Building Goes
Back To Nature
Old Coast Guard station
to house learning center
ST. SIMONS ISLAND
The historic U.S. Coast Guard station on East Beach will be the site of a new environmental education resource center this summer.
Coastal Encounters, a private non-profit organization headed by marine biologist Cathy Tobler, hopes to open the abandoned station in mid-June as a nature center observatory and learning center.
"People need to be aware of the environment and ecosystem and how we are all a part of it. you can't seperate people from the environment," Tobler said. "This is all about learning. To learn means to understand, and to understand something leads to appreciating it. If you appreciate something, then you will preserve it."
Tobler, the organization's president, said the center will offer children and adults throughout Southeast Georgia a hands-on opportunity to experience and examine marine life, as well as land animals, birds and plants native to the area.
Environmentalists said programs such as those planned by Coastal Encounters are needed.
"The more the public knows about the ecosystem, the better it is," said Phyllis Bowen, president of the Glynn Environmental Coalition, one of the most influential and active environmental watchdog groups in Southeast Georgia.
One of Coastal Encounter's main features will be a "touch tank," a large saltwater aquarium where visitors can see and hold some marine animals such as starfish and small crabs.
"So often, children are told 'don't touch' when they go to a museum or exhibit," said Tobler, a New Jersey native who graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in marine biology.
"Well, we want them to touch," she said, "so they will learn about marine life and why it is important to respect it."
Coastal Encounters, founded in January, will rely on program fees, private donations of cash and equipment, membership dues and state grants to support its operation, Tobler said.
Its first major fund raising is scheduled for Earth Day, which is April 20.
Coastal Encounters plans to sell live oak and maple tree saplings, baked goods, T-shirts and other items from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the former Coast Guard station on the east side of St. Simons Island, Tobler said.
The Coastal Georgia Audobon Society also is slated to participate in the Earth Day celebration at the station.
Glynn County commissioners agreed on April 4 to lease the station to the Coastal Landmark Preservation Society, which will share the building with Coastal Encounters.
"We didn't want the station left to deteriorate," said Charles Spalding, preservation society president. "It's a recognized landmark of St. Simons Island and a part of the history of the area."
Spalding said the society plans to open a museum and gift shop in the station, as well as have an area for comunity meetings and natural history exhibits.
"We'd like the museums to include a more extensive look at the earlier settlers, the Native Americans, Spanish and give better treatment to the history and development of Brunswick and Glynn County," Spalding said.
The first step, Spalding said, is to bring the building into compliance with fire codes. He said the society is trying to have some of it open to the public this summer.
Last summer, the Coast Guard abandoned the station, which opened in 1937, for new quarters overlooking the Brunswick River.
Coast Guard officers cited several reasons for the move. They said the East Beach station's second floor did not meet fire codes and the Coast Guard's boathouse was on the opposite side of the island.
During emergencies, Coast Guard personnel had to weave through heavy traffic on St. Simons Island's two-lane roads to get to their boat.
The station overlooked the beach when it opened 59 years ago, but the ocean has since deposited a wide strech of sand covered with grass, myrtles and creeping vines.
That setting makes it ideal for nature programs, Tobler said.
Tobler said programs offered at the center include saltwater marsh hikes, beach exploration, sea kayaking, small boat tours for dolphin and bird watching.
There also will be a marine biology lab, nature art workshops, astronomy sessions, seminars about sea turtles and other endangered species native to Georgia, and studies on such topics as music in nature.
Workshops also will focus on nature photography, preserving wildlife habitat and building birdhouses and bat houses, Tobler said.
"The center will be for everybody, not just children," Tobler said.
The seminars, workshops and programs will be taught by schoolteachers, naturalists, marine biologists and wildlife experts recruited by Coastal Encounters, Tobler said.
On Wednesday, Tobler and Tim Decker, a Coastal Encounters instructor, led a half-dozen Glynn County youngsters on a nature hike along the Champney Island Interpretive Nature Trail near Darien.
The children got to pet a small lizard they found in the weeds and saw a small alligator swim across a man-made lake on the trail. All the youngsters agreed it was fun despite some initial fears they might see a snake.
Decker, a former science teacher turned woodworker and furniture maker, said Coastal Encounters allows him to combine his love of teaching and the outdoors.
"I missed teaching and wanted to get back into it. This way, I have the best of both worlds," Decker said.
The environmental education resource center also was a longtime dream of Tobler, who came to Glynn County several years ago and opened a saltwater aquarium business, which she sold recently to concentrate full time on Coastal Encounters.
"I've always been going out into the woods and on nature trails when I was growing up," Tobler said. "I like taking kids out and letting them explore and discover nature."
Return to Coastal Encounters Homepage