Ranger Gets Her Shot

Brook Beuchert knew one of her favorite nature spots would some day yield something great.

During her many walks along the city-owned Rutherford Park trails she'd see a tree with a hole in it – a perfect spot for nesting critters.

“I was like, something's got to live in here, but nothing's ever in it,” Beuchert said.

Nothing, until finally something.

One day as she neared the tree she noticed a couple of masked eyes peering at her from within the hole. She quickly grabbed her phone, stood as tall as she could on her toes, and snapped a photo.

“I was screaming for joy,” Beuchert said. “It was so amazing because if you know me personally, my favorite animals are raccoons, and when I captured that photo, I was jumping - so happy.”

Beuchart wasn't the only one who found the photo remarkable. An anonymous panel of judges for the second annual City of Boca Raton employee photo contest selected her nesting raccoon picture as the winner. Now the photo is available for all to see. As the contest winner, it serves as the cover for current edition of The Recreator, the city's quarterly recreational magazine.

“It was so exciting,” Beuchert said, describing her reaction to learning her photo had won. “To me, it's a big thing because it's The Recreator. I love seeing the events and programs for the kids because the kids need, I think, need to get out more.”

A park ranger whose assignments usually include the District-funded Gumbo Limbo Nature Center and District-funded Red Reef Park, Beuchert became the second consecutive winner with a Gumbo Limbo tie, joining staff administrator Kristin Child.

Beuchert also received a commemorative plaque, which is now hanging on her wall. 

"I love Brook Beuchert's sweet photo of a raccoon in a perfect little cozy hole in a tree,” one judge said. “It just makes you smile when you see it. It also makes you remember and appreciate the wildlife that we share our community with in Boca Raton."
 
A nature lover currently pursing a Master's degree in environmental science at Florida Atlantic University, the 25-year-old Beuchert believes she was destined to become a park ranger.

“I love it,” she said. “I mean, I'm born and raised in Florida, so nature and the outdoors has always been my passion. So being that park ranger was like a given. I had to become a park ranger.”

Photography also comes naturally for Beuchert.

“Growing up, I've always loved taking photos,” Beuchert said. “My passion within nature is going to always be wildlife. I love watching animals, observing them. They're just so cool, and to see them in their habitat, I have to capture that moment.”