VICKI MULFORD
Throughout college, she led Rowan University’s Biology Club, which organized environmental cleanups and campus and community outreach and supported the preservation, protection, and enhancement of the New Jersey Pine Barrens/Pinelands National Reserve.
Throughout her university years and until her relocation to Florida, she volunteered for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
In the winter of 1995, she relocated to Florida. The Ocala National Forest is the main reason she settled in Ocala. Between section hikes of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Florida National Scenic Trail, it can be challenging to locate her. When you can, it is usually in the forest – hiking, camping, kayaking, swimming. Since relocating to Florida, she has been actively involved in helping to protect, preserve, and enhance the Ocala National Forest.
Over the last twenty-seven years, Vicki has worked as a schoolteacher specializing in Biology and Chemistry, an Exceptional Student Education Specialist, and a Gifted Education Consultant. She earned her master’s in educational leadership from the University of West Florida. She is a GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) certified instructor. GLOBE is a worldwide science and education program that focuses on promoting scientific and mathematical literacy, contributing to increased scientific understanding of the Earth, and building connections between people passionate about the environment.
Her daughter is now grown and living in North Carolina. Hence, the NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail is her newest area to disappear from the everyday and section hike.