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GREEN THUMB TIPS Lea Clark: Georgia forester BY KAROL KELLY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH Karol Kelly is the County Extension Coordinator with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension in Bibb County. She has worked in Extension for the past 16 years. Karol grew up on a family farm in Jones County and is a proud product of Macon/Central Georgia. ne of the things I love most about working for Cooperative Extension is that I get opportunities to meet and collaborate with natural resource professionals across the state. Together, our organizations provide agricultural education and research to help farmers, families, and communities thrive in Georgia. Providing forestry-centered programs and technical advice, the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) helps us succeed. Lea Clark, an urban and community forester (U&CF) with GFC, has been a fantastic resource for our community. Based in Athens, Clark covers 40 counties, mostly northeast Georgia, though her territory extends as far south as Macon-Bibb. It's a complex job. Georgia has 6.2 billion trees, four plant hardiness zones, elevations ranging from sea level to almost 5,000 feet, hundreds of soil types, and huge contrasts in population density — and Clark covers 25% of its counties. Clark noted that this diversity can be a challenge, but it doesn't stop her from doing everything she can to help. Some of Clark's current roles and projects include teaching elementary school groups about topics such as hazardous trees and prescribed burns. In addition, she supports community Arbor Day celebrations and tree boards. She writes technical articles for GFC publications, proctors Certified Arborist exams, and even works with a strike team that helps communities assess damage and obtain Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance following natural disasters. Clark's path to a forestry career began at an unexpected trailhead: a law degree. Once a lawyer, she married, and she and her husband co-owned a successful law firm in Florida. A er they divorced, she taught at a small private college for a few years, but then her trail le the city limits and led her into wilder spaces. It was a more rugged, exciting trail through the forest. As a girl, she always loved being outside, but she was socialized to believe that outdoor work wasn't a career choice for women. Clark was ready to let go of that belief and reinvent herself, so she kept walking. She moved to Athens to enroll in classes at the University of Georgia to become an arborist, but she still carried her law experience with her, as she now leads a program called Trees and Georgia Law. When I asked what advice she has for girls interested in working in forestry, Clark shared, "Don't hesitate to follow your interests no matter where they take you. Expose yourself to all different kinds of things. Gender doesn't matter; just know that you will be respected for your knowledge and love of the field. When you love what you do, it isn't work!" Georgia Forestry Commission has lots of great information about the U&CF program and other resources on their website. Don't hesitate to reach out about Bibb County Extension programs at (478) 751-6338 or bibb.extension@uga.edu. O 120 maconmagazine.com | APRIL/MAY 2023