Peihan Orestes (she/her) is the Volunteer Coordinator at Nature Forward. Our volunteers are involved in every aspect of our work, from removing invasive plants at Woodend Sanctuary to monitoring stream health throughout the DC metro area. In addition to managing hundreds of Nature Forward’s adult and teen volunteers, Peihan also coordinates our Maryland Master Naturalist program. This 60-hour certifying class is a partnership with the University of Maryland and is specific to the Piedmont region of Maryland, covering a broad range of topics including trees, birds, fungi, geology and local conservation history.

Peihan completed the Maryland Master Naturalist class at Woodend in 2018 and has been with us since! She can often be found running on local trails, looking for bugs under a log or eating her way through any nearby bakery.