Renars may be a new volunteer with Little Forks Conservancy, but his love of nature really started earlier, during his time as a student-athlete at Northern Michigan University. Being so close to Lake Superior and the surrounding wildlife of the Upper Peninsula, Renars spent what little free time he had, in the great outdoors. He mentions, "Whether it was a simple short hike with my wife or teammates or an ice-cold swim across the Straits of Mackinac, I was always there for it." Renars is also a dad to three girls and one of his big goals as a father is to keep them engaged in nature, whether that be a hike or cycle on local trails, a round of golf, or time spent in their backyard. 

​Renars is also closely tied to the environment in his work, at SPACE Inc. as the lead for Marketing and Sustainability efforts. He jokingly says that his job is to "make sure my grandkids know what a polar bear is through innovative and circular efforts in the commercial and government furniture market." The passion for environmental and community sustainability that SPACE President Paddy Hobohm demonstrates drew him to the role and actually introduced him to the work that we do at Little Forks Conservancy.​

We reached out to Mary to see what she enjoys most about volunteering with Little Forks Conservancy. “I enjoy volunteering with LFC because land conservation in mid-Michigan is important to me, and Little Forks is a great steward of the lands they protect. Also, it's fun to meet other volunteers and to spend the day outside making improvements to a beautiful natural area.”
A fond memory Mary has while volunteering happened during the Spring Stream Sampling in 2021, which took place on a beautiful sunny day. While at the George and Sue Lane Preserve, picking macroinvertebrates from a tray, Mary recalls being impressed by the amount of life in the Cedar River. However, finding a small trout upon emptying the bucket brought back from the collector, added to the excitement of the event! The young trout was returned to the river quickly.
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​Mary thinks others should become a volunteer at Little Forks because “there's something that everyone can do. It's great for families, businesses, and retirees to sign up and provide much-needed muscle for improvement projects.” With a small organization of only three full time staff, volunteers are essential to getting projects completed.
Mary emphasized that “For those who prefer to show their support through a donation, it's important to know that Little Forks is a careful steward of their finances, and is always striving to make their dollars deliver the best value. Little Forks appreciates their volunteers, so it's enjoyable to get involved in any way you can!”

Volunteers can make or break an event and having reliable fun volunteers that come back each time really improves the whole dynamic. The stream sampling of the Cedar started in Fall 2015 with 23 volunteers and has continued with an average of 30 volunteers involved at each event from a mixture of Midland and Gladwin County. It is a joyous moment seeing the teams come back from sampling with laughter and good conversation as they enjoy a lunch talking about the day or something that was brought up while at the sampling site. 

​Sara Huetteman Preserve and Volunteer Manager says "Greg is one of those volunteers the brings a positive experience to his group, making conversation with everyone attending. Outside of stream sampling Greg represents Little Forks by telling other people about our properties and the work we do. He attends workshops and other activities we plan on the Cedar River such as the Cedar River Clean Up."