October 17 - 19, 2025
Sapelo Island Service Weekend
Sapelo Island, GA
Join the Georgia Conservancy for a weekend on Sapelo Island that combines natural beauty, outdoor recreation, African-American cultural heritage, and service work.
During the weekend of October 17 - 19, we will host our annual Sapelo Island Service Weekend with our partners at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, University of Georgia Marine Science Institute, and Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society.
Guests will be staying at research dorms at the UGA Marine Sciences Institute (UGAMI). Thanks, UGA!
Friday: Leave the Meridan dock on Friday afternoon. Arrive on Sapelo Island for afternoon and evening explorations, a group dinner at UGAMI, and a presentation from UGA Marine Sciences Institute.
Saturday: Service work includes projects at UGAMI, Hogg Hummock community, and the Georgia State Parks’ Reynolds Mansion. The afternoon includes relaxation at Nanny Goat Beach and an optional nature hike. Our evening will include an ASW Distillery happy hour and a low-country boil at UGAMI.
Sunday: Optional sunrise beach sweep at Nanny Goat Beach.
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.
TRIP PRICE/OPTIONS
Sapelo Island Weekend at UGAMI Burl Dorms – $TBD
* We have much lower capacity on this year’s trip due to ongoing renovations at UGAMI
Prices are per dorm room (up to two individuals) - Each dorm room can house 2 individuals. Stay by yourself or bring a friend or family member to share the experience (or financial lift) with! Dorm rooms do not have bathrooms attached to them but do have communal bathrooms for use.
Recommended Experience Levels: Beginner
Details Are Subject To Change
Register Below*
*Registration date TBD
LEARN MORE ABOUT SAPELO AND BLACKBEARD ISLANDS
Suggested Reading on Sapelo Island, Blackbeard Island and Coastal Georgia
Sapelo: People and Place on a Georgia Sea Island by Buddy Sullivan and Ben Galland
God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks About Life on Sapelo Island by Cornelia Walker Bailey
Portrait of and Island by Mildred Teal and John Teal
Making Gullah: A History of Sapelo Islanders, Race, and the American Imagination by Melissa L. Cooper
Sapelo's People: A Long Walk into Freedom by William S. McFeely
Gullah Geechee Heritage in the Golden Isles by Amy Lotson Roberts and Patrick J. Holliday
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Sapelo’s Geechee community endures on the island, but just barely”
Blackbeard Island: A History by Buddy Sullivan
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
PHOTOS FROM PAST SAPELO ISLAND SERVICE WEEKENDS
The Sapelo Island Service Weekend is one of four service weekends hosted by the Georgia Conservancy every year. Other Service Weekends include opportunities to give back and make a difference on Cumberland Island, Ossabaw Island, Sapelo Island and at the Len Foote Hike Inn.
Learn more about the Georgia Conservancy's Stewardship Trips Program
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.
