Many folks know the swamplands of the Everglades, but often overlooked and less well-known is a swamp that spans between both Florida and Georgia, the Okefenokee. In today’s episode, we hear from Executive Director of the Okefenokee Swamp Park & Adventures, Kim Bednarek. The Okefenokee Swamp Park & Adventures is an 80-year-old nonprofit dedicated to fostering a deep connection with nature and conserving its ecological health through stewardship, education, and outdoor recreation in and around the Okefenokee. Kim stepped into this role in 2020, and has since led the transformation of the organization to become a regional backbone for conservation, expanded educational access, and advanced a bold vision: an initiative designed to connect community development with nature-based tourism around the Okefenokee Region. From conversations over lunch at Whistlin Dixie’s to representing the United States on the world stage at United Nations meetings, Kim and her team embody place-based conservation.

With her more than two decades of experience spanning environmental conservation, education, and nonprofit management, Kim championed and led the national effort to secure the inscription of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as Georgia’s first, and Florida’s second, UNESCO World Heritage site, fulfilling a more than 40-year vision.

This discussion explores what this new status means, not only for the National Wildlife Refuge, but more importantly for the surrounding rural communities. We dive into the intersection of natural resource protection and economic development, learning about efforts Kim and her partners are shaping such as the Okefenokee Partnership, a collaboration among local governments, regional employers, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders to facilitate dialogue and connectivity around shared priorities that address regional challenges. This, as we discuss, can serve as a model beyond just the Okefenokee for fostering bio-regional collaboration for economic resilience and prosperity.

We talk about how to tell a representative story about a place, working on large time scales and how to take on and then pass the metaphorical baton of deep place-based work, leading through listening and empathy, and much more.

Be sure to visit the Okefenokee at either of the Okefenokee Swamp Park or Okefenokee Adventures at the gateway communities of Waycross, Ga, or Folkston, GA. To learn more, register and tune in to the Florida Wildlife Corridor’s Corridor Connect + “Flow Of Conservation” webinar on October 23rd at 11:30 AM to hear from Kim, along with other statewide partners; and check out the links below:

Thanks to Kim for her time, and to Josh Howard, Operations Manager at Okefenokee Adventures.

Resources mentioned:

• The Okefenokee Partnership – Okefenokee World Heritage Site
• Okefenokee Swamp Park
• Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative
• Company 1433 – Okefenokee Project
• Whistlin Dixie Custom Framing and Unique Gifts & Cafe – Folkston Georgia
• The Conservation Fund Halts Okefenokee Mining Threat - The Conservation Fund