A Wekiwa Springs State Park ranger, who is also an Apopka resident, received an award from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for her skills in instructing visitors about the park’s wildlife and resources.
Jane Cummings earned the Joe Kenner Award for Interpreter of the Year, which is awarded annually to a career service employee with frontline, public-contact responsibility who has made outstanding contributions to the Florida Park Service through interpretive programming during the previous year.
The Joe Kenner Award for Interpreter of the Year was presented in a virtual ceremony in early February, although Cummings was out on the field at that time.
Cummings is the interpretive chairperson for Wekiwa Springs State Park and is an interpretive champion in District 3 in the Orlando area. She works with the Wekiva Wilderness Trust, volunteers, school systems, and community groups to create natural and cultural interpretive opportunities and events.
In the past 12 months, she has presented 26 programs before the COVID-19 pandemic and created three virtual programs since.
“Interpreting is allowing a visitor, a guest, a fellow employee, anybody who comes to this park to form a personal connection with the resources here,” Cummings said. “That happens easiest when there’s someone to facilitate it. And that’s what being an interpreter does. So as an interpreter, I help make those connections between the treasures of Wekiwa Springs State Park and anybody who passes through those gates.”
The extended version of this story begins on page 6A in the Friday, February 26, issue of The Apopka Chief. The Apopka Chief and The Planter are weekly community newspapers, independently owned and family operated, that have served the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923 and 1965 respectively. Subscribe today!
