In September, we hosted our annual Sapelo Island Service Weekend. From our home base at the University of Georgia Marine Institute, participants provided service work across campus and learned about island history and current events from UGA staff and island residents.
Sapelo is one of those places where the more time you spend there, the more complicated and interesting it becomes.
Over the weekend, participants got to explore how the island is managed through a unique combination of Georgia DNR, the University of Georgia Marine Institute, island residents, and community organizations, while also experiencing firsthand why its relative isolation has helped protect so much of its natural character.
Participants learned about the island’s incredible ecological systems, from its maritime forests and salt marshes to the tides that shape almost everything around them. They also had an opportunity to better understand the history and present-day story of Hog Hammock, one of the last remaining Gullah Geechee communities on Georgia’s coast.
Most importantly, the weekend reinforced that Sapelo is not simply a beautiful place to visit. It is a living landscape, research center, wildlife habitat, and home, and our service work is one small way we can support the people who continue to care for it.
And, of course, Sapelo is just really, really cool.
