FOWR Member Spotlight - Michelle Jamesson
Unlike many of FOWR’s board members, Michelle is not an environmental expert. She’s not a professor, a scientist, an engineer or a lawyer. She doesn’t have decades long experience advocating in the conservation world. But she brings to the table something we all can—enthusiasm and the desire to get involved and help.
Michelle grew up in Florida and has always had a love for the natural world. She wanted to be a biologist but went a different direction when she was offered a full scholarship to study the harp at Florida State’s College of Music. That path introduced her to the world of music therapy which led her to switching majors, graduating, getting board-certified, moving to Asheville, NC and spending the next decade working in end-of-life care. She also started a music therapy program at the regional hospital, specializing in trauma, ICU, and cancer care.
With the coming of her daughter, Michelle decided her side job as a gigging harpist and pianist was a better fit, allowing more time at home with her family. Playing for weddings and events was a great gig, too, but Michelle continued to be frustrated reading in her spare time about environmental woes while spending her creative efforts towards strangers’ picture-perfect Instagram weddings. This paired with spending so much time around folks facing the end of life and hearing their life regrets - she worked on her own would-be regrets list. Not getting involved in conservation was at the top.
She told her friends and family that if she ever moved back to Florida that she would get involved in local organizations. Then covid hit, life changed, and an opportunity to move presented itself.
So now she’s here, back in her natural Florida habitat, volunteering for FOWR, the Wekiva Wild and Scenic River System and the Florida Springs Institute, finding ways to use her creative energy towards something more important than Instagram nuptials. She’s taking a break from being a full-time gigging musician, but you may hear her play the harp at FOWR events every once in a while.
Michelle shared some of her background and hopes for the Wekiva Basin and answered a few other fun questions for us. Enjoy!
What's your earliest memory of the Wekiva River? When I first moved to the area as a freshman in high school I joined my family for a paddle from the Moncrief’s on the Little Wekiva downstream to Katie’s Landing. I had been on paddles before but the Wekiva was different. It was so wild and beautiful and alive! I’ve been in love and protective of it ever since.
What's your favorite animal and plant in the Wekiva Basin? Alligators and pickerelweed. Alligators because they are prehistoric and cool. They add a level of excitement and danger to adventures even though they look like an unenthusiastic log with a sharp pointy end—barely blinking an eye as you float past them. Pickerelweed is so purple and perky and pretty. Finding alligators hanging out in pickerelweed makes for a perfect day.
What do you wish people knew about the river? Even though on the surface - the river is beautiful, it is under constant threats from human development and activity. And it’s up to us all to help preserve and protect it. We can’t get comfortable assuming others are responsible and doing the work. We all need to do our part (conserving water usage, planting native plants, backing off of pesticides and fertilizer, volunteering, clean-ups, etc.).
What's your favorite thing about the river? Despite the surrounding development, the river is still doing its thing. Maybe not at its historical level of splendor but it’s still running. Intact with native plants and the stories of fish, reptiles, invertebrates, mammals and birds all living their lives, not caring about what Brenda said to Marge the other day.
Favorite memory on the river? Seeing a baby deer fawn and her mom cross the river one day was pretty neat. If only there was an alligator and pickerelweed involved, too. Don’t worry - the alligator in my head only watched the deer family cross the river, as well.
Biggest hope for the river's future? That locals are aware there’s an incredible natural gem in their backyards and that they learn to love and appreciate the river and its entire basin. And that they in turn teach others to love and appreciate the river and its entire basin. People naturally want to protect what they love.
How and why did you get involved with FOWR? After moving back to Florida I learned that many of my neighbors were still involved in FOWR and invited me to sit in on a board meeting. That was two years ago. Now I’m vice president and help give FOWR a friendly voice through events, the newsletter, website, and social media efforts.
Do you have any unusual skills or hobbies? I’m classically trained on the harp and piano but specialize in playing pop, alternative, indie, jazz and ROCK. 60’s and 70s rock as well as 90s alternative are some of my favorites. I also love photography, illustrating, painting, and creative writing about animals.
What do you like to do for fun? Besides music and art, I love being out in nature, looking for alligators and pickerelweed. I also love cooking and baking, eating cilantro, playing board games, reading, ignoring trash TV, and being a tourist in my own town. Oh, and hanging with my husband and daughter. They are my favorite of all!
