Protecting the Georgia Coast

Researchers and educators at the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant work in a unique kind of lab. On Skidaway Island, staff are surrounded on every side by miles of salt marsh and towering oak trees with vibrant, twisting branches covered in Spanish moss. Egrets soar overhead and squareback crabs scurry over their boots as they cross the maritime forest floor.

But there are dangerous invaders hiding amongst this otherwise idyllic landscape. From an aggressive species of tree to a washed-up water bottle, the Georgia coastline is facing threats from all sides. In order to protect it, the team at Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant offers education on best practices to maintain the health of Georgia’s coastal environment.

Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant is a research, education and outreach unit that operates the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Skidaway Island near Savannah, Georgia. Educators at the facility teamed up with UGA’s IMPACT Service Breaks program through Engagement, Leadership, and Service, an initiative that prepares UGA students to be active members in their communities through service. Students traded traditional spring break activities to learn first-hand about the environment and how to keep it safe.

Fourteen students with a wide range of interests joined the trip. Their majors varied—microbiology, computer science, risk management and insurance—but each of them came for the same reason: to learn something beyond what they could get from a classroom lecture.