Summer Crawl into Summer Crawl into

The center is located at the southwest side of Jekyll Island next to the salt marsh, into which Zenkert regularly leads kayak tours. Participants climb into their kayaks at the center’s dock and paddle out into the tidal creeks that snake across the land.

It’s an intimate look at the island’s beauty, and during pauses in the paddling a tour guide will provide information about the salt marshes, the Georgia Bight, the coastline between North Carolina and Florida, and the wildlife that call Coastal Georgia home.

Dolphin sightings on the tour are common, and kayakers are also likely to see herons, egrets, wood storks, fiddler crabs, and much more.

A turn around a bend leads to unexpected sights, as tour participants find themselves in places rarely disturbed by human activity.

Kayak tours are only a part of what the Tidelands Center provides to its visitors, who can also book nature walks and or sign up for afternoon coastal ecology programs, like seining and wildlife lessons, that are offered four days week in June and July.

Entrance to Tidelands’ indoor exhibit costs $5 per person. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Students in the 4-H program from around the state also spend time during the summer at Camp Jekyll, the 4-H campus on the island. They visit Tidelands daily for programming as well.

Students in the 4-H program from around the state also spend time during the summer at Camp Jekyll, the 4-H campus on the island. They visit Tidelands daily for programming as well.

This summer, Zenkert says, students enrolled in the online Georgia Cyber Academy will also be among the youth visiting the center.

Zenkert says the educational programming is meant to open visitors’ eyes to Jekyll’s natural environment.

“I hope they get a sense of the importance of the various barrier island ecosystems that we have, including the marsh and the beach,” she says.

Staff at the center include Zenkert and a full-time program specialist, Megan Makstenieks, as well as part-time staff and volunteers.

“Most of our volunteers, though not all of them, come from the College of Coastal Georgia,” she says.

Zenkert has worked for the University of Georgia’s 4-H program on Jekyll for 28 years.

The Tidelands Center opened in 2000 to expand the Jekyll 4-H program’s reach and make the educational opportunities accessible to a wider audience, including island visitors.

“Our facility is here to support youth,” Zenkert says. “This building we opened so the general public can learn about the ecosystems here without necessarily needing to be with one of the groups staying there.”

Many who visited Camp Jekyll during their youth will bring their families back to the island and make a trip to the Tidelands Center.

“We’ll have many people who say, ‘Oh, when I was a kid I went to Camp Jekyll and I wanted to bring my family back here,’” Zenkert says.

Jekyll is a special place, she says, as the Jekyll Island Authority and state leaders have left much of it undeveloped. Island visitors are able to experience a natural environment mostly unaltered by the infrastructures of modern life.

“All visitors can enjoy the natural aspect of the island,” Zenkert says.

And that type of environment makes for an effective classroom for youth on the island.

“They’re future decision makers, so if they’re learning about this natural environment and the organisms that live in those ecosystems maybe they’ll make some better decisions about conserving it,” she says.

Zenkert regularly has the chance to see summer program participants express delight at the sights and sounds around them, like when a dolphin or manatee pops up along the kayaks during a tour.

“I just see the awe in the students’ faces in general when they’re immersed in the environment,” she says.

Kayak tours last two hours and are available Tuesdays through Saturdays, throughout the year. Nature walks last about an hour and are offered at various locations on the island such as the north or south end beach, available dates and time vary.

• To schedule a kayak tour or nature walk, call 912-635-5032. To learn more about the Tidelands, visit georgia4h.org/4-hcenters/4-h-tidelands-nature-center.

WORDS BY LINDSEY ADKISON

PHOTOS BY DERRICK DAVIS