I grew up outside.  In small East Texas towns, the piney woods, grassy plains and beaches were my playground.  My friends and I stomped through the creeks and built forts with the deadfall.  We picked wild berries and ate them all before we got home.  Later on, in South Florida, there were swamps and keys and coral reefs to explore.  I learned to canoe, snorkel and scuba dive.  As I think back on it, all my best childhood memories are outside.

Now that I’m an adult with children of my own, I enjoy helping them make their own outdoor memories.  Together, we have been paddling, hiking and backpacking, camping, caving, fishing and whitewater rafting. One summer evening, my daughter and I watched a meteor blaze across a twilight sky. All here in Georgia.     

Authors tell us that playing outdoors makes us happier.  I believe it, because I know a deep breath and a moment’s reflection is all I need to find center in the midst of God’s creation. There is something special about watching the sun set of over a salt marsh, to climb Rabun Bald on a frosty morning, to see a trout flip just before he shakes my fly, or to watch a red tail hawk circle silently overhead.

Scientists tell us that conserving our land and our water makes us healthier and I believe them.  It stands to reason that if we take care of the things that sustain us, those things will take care of us.  In fact, we have an obligation to conserve our natural resources for future generations so that they, too, can enjoy the gifts of open land, clean water and fresh air. Every kid deserves the chance to stomp in a creek, to build a fort, to climb a mountain, and see something spectacular in nature.   

For all these reasons, and many more, I am proud to be a Trustee for the Georgia Conservancy.  For the past 50 years, the Conservancy has worked to protect the state’s natural resources. Their “greatest hits” include Sweetwater Creek State Park, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Okefenokee Swamp, Cuhutta Wilderness and Cumberland Island. 

They continue to advance sensible positions on coastal protection, land conservation and urban land development.  And more than any non-profit I know, the Georgia Conservancy is working to create a culture of conservation, taking some 3,500 people into nature each year to remind them why we love the outdoors.  

Please join me in supporting the Georgia Conservancy.  My goal is a modest one: to raise just $1,000 between now and June 30^th – the end of the fiscal year – to support the Georgia Conservancy and its work to protect and conserve Georgia’s natural resources. 

Over the next 12 months we’re raising the bar: conserving more than 30,000 - 35,000 acres of land, educating more than 3,500 people in “Georgia’s outdoor classroom” that we call our trips program, and helping thousands of students and parents breath a little easier with our school siting workshops. But, truthfully, the issue that gives us great concern is maintaining steady handed advocacy on behalf of the gem of Georgia’s coast: Cumberland Island. 

With so much to do, we’ve had to expand annual fundraising goals. We’re currently $50,000 behind our expanded funding needs and we need your help.

For our 50th Anniversary, we've asked some of our most important donors and members to share their Georgia story as a Georgia Conservancy Storyteller. 

Thank you for supporting our storytellers and the Georgia Conservancy!