming through water bill announcements and mailers to community churches, HOA’s and even to individual homeowners. She has focused on the need to change management practices for ponds and lakefronts by increasing the percentage of littoral zone vegetation and wildlife habitat and how to correctly maintain septic tanks and urban landscapes. She was one of the authors for the EDIS publication “Adopting a Florida Friendly Landscape” and has created many presentations and other materials such as:
Exhibits -
“Who Lives in a Tree” exhibit / lesson developed for elementary schools
Power Point presentations –
1 Water Conservation. Developed for Apopka 3rd grade program – 2010
2 Edible Landscaping – Developed for Eco-Nomic Expo and Winter Park Library - 2010
1 FYN Principles and Design – Developed for HCE program – 2010
1 Florida Friendly Landscaping – Developed for OCU and FNGLA program – 2010
1 Florida Friendly Environmental Landscaping – Developed for FFL Env. program – 2009
5 Florida Yards & Neighborhoods – Developed for Orange County Environmental Protection Division and Home Depot/Lowes training – 2009
1 Waterwise Landscapes – Developed for Liz Felter Landscape Design program – 2009
Radio and TV
Central Florida Gardening – Developed for Orange TV with Celeste White and Tom McCubbin – 6 segments -450,000 viewers airing 18 times per month – Examples: Plant Selection, Right Plant/Right Place
Water Use Interview – Developed for Orange TV with Terri Thill - 10,000 viewers
Better Lawns and Gardens Interview – Developed for Tom McCubbin radio show -20,000 listeners
Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Overview – Developed for Orange TV for Orange County Neighborhoods Services – 18,000 viewers
Native Florida Edibles – Developed for WHDO TV channel 38 - 80,000 viewers, airing 4 times
Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Overview – Developed for Trinity Broadcasting Network WHLV TV 52 – 125,000 viewers, airing 5 times
Fact Sheets
2010. Pine Habitat Field Trip Exercise. Orange County Florida Master Naturalist
2010. Hardwood Habitat Field Trip Exercise. Orange County Florida Master Naturalist
2010. Scrub, Prairie, Rangeland Habitat Field Trip Exercise. Orange County FMNP
2010. Marsh Habitat Field Trip Exercise. Orange County FMNP
2010. Swamp Habitat Field Trip Exercise. Orange County FMNP
2009. Fertilizer Application. Orange County
2009. Slow Release Calculator. Orange County
2009. Wetland ID Guide. Orange County FMNP
2009. Upland ID Guide. Orange County FMNP
2009. Ecological Vocabulary Exercise. Orange County FMNP
2009. Wetland Field Trip Exercise. Orange County FMNP
2009. Upland Field Trip Exercise. Orange County FMNP
Jennifer frequently offers on site consultations whether they are one on one or with a group. Last year she was conducting classes in the Apopka area. An attendee asked Jennifer to consult on a landscaping grant from Lowe’s to an Apopka elementary school. The school was an older school with a decaying landscape. Jennifer had met with the school’s principal and initial contact to discuss the situation. She then conducted soil tests and a site analysis and then drew up a preliminary landscape design with a plant palette. The school organized two working days and had over 400 volunteers. While the biggest goal was to revitalize the ornamental landscape and reduce erosion problems, she helped them include butterfly gardens for teaching purposes. Because of the remarkable results, the school board and mayor of Apopka has given Dream Lake Elementary school the very first beautification award. Jennifer was asked to attend a photo op and an award ceremony in May 2010 for recognition and the story was printed in one of the local papers.
She displays great involvement in natural resource, environmental and landscape groups. She is a member of the Central Florida Invasive Species working group, the Central Florida Lake Management Society, International Society of Arboriculture, the Green Network Group, and FANREP. She volunteers for the IFAS Lakewatch program, is a certified Arborist and instructor for FDEP Best Management Practices program and she has completed 2 courses to obtain her Certificate in Natural Areas Management from IFAS.
