Gentian Creek Preserve is a not-for-profit organization established by Jerry Turner and Marta Jones Turner to provide exploratory outdoor education to local students on their 255-acre property in rural Thomas County, Georgia. Gentian Creek offers a horse barn that has been converted to a nature center with two well-equipped laboratories, a large classroom, large screen tvs, observation room, and offices for staff along with access to more than five miles of trails through diverse ecosystems where transects and other study areas have been carefully established. Established units of study include Herpetology, Botany, Avian Ecology, Aquatic Ecology, Entomology, and Mammalogy. Three full time staff members conduct programs for third, fifth, and seventh grade students from the local school district as well as special program for other groups.