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Photo by Stacy Lynn Diehl
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Photo by Stacy Lynn Diehl
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Clean Coast
P.O. Box 13322
Savannah, Georgia 31416
mailbox@cleancoast.org
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Featured Quote:
"To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be."
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 | | Photo by Mike St. Onge |
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Annual General Meeting
All Clean Coast members are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting at 7:00 p.m., Monday, March 4, at Sticky Fingers Restaurant on Abercorn near the intersection with White Bluff Road.
The board meets regularly on the first Monday of every month to take care of the business of running the organization, but our By-Laws require us to also hold a general meeting in March to elect the board for the new fiscal year and provide a review of the organization's activities over the previous fiscal year. It's more fun than it sounds because we do all this in a convivial atmosphere over bar-b-que and beer.
The slate for the 2013-14 Clean Coast Board is Joe Bonds, Gail Bowers, Charlotte Dixon, Patton Dugas, Karen Grainey, Philip Grainey, Felton Jenkins, Karen Black Jenkins, and Charlotte Keenoy. During the meeting nominations from the floor will also be accepted. If you are interested in learning more about the nuts and bolts of how we run Clean Coast or perhaps are thinking about rolling up your shirt sleeves and getting more involved, please be sure to attend this meeting.
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Oyster Roast a Success
 | | Photo by Stacy Lynn Diehl |
We signed up lots of new members at the January oyster roast. Welcome aboard to all of you.
We thank Clete and Deanne Bergen for once again opening up their beautiful home on the Forest River for this annual event.
And thanks also to the oyster gathering crew who donned their rubber boots and handpicked 14 bushels of local oysters from the public oyster beds of Oyster Creek the day before. You can't buy oysters fresher than that, and the local waters produce a unique salty-yet-sweet flavor especially pleasing to the taste buds.
Our biggest thanks though go to Philp Grainey and Mike St.Onge for expertly laboring over a smoky wood fire to roast the bivalves for our enjoyment.
Fortunately, the event has been well documented by the talented photographer and active Clean Coast volunteer Stacy Lynn Diehl who took these wonderful photos.
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Next Cleanup
Last year we added a new site to our list of public shorelines deserving of our attention when the US Fsh and Wildlife Service brought to our attention the large amount of trash accumulating on the shoreline of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. We organized a huge event in partnership with the Georgia Ports Authority, the Fish and Wildlife Service, Savannah Riverkkeper, and Friends of the Coastal Refuges during which we collected a record breaking 178 bags of trash. A few days later we removed another 100 bags when we escorted a group of college students on alternative Spring break to the same site to continue where we left off.
Since last March, no doubt more trash has washed onto this stretch of the Savannah River adjacent to the harbor and industrial development on the Georgia bank, so we are returning this year to see for ourselves how bad it has gotten. Hopefully, last year's efforts will have had a lasting effect and we will not encounter quite so much trash.
We will also have the opportunity to drop in at the Natural Resource Discovery Daywhich the refuge staff are coincidentally hosting at the visitors center.
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Little Tybee Cleanup
On February 16 we held our first cleanup of the year on Little Tybee Island. Weather-wise this can be a risky time of year to plan a trip to a wild windswept beach. Our mild winters provide many days of balmy temperatures, but you never know when frigid conditions might take over.
The weather was cold yet calm and sunny when we left John Wylly's dock on Tybee Island at 9:00 a.m., but conditions gradually deteriorated as the morning progressed. The temperature dropped to around 30 degrees, and the wind speeds accelerated to at least 20 knots, so we decided to cancel our usual after cleanup picnic on the beach and head back before the gray rain clouds to our south caught up with us. We failed to stay dry on the return voyage when 4 foot waves poured over the gunwales and drenched us as we slowly crossed the Back River to warmth and safety.
Despite the hardship, we completed our task and hauled 1,000 pounds of debris off the island. Our haul included two sinks, a propane heater, and a homemade camping toilet.
We are very grateful to John Wylly for his hospitality and for guiding us around the shifting sandbars to a safe landing.
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