Karen recently joined and chose volunteer with ORK after participating in our Georgia Master Naturalist program. Her focus is helping us with educational and outreach opportunities.
Like a river traces to its source, my passion for the outdoors started as a kid in Scouts in Virginia. After time in the U.S. Air Force and classroom, I merged my interests into environmental education.
When our most recent move brought us to Georgia, I was looking for a place to put down new roots. I took ORK’s outstanding 2025 Georgia Master Naturalist course and knew I’d found a new home.
I volunteer whenever I have an opportunity to share my knowledge and experiences at events and through programs. My hope is to start a spark in someone else, so they see the benefits of being outdoors, and become passionate about protecting our rivers and the habitats around them.
I’ve gotten just as much from my volunteering, connecting with people with different interests that opened new paths and friendships. You never know what experiences will come from volunteering. Through a previous volunteer position, I had the opportunity to release a rehabilitated eagle after riding with it in my lap for 1.5 hours. This week, I’m leading an ORK program for students on macroinvertebrates at the same location I studied them with the Master Naturalist course.
Volunteering is like the ever-changing Ogeechee river: you think you know where you’ll end up, but the real adventure is along the way.
-Written by Karen Ferguson