Who says field trips stop after high school? 

Last week, IRIS graduate students studying coastal resilience and environmental engineering traveled to Jekyll Island, Georgia. The group met with conservation researchers and practitioners at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Jekyll Island Authority and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resource Division (DNR-CRD).

Led by Professor Matt Bilskie of IRIS and the Coastal Ocean Analysis and Simulation Team (COAST), Will Rogers from IRIS, and Ben Carswell from UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the group learned about sea turtle conservation, living shorelines, and natural infrastructure projects in progress on Jekyll Island. They also completed the unofficial course “Beach Survey 101,” learning what to look for when surveying coastal field sites. 

The trip was sponsored by Ducks Unlimited, a partner of IRIS that also supports the Natural Infrastructure Graduate Fellowship. If you’re interested in this type of work and thinking about a Master’s degree, be sure to check it out!

Special thanks to The Jekyll Island Authority (Dan Quinn, David Zailo, and Joseph Colbert) and GA DNR CRD (Jennifer Kline and Meghan Angelina).

Featured image (top): Group shot taken at Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island. Photos provided by Matt Bilskie.