November 21 - 23

Ossabaw Island Service Weekend
Ossabaw Island State Heritage Preserve

“Have you ever been somewhere so breathtaking that you hardly dare snap a picture for fear of missing something? Welcome to Ossabaw Island.” - Emily Peterson, 2012 Ossabaw Island Volunteer

Join the Georgia Conservancy and the Ossabaw Island Foundation for a weekend service and education trip to Ossabaw Island on November 21 - 23. This trip is an incredibly rare opportunity to enjoy a primitive and remote barrier island, and to support its preservation by giving back with some elbow grease. Guests will do everything – landscaping, scrubbing and cleaning the historic structures, brush removal, odd jobs, etc. Guests can choose from three different lodging options: camping, a bed in the Club House, or a private room for two in the Boarding House. Guests will enjoy a weekend that includes ferry transportation, lodging, meals, an Ossabaw island tour, and much more.

Our headquarters for the weekend, the Club House, will be the location for our prepared meals and a gathering place in the evenings for meetings and socializing. Relaxing on the Club House wraparound porch, complete with rocking chairs and ceiling fans, is one of the best activities on Ossabaw Island. 

From the Ossabaw Island Foundation:

"Ossabaw Island, on the Georgia coast, contains 26,000 acres of maritime forest, tidal wetlands and wide beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. It is an unspoiled place set aside by the State of Georgia as a heritage preserve for natural, scientific and cultural study, and research and education. It's only 20 minutes by boat from Savannah, yet it's worlds apart. Ossabaw Island is where loggerhead sea turtles and endangered wood storks nest; where students learn research techniques and the value of an unspoiled place; where historic cultures are studied; and where photographers, writers, painters and musicians find inspiration."

In-kind donors and local food producers we will be enjoying during our weekend: Steady Hand Beer Co. (Atlanta), ASW Distillery (Atlanta), Cafe Campesino Coffee (Americus).

Join us on a Georgia Conservancy Stewardship Trip to learn more about important location-specific conservation issues, as well as statewide advocacy opportunities. Our goal is simple: Create a connection between some of Georgia’s most precious places and the people needed to protect them.

REGISTER BELOW

*Registration date TBD

LEARN MORE ABOUT OSSABAW ISLAND

Suggested Reading on Ossabaw Island and Coastal Georgia

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Ossabaw Island is worth the extra effort it takes to get there”

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “In a state full of Civil War monuments, slavery is often forgotten”

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Sandy West, keeper of the island”

• New Georgia Encyclopedia: Ossabaw Island

• Audobon: Ossabaw Island State Heritage Preserve

• Ossabaw Island: A Sense of Place by Evan Kutzler and Jill Stuckey

• Ossabaw: Evocations of An Island by Jack Leigh, James Kilgo and Alan Campbell

• Saving The Georgia Coast: A Political History of the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act by Paul Bolster

• Coastal Nature, Coastal Culture: Environmental Histories of The Georgia Coast by Paul M. Pressley and Paul S. Sutter

• Marsh, Mud and Mummichogs: An Intimate Natural History of Coastal Georgia by Evelyn B. Sherr

• The World of the Salt Marsh by Charles Seabrook

• Georgia’s Land of the Golden Isles by Burnette Vanstory

PHOTOS FROM PAST TRIPS

If you have any questions about our Stewardship Trips Program or about any upcoming trip, please contact Georgia Conservancy Stewardship Trips Director Clark Harrison at charrison@gaconservancy.org.

Click here to view our full calendar of trips & events