Welcome back to our blog series of Q&As with our staff. As our team has grown in recent years, this is a chance to get to know some of our stories and quirks. Caring for creation and equipping others to do likewise is so much more meaningful — and fun — when done as a team!
Photo caption: A Rocha USA Florida Branches of Faith Coordinator Marie Korba.
What drew you to A Rocha?
A long-time friend, Dr. Bob Sluka (who was a graduate student at the University of Miami when I graduated from their undergraduate marine science program), began working for A Rocha many years ago, and I was on his newsletter mailing list. I routinely read accounts of his inspiring work. More than 30 years later, Bob posted a job opening, and I applied!
When did the connection between faith and environmental work first “click” for you?
My connection between faith in the Creator God and loving and caring for his natural world began well before I was aware of it, when I was a child playing in the surf and sitting in the sand of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. From childhood, my parents taught me to appreciate creation, and my love for it only strengthened in young adulthood as my hometown and the ocean became part of my identity.
Having explored themes of creation care in the Bible, I now view environmental stewardship as a way to love God and people. God’s creative light flows through all of his amazing creation.
What’s your favorite species and why?
I could not even begin to pick just one! But I think cats (playful soft snuggly-ness), dogs (companionship), dolphins (demeanor), and octopi (camouflage and intelligence) are all pretty special.
What places are near and dear to your heart?
New Smyrna Beach in Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Youghiogheny River in Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania. The latter is near my husband’s hometown, which we have visited for many decades.
A reef of the Florida Keys.
What training/background do you bring to this work?
As a wetlands biologist, I added terrestrial plant identification to my education in marine science. This solidified my appreciation and advocacy for native plants. Homeownership let me experience planting trees. Volunteer church leadership, ministering, teaching, and training prepared me for connecting with community partners. Parenting and homeschooling equipped me for educating. And being an environmental interpreter helped me practice spreading the message!
What keeps you going when faced with all our overwhelming ecological problems?
My belief in the Word of God (the Bible) that tells us that God created and will restore, renew, and reconcile to himself all things, including things on earth (Col. 1:19-20), and that creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay (Rom. 8:19-23). That hope in God’s mercy, love, goodness, and power keeps me going and smiling every day!
What is a little-known but fun fact about you?
I am part Lebanese and good at cooking traditional Lebanese food, such as hummus, baba ghanouj, stuffed grape leaves, tabouli salad, and lentil soup.
What is your favorite creation-oriented song?
“Hammer and a Nail,” by Indigo Girls.