ATLANTA – Okefenokee Swamp Park Executive Director Kim Bednarek was one of six people honored during the Georgia Rivers Gala here Thursday night.
The September 18 event was held at the Ivan Allen Family Meadow to celebrate saving the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from a proposed mineral mine.
The family estate near the Governor’s Mansion in Atlanta is steeped in history and surrounded by creeks that serve as a reminder that water connects us all.
The benefit gathered conservationsists, advocates and leaders dedicated to protecting the Okefenokee from future mining threats.
The honorees were recognized as 2025 Okefenokee champions influential in raising awareness for the spirit of the swamp and protecting the Okefenokee from mining.
Bednarek was honored for increasing visitation in the swamp, as well as increasing international visibility of the natural treasure by nominating the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Also being recognized were Congressman Bill Stuckey, Rev. Antwon Nixon, Andrew Morse, Andrew Schock and Stacy Funderburke.
Congressman Stuckey was honored for designating the Okefenokee Wilderness in 1974. This designation first defined the swamp as an unique area unhabituated by humans and managed to preserve its natural conditions.
The Rev. Nixon, founder and director of Sowing Seeds Outside the Walls, was honored for leading initiatives in Folkston to rally the swamp community to protect their natural heritage.
Morse, president and publisher of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was honored on behalf of the AJC for providing tenacious media coverage to protect the Okefenokee from mining threats. Investigative journalism shined a light on science that shows mining would impact the ecology of the Okefenokee.
Schock and Funderburke of The Conservation Fund were honored for achieving the historic conservation buyout of the Okefenokee Trail Ridge mine site.
Georgia Rivers used science and advocacy to fight a proposed mineral mine on the edge of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge which could have dewatered swamp canoe trails and the headwaters of the St. Marys River.
Georgia Rivers increased public awareness, lobbied at the Capitol, led Okefenokee Wilderness canoe trips and connected nature philanthropists, including the James M. Cox Foundation and its Chairman James C. Kennedy and Patagonia’s Holdfast Collective, to The Conservation Fund who purchased the potential mine site property from Twin Pines Minerals.
“Our gala celebrated the historic victory to protect the Okefenokee by stopping Twin Pines’ mine,” said Rena Ann Peck, Georgia Rivers executive director, “and fueled our future work to protect over 25,000 acres of at-risk habitat along Okefenokee Trail Ridge from mining by Chemours or other companies.
“Georgia Rivers is dedicated to fight mining misinformation with science and encourage protection of working lands along Trail Ridge to ensure this state priority wildlife habitat hub is protected. If you care about the Okefenokee, then you care about keeping Trail Ridge intact and keeping land in forestry. Forestry is the Refuge’s best neighbor, and to protect what’s on the inside, we must protect what’s on the outside.”
The Georgia Rivers Gala also celebrated the 20th anniversary of Paddle Georgia and honored the canoe culture of the Muscogee Creek Nation, the first people to paddle and protect Georgia rivers.
