Now a junior at UGA, she has continued her passionate interest in the worlds of soil, water and air by forming Eco-Reach, a rapidly growing program that is helping UGA student and faculty volunteers to share the science of ecology with students from kindergarten through the 12th grade. They do it out of the goodness of their hearts, and they have so little time to spare. Here she works with students at Barnett Shoals Elementary School. Photo by Rick O'Quinn. The group has made numerous presentations already in Athens Clarke and nearby counties.
Volunteers speak on everything from the natural history of birds to the microbial world of soil.
Sutherland, a UGA Foundation Fellow and a bundle of cheerful energy, leads a life that makes most of us seem to be in slow motion. In order to study marine biology, she had to conquer more than Florida Bay. Every time I go diving, I still feel this fear of the unknown. The unknown, however, has never kept her from leaping in. Sutherland came to UGA with so many advanced-placement credit hours that she spent her freshman year taking only ecology courses.