OUTDOOR RECREATION

8.0- NATURE-BASED EDUCATION & OUTDOOR RECREATION

Two important and intrinsically linked components of the Conservation Program Mission are nature-based education and outdoor recreation. Investment in these components is vital to the public’s understanding and appreciation of Jekyll Island now and in the future. Those who experience nature-based education and outdoor recreation in Jekyll Island State Park carry knowledge and memories with them wherever they go in the world and in life, compounding and spreading awareness of the Jekyll Island story as they travel and interact with others. Many who experience Jekyll Island in their youth will return and contribute their talents and skills to the ongoing stewardship of the Park.

Nature-based education and outdoor recreation can be either self-directed or organized around groups and can be offered free to the public or in the form of paid programming. Jekyll Island accommodates private-sector outdoor recreation and eco-tourism businesses and has been the beneficiary of public investment in one of Georgia’s flagship youth environmental education facilities, Camp Jekyll, which is operated by Georgia 4-H.

Given these dynamics, a key strategic role for the Jekyll Island Authority to play regarding nature-based education and outdoor recreation is to pursue and coordinate a diversified portfolio of offerings. From a business standpoint, it is well understood that the Island, as a tourism and group business destination, should offer a wide range of hotel, retail, meeting space, and food-service options and price points. Likewise, nature-based education and outdoor recreation assets and programs should be diversified to appeal to a wide range of audiences, interests, and abilities. Diversity begets stability – a principle that, like Jekyll Island, intersects ecology, economy, and society.

8.1- NATURE-BASED EDUCATION

Jekyll Island has a long history of providing an outdoor classroom for environmental education. Since 1983, the University of Georgia Extension and Georgia 4-H have been connecting children to Georgia’s coastal environment. In 2016, the site of the original Jekyll Island 4-H center underwent a $17 million State-funded rebuild to create a state-of-the-art youth facility, Camp Jekyll, that serves over 13,000 youth annually from across the state. Georgia 4-H also operates Tidelands Nature Center, which teaches visitors about coastal, estuarine, and marine fish, wildlife, and ecosystems. Tidelands offers kayak tours of the tidal saltmarsh and estuarine environment to individuals and small groups.

The JIA’s Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) provides learners of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to develop an awareness, knowledge, and commitment to practice environmental stewardship, conservation of ecosystems, and sustainable practices using sea turtles as a flagship species. The GSTC participates in volunteer engagement, community outreach, professional training workshops, and K-12 programming. Annually, reservation-based K-12 programming serves roughly 3,600 youth while reservation-based group tours serve about 2,700 participants in addition to 110,000 general admissions visitors. Ticketed educational programs for adults and families are offered through behind-the-scenes tours, evening and sunrise nesting beach walks, and immersive programs that engage visitors in sea turtle research and monitoring. The GSTC contributes to collegiate and graduate-level education through veterinary externships and collaborations with academic researchers.

Likewise, the JIA Conservation Department also contributes to collegiate and graduate-level education through internships and collaborations with academic researchers. The Conservation Department currently offers two ticketed educational programs to the public, Ranger Walks and Gatorology. Ranger Walks involve a short, guided hike highlighting maritime forest and saltmarsh ecology and featuring views of an active bald eagle nest. Gatorology informs visitors about the ecology and behavior of American alligators and how to share their habitat safely. Each program has been reaching approximately 300 people per year. Youth, community, and professional groups often request customized field programs or presentations that are accommodated whenever possible to share the unique story of conservation on Jekyll Island specifically and a conservation ethos more broadly. The JIA makes its GSTC and Conservation Department staff available to deliver educational presentations to community and environmental groups, college classes, and professional meetings.

In 2019, Mosaic, Jekyll Island Museum was fully renovated and completely reimagined through the support of donors to the Jekyll Island Foundation. The all new exhibits highlight Jekyll Island’s natural history, in addition to its human history. Currently, the Mosaic’s ticketed programming is oriented more towards interpreting the human history of the Park. The GSTC has coordinated a series of free lectures hosted at the Mosaic centered around ecological studies and natural sciences. In 2020, the Conservation Department’s “Ranger Walks” program will embark from the Mosaic facilities with an eye towards future opportunities made available by the anticipated repurposing and restoration of the neighboring golf course holes to natural green space following the Golf Course Master Plan.

Strategies:

• Continue coordinating touch points across the educational spectrum from early childhood to adult education. • Pursue partnerships that increase and enhance opportunities for lower-income and minority individuals to be aware of and included in nature-based education in Jekyll Island State Park. • Increase and enhance outdoor and nature-based learning spaces and facilities to provide safe programmatic access for individuals of all abilities. Apply the EAP to review and refine these projects, minimizing any potential for environmental harm. • Educate and inform Jekyll Island residents, visitors, and staff about the harms and hazards of feeding wildlife. • Pursue green infrastructure, nature-based engineering, and sustainable practices as an opportunity to lead by example while making space for professional education and increased public appreciation of these technologies and approaches. • Continue collaborating with academic institutions to support research that informs conservation management on Jekyll Island. • Continue partnering with AmeriCorps to provide national service opportunities that benefit the community and offer growth potential for a diverse assemblage of early career professionals. • Increase and enhance nature-based education programs delivered through Mosaic, The Museum of Jekyll Island. • Develop and deliver annual trainings and evaluations founded in current and sound educational practice, theory, and research for interpreters and educators to ensure quality educational experiences and cohesive island-wide messaging.

8.2- OUTDOOR RECREATION

Current outdoor recreational pursuits within Jekyll Island State Park are generally well managed, but the options are somewhat limited. Traditional outdoor pursuits that have long been part of the Jekyll Island experience include beach activities, golf, tennis, cycling, running/walking, and limited horseback riding. Additionally, the nearshore and estuarine waterways surrounding Jekyll Island support fishing, kayaking, standup paddleboarding, kiteboarding, and boating. Birding, wildlife watching, sightseeing, and photography are popular across the Park and surrounding waters.

Two strategic opportunities stand out for proactive change in JIA’s approach to the outdoor recreation arena. These include:

1) Carefully planned enhancements to improve access to the interior of the island, 2) Anticipating and planning for generational change in outdoor recreation activities of future users/stakeholders

The interior of Jekyll Island, particularly its northern half, is largely unknown territory for most visitors to the Island. The area contains approximately 800 contiguous acres of intact maritime forest. This forest is regionally, nationally and globally significant due to the increasing rarity and ecological value of maritime oak-hammock communities. More than 400 acres are composed of Maritime Live Oak Hammock and Southeastern Florida Maritime Hammock, both vegetative communities that have been assigned a G2 GlobalRarity Ranking by NatureServe, indicating “imperiled” status. This unique natural asset is currently interlaced with approximately eight miles of dirt service roads that occupy a minimal footprint and serve a few critical components of Island infrastructure. The dirt roads are not currently maintained for public use, but with careful design, management, and monitoring, vetted through EAP review, they could accommodate a unique visitor experience through this unique habitat.

The JIA has demonstrated its ability to conscientiously improve access for outdoor recreation and education with small projects such as the improvements to the Horton Pond area in 2015, the Camp Jekyll wetland overlook in 2016, and the Horton Pond to Horton House connector trail in 2018. By demonstrating care for these areas and designing more appropriate facilities around visitation needs and environmental considerations, enhanced access can be provided while also reducing impacts. This is particularly true in areas that are already impacted by visitor use pressure without the benefit of planning, design, and management.

The outdoor recreation experiences available on Jekyll Island today are to some degree a legacy of public interests and demands of days past from user demographics that have evolved and will continue to evolve. Understanding that, the JIA should look ahead and endeavor to forecast and prepare accordingly. What sorts of outdoor recreation activities, not currently in the mix on Jekyll, will demographics associated with Generation-X be interested in from a barrier island travel destination when they get to retirement age? As changes are made that affect the land-use footprint on the Island, such as the current Golf Master Plan project, opportunities should be identified to diversify both passive and active outdoor recreation offerings while protecting Jekyll Island’s unique character as a limited-development public land holding.

Strategies:

• Work with the JIA Marketing Department to conduct a survey designed to gather information about generational change with respect to outdoor recreation expectations and interests. • Continue to plan for and invest in improving Park-wide points of interest, or “nodes”, to expand outdoor recreation alternatives that relieve visitation pressure on beaches and bike paths. Apply the EAP to review and refine these projects, minimizing any potential for environmental harm. • Provide for welcoming and safe programmatic access for individuals of all abilities and backgrounds. • When developing new project concepts, prioritize: - Connectivity improvements that support the ability to explore the Island by foot or bicycle with less need for car travel - Opportunities for ecological restoration/management and wildlife habitat enhancement in conjunction with improved outdoor recreation infrastructure - Opportunities for JIA-ticketed eco-tourism / “edutainment” programming