Fall 2023 Schedule
September 21 – The Significance of Artificial Reefs
7:00 pm
OHM Office (7 Glynn Ave., Brunswick)
Did you know that for the GA Department of Natural Resources dumps “junk” into the ocean off the Georgia coast? It’s true! For the last forty years, DNR has been strategically placing discarded and decommissioned structures like bridges and MARTA cars on the ocean floor. The reason? To encourage the growth of healthy reefs to benefit our coast’s wildlife, waters, and people.
Join us for our Naturalist 101 lecture with GADNR Coastal Resource Division’s Paul Medders. This event is free, but we ask that you please register in advance for planning purposes.
November 2 – “We are all whalers”: The plight of the Northern Right Whale
7:00 pm
Virtual (Zoom meeting info will be emailed out)
With fewer than 340 individual animals remaining on the planet, we are watching North Atlantic right whales—Georgia’s state marine mammal—go extinct before our very eyes. And the choices we make as humans are the cause.
Join scientist and veterinarian Dr. Michael J. Moore from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and author of “We Are All Whalers,” as he shares insights into humans’ effects on the decline of this iconic species and what we must do to act.
This free lecture will be held virtually; please register in advance to receive the Zoom link.
November 5 – Ebenezer Creek Paddle
9:30 AM — 1 pm
with Savannah Canoe and Kayak
Ebenezer Creek is a blackwater swamp, lined with lush scenery and filled with wildlife like alligators and numerous species of birds. This slow-moving creek empties into the Savannah River, alongside the historic Ebenezer settlement. It’s a place best explored and experienced up close and personal: on the water itself.
Join us for a kayak trip with Savannah Canoe and Kayak, open to beginner and advanced paddlers alike. It will take place entirely outdoors—an opportunity to learn about this ecosystem as never before! Great for families with kids 13 years and older.
December 7 – Genetic Tools for Sea Turtle Conservation
7 pm (doors open at 6:30)
OHM Office (7 Glynn Ave., Brunswick)
Call it Ancestry DNA for sea turtles. For more than a decade, Dr. Brian Shamblin with UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources has worked with partners across the Southeast to create a genetic database that helps researchers better understand turtles’ nesting habits and relationships. This innovative project isn’t just connecting generations of nesting turtles: it’s also creating a legacy for the future and continued recovery of loggerhead sea turtle populations.
Join us on Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 pm for our Naturalist 101 lecture with Dr. Shamblin: “Genetic Tools for Sea Turtle Conservation.” Come hear what scientists have learned to date and what’s next in the cutting-edge field of sea turtle genetics. This event is free, but we ask that you please register in advance for planning purposes.
Recent Naturalist 101 webinars & events
Oct 2020: LSSI
June 2020: Dive into Gray’s Reef
“Participating in our monthly Naturalist 101 programs is a great way to build your encyclopedia of knowledge about Georgia’s coast.”
Please contact Stephanie for more information about any of our upcoming Naturalist 101 programs.