Staff Spotlight, Thea Knott
Park Ranger, Thea Knott
Rainbow Springs State Park
Thea Knott grew up in a suburb of Detroit and was a Girl Scout. Through Scouting, Thea made a deep connection to the outdoors and imagined that someday she would have a career as an environmental caretaker and live far from the hustle and bustle of a busy metropolis. Her lifelong dream came true when she became a park ranger with the Florida Park Service; Thea often jokes that she wears her scout uniform to work.
Thea’s favorite place is on the swimming dock first thing in the morning as the mist gently rises off the water and the sun’s rays peek through the trees. The peace of nature recharges her mind, body and spirit. It’s the best way to start the day!
Thea’s favorite activity is Interpretation. She enjoys bragging about her park and sharing the park’s story with visitors. Her favorite interpretive program is an Old-Fashioned Campfire Ceremony, complete with skits, stories, songs and patriotic narratives. Audience participation is essential, and the ceremony is thoroughly enjoyed by one and all.
Thea is most proud of her role as a Project Learning Tree facilitator, teaching park professionals and other educators how to use the Project Learning Tree hands-on curriculum to help children learn “how to think, not what to think.”
Rainbow Springs State Park is special to Thea because it represents the best of Florida’s natural and cultural resources. As a natural resource, the park was once home to Paleoamericans, mastodons and wooly mammoths. As a cultural resource, the remnants of the roadside attraction continue to delight park visitors, both old and young alike. Thea loves to listen to visitors’ stories as they share what the attraction was like during the attraction’s heyday, when visitors could ride in the submarine boats and the aerial monorail, swim in the springs, and enjoy the waterfalls, zoo, and quarter horse rodeo. Thea thinks the park is a virtual time capsule, offering many ways for visitors to connect to their heritage here at Rainbow Springs State Park.
For more information about the park, see Thea’s 4½-minute interview on the Florida Channel at Florida Portraits - Rainbow Springs State Park