Author: Matthew Humphrey

By Stephanie Jackson

JIA Museum Educator

The preservation of Hollybourne has been a project near and dear to many hearts for over twenty years. The Bridge Builder’s Cottage, as it is often referred to, is unique among the many cottages on Jekyll Island. This project, while long from complete, is allowing us to preserve the beauty of the cottage for future visitors to the island. Many volunteers have donated their time to the project over the years, and many groups such as the Jekyll Island Foundation have helped to fund renovations for the cottage. In recent years, Jekyll Island has brought on a preservationist to oversee the project and to assist our wonderful volunteers. Taylor Davis, Jekyll Island’s historic preservationist, began his preservation journey at Hollybourne. He has been involved with projects on the island since 2004, back when he was an intern here on the island. Taylor’s appreciation for Hollybourne is evident the moment you ask him about the building:

“The incredible thing about Hollybourne is that it was shuttered since the beginning of the state era. The fortunate thing about this is that because it was shuttered, there are no changes from the mid-century such as painted wood trim that we have had to correct. Now that we are in the process of preserving the cottage, we are very thankful for our dedicated volunteers and the Foundation. Thanks to everyone’s hard work, we are able to return the cottage back to its original state.”

But there is a lot more work to be done. If you are looking for a small way to help support this project, while getting a chance to see the interior of the cottage, then join us for a special tour of the Bridge Builder’s Cottage! Tours will take place every Saturday during the month of May. Each tour will be led by one of our knowledgeable guides and provide an opportunity to see the beauty of this unique cottage. As tours are only offered at special times during the year, they fill up fast. Sign up today in order to reserve your spot on this special behind-the-scenes opportunity! Register on Ticketleap.

By Breanna Ondich

JIA GSTC Research Specialist

“Throughout the summer months (May – August), the beaches of Jekyll Island become more than just a place to stroll, collect seashells, and catch breathtaking sunrises. During the evenings, these beaches are visited by female loggerhead sea turtles determined to lay their eggs without interference. About 60 days later these same beaches are paths to a new life for hundreds of loggerhead hatchlings.”

If it were 1999 you could have picked up a brochure with these words, encouraging you to learn more about The Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Project’s “Adopt a Loggerhead” program, which would have allowed you to follow the progress of the enormous sea turtle you saw while on a guided tour the night before. Long before the inception of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, many dedicated Jekyll Island Authority staff and volunteers helped raise money for their sea turtle monitoring and conservation work by allowing visitors to symbolically adopt a nesting loggerhead sea turtle. For $35, your adoption would have included an official certificate, photograph, hatching announcements, turtle sticker, key chain, and a poster! One of the turtles you could have adopted twenty-one years ago was Althea, and she returned to nest on Jekyll Island last summer.

Althea is the oldest known turtle we have on our growing list of nesting mothers, based on the fact that we know she was given her first set of flipper tags in 1992. You have got to give this turtle some credit, not only because of her longevity but also because of her ability to overcome the odds in a sea full of threats. Althea has five healed parallel lacerations bisecting her carapace from an unfortunate, but luckily non-fatal, interaction with a boat propeller. Boat strikes are a top threat to sea turtles in coastal Georgia, and while many sea turtles do not survive interactions with vessels, Althea pulled through on her own and is now a key data point in our ongoing study assessing injuries among the sea turtles that visit Jekyll Island.

The deep, permanent scars on Althea’s back remind us why we are working tirelessly around the clock to study these ancient animals. When the days are long, our research team feels grateful for the gears that keep us rolling forward, such as our UTVs. This summer Jekyll Island is expected to be busier than ever, not only with booming tourism but also with nesting sea turtles like Althea! Our team covers many miles every day and every night in the course of our education and conservation work, and it is all thanks to the support of the Jekyll Island Foundation and its network of donors.