Lauren Johnson, Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center, Columbus State University
Chelsea York, Georgia Forestry Commission
Alyx Hawes, Mary Warnell Forest Education Center
Wanda Barrs, Due South Investments, LLC
Melanie Biersmith, Georgia 4-H
Barabara Boler, The Langdale Company
Amanda Buice, Georgia Youth Science & Technology Centers, Inc.
Nick Fuhrman, Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources
Frank Green, Georgia Tree Farm Program
Leslie Olig, Euchee Creek Elementary School
Sandi Parrish, Retired Educator, Lowndes County Schools (Bio)
Steve Rich, University of West Georgia
Olivia Walden, Georgia Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s State Implementation Committee
The Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) is a dynamic state agency responsible for providing leadership, service and education in the protection and conservation of Georgia’s forest resources. Our headquarters is located in Dry Branch, Georgia, south of Macon. District and county offices are located throughout the state. The director of the GFC is known as the state forester.
Commission professionals provide a wide variety of services including fire detection, issuing burn permits, wildfire suppression and prevention services, emergency and incident command system expertise, rural fire department assistance, forest management assistance to landowners and communities, the marketing and utilization of forest resources and nature services, and growing and selling quality tree seedlings for planting.
The University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources is the oldest existing southern forestry school was established in 1906 through an endowment by George Foster Peabody and was originally called the George Foster Peabody School of Forestry. The mission of the Daniel B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia is to prepare leaders in the conservation and sustainable management of forests and other natural resources; to discover ways to restore and better use the earth’s natural resources; and to put into practice forestry and natural resources knowledge.
Currently, there are 64 faculty and over 100 support staff employed at the School. The School has expertise in the areas of Environmental Systems Analysis, Fisheries & Aquaculture, Forest Biology, Forest Biotechnology, Forest Biometrics, Forest Business, Forest Management, Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, Water & Soil Resources, and Wildlife Ecology & Management. As of spring 2018 there were 172 students enrolled in the professional program.