Tag: Jekyll Island

Rich & Lynn

Meet Our Donors: Rich & Lynn Van Iderstyne

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

It’s fair to say their heads are often in the clouds, but Rich and Lynn Van Iderstyne are very aware and very connected to what’s happening on the ground at Jekyll Island.

Both long-time Delta Air Lines employees—he’s retired after serving 40 years as a pilot, she’s nearing just as many years of service as a flight attendant—they are caretakers of the Jekyll Island Airport, owners of Red Bug Motors, and proprietors of Red Bug Motors Pizza.

“I’ve known Jekyll since I was a child,” said Rich. “Most of my mom’s family is from southern Georgia and all the cousins would come here.” Years later, after moving to Atlanta, he owned a small airplane and was always looking for places to fly. He ended up cruising down to Jekyll almost every weekend because it was a “calm and relaxing” place in contrast to Atlanta’s hustle and bustle.

“It was also his favorite place to go on dates,” quipped Lynn. The two met on an airplane—by chance—while headed to Colorado’s Aspen Snowmass for a ski weekend. Married now for 27 years, they would split their time between Atlanta and Jekyll until son Daniel, now a pilot for Delta, graduated from high school and Jekyll then became their primary residence.

In 2005, when Delta filed for bankruptcy, they decided a back-up life plan might be wise. “We’d heard about the red bug cars that the millionaires brought to use for fun and easy transportation around the Island,” said Rich. So, they did their research on the original vehicles and reintroduced a modern, environmentally friendly, rentable version for residents and visitors.

“Then one year we were on Island for the Super Bowl and discovered that you couldn’t get a pizza delivered, so we opened up a pizza restaurant,” he said. For this venture, they carefully repurposed the former Great Dunes golf course  pro shop.

“It’s a beautiful little building that’s more than a business,” said Lynn. “It’s a family-friendly place for people to get together and make memories as well as share a good meal.”

While those businesses were taking flight, the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) recognized the couple’s commitment to the Island with the keys to welcome visitors to the the airport. “We completely redid the inside of the office and spruced up the outside,” said Rich. “We staffed it to greet pilots and their guests with a smile, helping them know where to visit while on Island and offering them two hours of free red bug rental.”

That enthusiasm for Jekyll led the JIA to tap the Van Iderstynes again when the state couldn’t help with critical repairs to some of the Historic District’s buildings. Rich was invited to become an advisory board member in the early days of the Jekyll Island Foundation and, along with several other very dedicated people, worked hard to raise funds through activities such as a golf tournament, family weekends, and festivals.

But Rich was also able to offer a unique opportunity. “I have a restored World War II plane and would offer rides to people, especially war veterans,” he said. “They would marvel at Jekyll from the air and when they tried to pay me, I would refuse by asking them to instead make a donation to the Foundation.”

The first project the Foundation helped to raise funding for was the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, which currently operates in the Historic District’s Club-era power plant. A more recent Foundation fundraising initiative—Mosaic, Jekyll Island Museum—also benefited from the Van Iderstynes.

“There’s a little area about the red bugs,” said Lynn. “We were so happy to have that piece of history highlighted and to contribute to Jekyll’s story.”

A story, they both feel, that keeps getting better. “There have been so many positive changes over the years,” said Rich. “The Island looks nicer than ever, and that’s because the JIA has done a great job of maintaining the balance between nature and development.”

“Being able to walk along the bike paths and see all the wildlife is so amazing,” said Lynn. “And living here with so many friends, such great neighbors, and so many things for people of any age to do and enjoy is also amazing.”

Asked to narrow down their Island ‘to do’ recommendations to one ‘not to be missed’ attraction, neither hesitates. “The heart of Jekyll is the Historic District,” said Rich. “It’s what really sets this Island apart, and I hope people spend time there…learning about the history and marveling at the architecture.”

Lynn, who had just recently been in Italy for work, added,” I walk through many historic places with my job as a flight attendant—places like Rome—and walking through the Historic District or really anywhere on Jekyll is just as satisfying to me!”

Mosaic’s 4th Anniversary

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

by Allison Dupuis, JIA Museum Educator

This April, Mosaic, Jekyll Island Museum, celebrates its fourth anniversary. Thousands of visitors have walked through the museum’s big red doors to experience Jekyll Island’s history. And what a rich history it is! In the museum gallery, visitors can listen to accounts of Wanderer survivors or a recording of the first transcontinental phone call, spearheaded by Jekyll Island Club member and AT&T president Theodore Vail in 1915. They can virtually “try on” outfits from the Gilded Age, explore an eagle’s nest, or take a spin around the island on a Red Bug. The museum’s lobby entrance, which features rotating exhibits, is preparing for its next exhibit launch in April as well. The gift shop pays homage to the building’s historical roots—it features some of the original structure that made this building the former Jekyll Island Club stables, complete with hay loft and a single (facsimile) horse.

Mosaic has certainly grown and remained dynamic since its opening day in 2019. Visitation numbers have grown, especially since the museum reopened after temporary closures due to the pandemic. In fact, at the end of the 2022 fiscal year, Mosaic’s annual visitation exceeded 50,000 people! Visitors take part in the museum’s trolley tours of the Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark district, which run four times daily. They also come to the museum for special historic tours and programs, which have continued to grow over the past two calendar years. These programs have taken guests all over the island, from St. Andrews Beach for a Dolphin Club Days tour to the Horton House for Pistols and Privateers. In the near future, Mosaic will begin to host a slate of new and exciting programs. Guests can enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at Mistletoe Cottage with April’s Cottage Spotlight, or can step back in time with Jekyll Island Club visitor Jean Struthers as part of the museum’s ongoing Living History Presents program.

There are exciting physical additions at Mosaic, too! Work has recently begun in earnest on the exterior paddock,” Mosaic’s outdoor education space. The paddock will host annual and seasonal programming and events. Work on the space is expected to be completed in mid-April, and the museum looks forward to utilizing this space to its fullest potential. To learn more or give to  this new addition, visit Mosaic Initiative. Make sure to keep up with all things Jekyll Island history by visiting Mosaic’s website.

Meet Our Board: Gary & Kelli Wadsten

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

“Jekyll is not just a special place, it’s a holy place,” said Kelli Wadsten.

She and husband Gary Wadsten, an executive committee member for Jekyll Island Foundation’s Board of Directors, have been energized by – and fueling – this feeling for nearly a decade via Carolina Holdings Group (CHG), which has helped revitalize certain areas of the Island through residential real estate projects.

“It’s one of the most meaningful places we’ve ever been not just because of our business ventures but because of the people we’ve met and that special feeling you get when you drive onto the causeway,” she said.

For Gary, meeting people on Jekyll started as a youth, which may also have been when the seed was planted for him to eventually become a valued partner in the island’s revitalization. “My great aunt and uncle, Ruth and Lamar Hilton, were among the original [residential] housebuilders. I visited them a few times as a kid,” he said. “Coincidentally, my mom, Joan VanCampen, was part of this great group of friends who…for 20 years…spent January through March on Jekyll, always staying in the same group of rooms at the Quality Inn (now Seafarer Inn & Suites). And another relative—my uncle Rudy Kazenberger, who was part of that ‘snowbird’ group with my mom—was a longtime restoration volunteer for Hollybourne Cottage.”

In 2014, a former colleague called Gary about a potential opportunity on Jekyll. “I hadn’t been there in a very long time,” he said. CHG worked with a Florida bank that had taken possession of the old Clarion Oceanfront Resort, a property that was in terrible shape and needed to be demolished. Today it is known as The Cottages at Jekyll Island, an oceanfront residential community.

“Because of that project, I met a great friend who is also now a business partner,” said Gary. “And for a long time, Kelli and I owned one of the homes in The Cottages, where we really enjoyed sharing our love of the island with family and friends.”

The success of The Cottages led to being trusted with a second project, Ocean Oaks at Jekyll Island, a joint venture with Delaware-based Leon Weiner & Associates, and now a third: The Moorings at Jekyll Harbor.

“Gary doesn’t shy away from projects that others might think are too challenging,” said Kelli, referring to the state legislation in place that govern how much as well as how development occurs on the island, which is a state park.

“The [Jekyll Island] Authority has done a great job of championing—and inviting others to share in the vision of—conservation,” said Gary. “I have tremendous respect for the delicate balance of the situation and want to do what’s right for Jekyll.”

This perspective is what also led them to give back and get more involved. “We didn’t know when we did The Cottages that there would be other opportunities,” said Kelli, “but we felt it was important to be part of Jekyll in every way we could.” They started by being one of the sponsors for the island’s annual Shrimp & Grits Festival, which is where they had their first significant encounter with the Foundation.

“[Foundation Executive Director] Dion walked right up and started talking to me,” said Gary. “Her energy and enthusiasm for all things Jekyll was just so compelling.”

That enthusiasm, coupled with the vision and commitment of the Foundation Board, influenced CHG to provide a corporate investment in Mosaic, Jekyll Island Museum. Later, it also prompted a resounding ‘yes’ from Gary when he was asked to serve on the Board. “As a non-native Georgian, I was blown away by the invitation,” he said. “I love that I have another platform from which I can shout loud and proud about my love for Jekyll.”

Now five years into his Board service, Gary is looking forward to using that platform to raise awareness and support for the Foundation’s next big project: a capital campaign to raise funding for renovations and expansion of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. “It’s going to be one of the biggest undertakings in the organization’s history and it’s going to be one of the Island’s biggest opportunities for outreach,” he said.

And while Gary and Kelli have been an integral part of the Island’s revitalization over the past decade, they also respect there’s a limit. “We think it would be wonderful for Jekyll to continue to grow in popularity as long as that’s not at the expense of its integrity,” she said. “It’s hard to find a place where you can drown out the noise, but when we walk or run or bike those trails, it feels like no other place in the world. It feels like heaven.”

Wintertime is NUTS!

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

by Rachel Overmeyer, GSTC Rehabilitation Program Manager

Who doesn’t love a good pecan, macadamia nut, hazelnut, beech nut, or walnut? Nuts can be sweet, salty, or a little bit of both, which is also the case for cold stunned sea turtle patients. Every year there is a naming theme for the cold stunned turtles that arrive to the Center in the cold winter months, and this year’s theme was types of nuts.

The assumption would be that colder weather means less sea turtle patients for the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) but in reality, that simply isn’t the case. Every year the GSTC treats and releases sea turtles that have been cold stunned. Cold stunning is the reptile version of hypothermia and occurs when the surrounding water temperature drops below 50°F for an extended period. Sea turtles are ectotherms and rely on the surrounding environment to help regulate their body temperature. When the temperature drops too low it can cause these turtles to float and eventually strand.

This winter was no different. The GSTC, with the help of Turtles Fly Too, received eight cold stunned juvenile Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles from the New England Aquarium to help continue their care. Through these partnerships, the GSTC has been able to help rehabilitate more than 150 sea turtles from the New England area since 2014. The GSTC also received six cold stun juvenile green sea turtles from Georgia waters.

Care for these animals begins with a physical exam, blood work, fluid therapy and by slowly raising their body temperatures 5°F per day. Once the patient’s body temperature reaches 75°F, food can start to be offered and drugs administered. If all goes well and the patients don’t develop any secondary issues such as pneumonia, they can be released relatively soon once water temperatures warm up. Please stop by and check out the cold stun patients at the GSTC, from the elevated walkway or even on one of the Behind the Scenes Tours.  The Jekyll Island Foundation’s funding support of the Center’s rehabilitation mission helps every turtle’s journey to heal and make it back home. To help support the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, click HERE. To learn more about the Jekyll Island Foundation, click HERE.

Connecting Wildlife & Opportunity

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

by Yank Moore, Director of Conservation, and Joseph Colbert CWB®, Wildlife Biologist

Conservation on Jekyll Island is reaching new heights as the focus shifts from primarily monitoring and collecting data, towards restoration and informed land management and ecological enhancement practices. This approach will create and improve conditions for wildlife and habitat diversity on the island, while still providing nature-based education and recreational opportunities for the public.

Recently the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) adopted the Golf Improvement Plan, with input from all major departments within JIA. As a part of this plan, a wildlife habitat corridor will be established from retired holes on Oleander Golf Course. Creating this wildlife corridor represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the Jekyll Island Authority to restore 52 acres of land into a thriving ecosystem that supports a multitude of wildlife, while also offering public access to walkways in an alluring natural setting. The corridor would be an early step to connect the northern and southern parts of the island, allowing animals that are vulnerable to human activities or sensitive to road crossings to have easy and safe movement island wide.

The corridor will include a mixture of maritime grassland and longleaf pine savanna trees. Both habitats are currently among the most limited habitats on the island but were once a dominant landscape feature along the coast. Both habitats are characterized by few trees and shrubs but are dominated by a mixture of grasses that many regionally rare wildlife rely on. The nesting, feeding, and roosting features that so many priority bird species need to survive will be created by this restoration project. It will provide public access to a sanctuary for wildlife where birdwatchers and photographers will be granted extensive views deep into the landscape and a sense of what coastal Georgia looked like many centuries ago.

A view of a grass-dominated ecosystem is nothing short of breathtaking, especially on a day with a gentle breeze that sets the low-growing plants into motion. As stewards of Jekyll Island with a mission to support nature-based recreation, this project provides visitors and residents an unforgettable experience outdoors, while also improving conditions for resident wildlife. Learn how you can support ongoing conservation projects like this one by becoming a member of the Jekyll Island Foundation today.

Meet Our Donors: Michael and Judy Hartley

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

Judy and Michael Hartley’s appreciation for Jekyll Island can trace its roots to…elementary school.

“We grew up together in Marietta (GA),” said Michael. “We met in sixth grade but didn’t start dating until our senior year.” They went to college together, got married, and moved to Chicago for graduate school.

Judy got her MBA at Emory University – “one of the few women to do so in the 1980s,” she said – and then carved out a name for herself on Wall Street from their homebase in Atlanta. Michael got his MBA at night and started a successful career in the telecom industry. Judy has since retired while Michael continues to consult.

“My family had a place on St. Simons, so we would visit the area often,” said Judy. Michael knew of the barrier islands as a child but didn’t come to know them well until later. “We would drive over to Jekyll for the traditional things: golf, the water park for kids, visiting the (Georgia Sea) Turtle Center,” he said.

The first time he and Judy experienced sunset to sunrise on Jekyll was when they were empty nesters. “We went to Whiskey, Wine and Wildlife in 2017,” said Judy. “We attended an event benefitting the (Jekyll Island) Foundation, met some great people, and went on a boat ride that enabled us to truly understand and appreciate how undeveloped the Island is.”

Today they split their time between Smyrna (GA) and Jekyll, where living in a planned community has been a pleasant surprise. “We love our Ocean Oaks neighbors,” said Judy. “They make us want to spend more time here, so it’s a balance to also be nearer to our grandchildren.”

Asked to name their favorite thing about Jekyll and neither hesitates: “The beauty.”

“As environmentalists, we like that it’s a priority to keep the Golden Isles beautiful,” said Judy. And they gifted the opportunity for others to soak in that beauty when they donated (through the Foundation) a bench by the river along the wharf in honor of her parents.

“We love that the human activities are part of the natural elements, like that you can see the water from the bike trails that wind through the trees,’ said Judy. “And the (Jekyll Island) Authority has really done a great job of ensuring things are in good repair, like the bike paths and the dunes,” said Michael.

Both laud the Authority and Foundation for the Mosaic (Jekyll Island Museum). “The interactivity offers such an opportunity for people to really understand the past, present, and future need to protect the Island,” said Michael.

Speaking of the future, the Hartleys are excited to see what’s next for the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. “Just like the Mosaic, it needs to expand and be more interactive,” said Judy. “We hope it shows more of the medical miracles.”

They also look forward to more opportunities for different communities on the island to interact regularly. “North and south, new and established,” said Michael. “The uniqueness of—and appreciation for—Jekyll provides an easy common denominator.”

Tech Teaching Tools

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

by Nicole Thomas, GSTC Education Program Manager

As the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) closes out its 15th anniversary year of education, rehabilitation, and research, the staff is looking forward in 2023. One of the Center’s goals this year is advancing ocean literacy through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math) education. Understanding how the ocean supports and connects all life is vitally important to how decisions are made. The functions of the ocean impact what consumers buy, where they live, and what they eat. Pairing knowledge and awareness about the scientific processes of the ocean with creative problem-solving and solution-driven modifications are foundational pieces to the puzzle of sea turtle conservation.

How are these connections made? It usually begins in the classroom on a school field trip. The GSTC’s educational programs are designed as introductions to STEAM concepts and how humans can all play a role as ocean stewards. In the classroom, a variety of teaching methods are utilized like hands-on exercises and inquiry-based group work.

But STEAM isn’t just for students. One tech tool GSTC educators utilize for almost every school group is the interactive whiteboard. The whiteboard allows educators and students to work collaboratively, maintaining a higher level of engagement. Teachers can pull up models and data, interact with maps, and play videos. Using technology like e-boards is one of the ways GSTC staff can make a big impact in the short amount of time spent with students during their visit.     

Not every class has the funds or flexibility to visit the GSTC in person, but with STEAM education, learning can happen beyond the entrance doors. Second through twelve grade and college students can visit the Center through Virtual Field Trips covering a variety of topics like threats, veterinary medicine, habitats, and adaptations. These online programs provide an up-close view of the science and engineering that goes into rescue and rehabilitation.

Ensuring state-of-the-art teaching tools are available makes the Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s educational programs unique, providing the opportunity to reach thousands of students each year. The Jekyll Island Foundation’s funding support of the Center’s education mission helps bring STEAM to life. To help support the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, click HERE. To learn more about the Jekyll Island Foundation, click HERE.

Sea Turtles Breaking Records

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

By Davide Zailo, Research Program Manager, Georgia Sea Turtle Center

The start of nesting sea-turtle activity began early this year on Jekyll Island. On April 28th, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s (GSTC) sea turtle patrol team was notified of mysterious large tracks spotted above the high tide line on Jekyll’s south end. Normally, the team begin its surveys for nesting sea turtles in May. Staff loaded equipment into the beach-ready UTVs, a necessary purchase made possible through funding provided by the Jekyll Island Foundation, and headed to the scene. Indeed, there were tracks left from the flippers and shell of an adult loggerhead sea turtle that had emerged around high tide the night before. She did not nest during this attempt, and it was characterized as a “false crawl”; however, it was a sign of an impending busy nesting season. In fact, Jekyll Island had the earliest recorded 2022 sea turtle nesting season activity for the entire state of Georgia.

From May to the end of October (or until the last known nests have hatched in Georgia), the GSTC Research Team, permitted by GDNR, patrols Jekyll Island’s beaches throughout the night to encounter as many nesting loggerhead sea turtles as possible. These night patrols allow the team to study females directly, collect nest data, and provide unforgettable experiences for guests attending nighttime Education programs. To ensure that nesting is not interrupted, researchers carefully watch emerging turtles from a distance until they start to lay eggs or begin returning to the water in the case of a “false crawl” to begin performing data collection. Every turtle is safely examined, measured, tagged, and have a skin collection taken for genetic analysis according to a flow-chart of data collection priorities. If a sample is not able to be safely collected we will wait and hope to encounter the animal again later in the season.

Each morning at 6 a.m., our Night Patrol team is replaced by a smaller Dawn Patrol team which covers Jekyll’s beaches to perform a daily check of each nest to document its progress throughout incubation and ensure it remains safe from unnecessary predation risk from species such as raccoons and foxes. Five days after hatching, the nest is carefully excavated to assess egg hatching success and collect other information.

The most common nesting sea turtle species, the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), can weigh upwards of 300 pounds and lay up to multiple clutches, or nests, of 100+ eggs in a single season. Some turtles will place all their nests on Jekyll Island whereas others will distribute them among multiple islands. Nesting females are at least 30-35 years old and are the drivers of population growth, recovery, and ultimately, persistence. Tallying nests allows researchers to estimate numbers of adult females and whether the loggerhead population is increasing, stable, or declining. This year turned out to be a record-breaking year here on Jekyll, throughout Georgia, and the rest of the southeastern United States. A potential indication that the rewards of conservation and management activities such as protection of nesting sites and reductions in capture and mortality of sea turtles by commercial fishing vessels 30+ years ago are finally becoming apparent. On Jekyll, the island recorded 234 sea turtle nests which produced 21,624 hatchlings. For comparison, in 2004, only 25 nests were counted on Jekyll’s beaches.

These efforts would not be possible without the generous support of the Jekyll Island Foundation and its donors, supporting the native wildlife and building towards a more sustainable future.

To support the ongoing work of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, click HERE.

Meet Our Donors: Mike & Joy Cook

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

Mike and Joy Cook joke that they “almost” don’t want to tell anyone how special Jekyll Island is.

“That lets the secret out,” they said, smiling in unison.

As the now former educators—she a librarian, he a teacher—were contemplating where to sunset after their careers, Joy read something about the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC), which prompted their first visit to the Island.

“We wanted to do something in retirement that helped animals and the environment,” she said.

Jekyll’s beauty made an indelible impression on these beach-loving Florida transplants and protecting it is especially important to them. “We’re from Miami…and saw what happened there with the skyline covered in skyscrapers,” Mike said.

“Here the moss-covered trees are our skyscrapers,” said Joy, “and even the gas station blends into the landscape.”

Once they bought a house on Jekyll and settled in, they got busy volunteering. “Let me put it this way,” teased Mike, “we’re DINKs (dual income no kids) with cats.” They signed up for a class on how to get involved and found out the GSTC had a virtual education program for youth, which they then supported for several years. They also got to know the park ranger and helped with some of nature programs such as Gatorology, the history, biology and conservation efforts related to the American Alligator, and Ranger Walks, a bald eagle nest viewing tour.

These days, in addition to any volunteer activities, they can often be found contributing to the Golden Isle’s edutainment through their Native American flute performances.

“We’ve been playing for about 20 years,” said Mike. “Before that, I’d never played an instrument.” It was a trip out west that first introduced them to the unique musical genre. They started to build a CD collection at their previous home in Florida, went to a dedicated school for the instrument in North Carolina, and eventually brought their talents with them to the Georgia coast.

“We like to share the idea of the flute circle, which is to help one another,” said Joy, speaking about their opportunities to perform for people on and off the Island.

That esprit de corps is also on display several times a week while they lead a class for practitioners of Qigong, an exercise flow of coordinated body-posturing along with breathing and meditation that supports health and spirituality.

When asked what they hope for Jekyll’s future, both agree that striking the right balance between what humans want and the environment needs has to be an ongoing commitment.

“The (Jekyll Island) Foundation does a good job [assisting with funding for] restoration projects in the Historic District and around the Island, [that help to] keep things preserved,” said Mike.

When ‘selling’ Island visits to family and friends, they make sure to mention how “laid back and comfortable” the atmosphere is, how the beaches aren’t as crowded as some of the other coastal destinations, and, of course, all the attractions—the GSTC, Mosaic, Jekyll Island Museum, the great restaurants, fishing off the pier, Driftwood Beach (“a must see”), Horton Pond—as well as the trolley tours.

“Even as residents we love to go on the trolley tours,” said Joy. “Depending on the time of year, there’s always something new to learn about the Island.”

They are especially fond of the Christmas holidays. “The Island events are a lot of fun,” Mike said. “We’ve decorated the (golf) cart and driven in the parade around the Island looking at all the light displays.”

For Joy, the best light displays Jekyll has to offer come twice a day. “A dawn and at dusk,” she offers, “the colors of the sky are just breathtaking.”