WILDERNESS SOUTHEAST JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2011 PRESS RELEASE

The crisp air of the season can provide glorious beach time. Enjoy an invigorating day exploring marshes and beach. As your official naturalist guide gives you a new angle on the coast, your open boat will meander the watery twists and turns between walls of golden marsh grass. Discover the life that depends on the rich estuarine waters as you observe dolphins, egrets, crabs, and even oysters from your boat, then stroll the spectacular beach and forest of this gorgeous island, learning the ecology and human history as you go. We’ll be watching for dolphins, shorebirds, and even alligators from the boat. Bring your lunch and meet on Wilmington Island, Savannah. Fee is $55/person; Tour size is 5-6 people. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.

An easy opportunity to kayak the tidal creeks and salt marshes and to learn the fascinating systems, biotic and abiotic, that influence our richly productive marshes. Your Wilderness Southeast Naturalist Guide will enthrall you with tales of this place, from the earliest humans on these shores to the variety of wildlife that lives here. After observing marsh life near shore, and brief paddling instructions, you’ll be gliding over protected waters beginning in open channels and maneuvering into narrow passages between banks of tall marsh grass. You’ll observe the richness and rhythms of estuary life. It's common for dolphins to surface close to your kayak, and for osprey or bald eagles to soar overhead. We'll step out to stretch our legs and briefly explore a wild shore. The good news is that waterproof clothing is available. It won’t be a fashion show as it is one size fits all, but if you’re concerned about staying dry this time of year, you’re in good hands. Fee is $55 per person; tour size 4 to 10 people for an intimate, personal experience. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

After basic canoeing instruction, your WiSE naturalist will lead the way downstream past tupelo and cypress, their dark, twisted trunks reflecting perfectly in the mirror-dark water. We'll be on the lookout for turtles, herons, and noisy kingfishers diving for their next meal. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to spot a shy alligator sunning in the shallows. There's beauty around every bend in every season. Fee of $45/person includes canoe, paddle, and basic instruction. Tour size 4-16 people. Meet in Rincon, GA. Reservations required.

Discover the joy of birding with a local Audubon shorebird specialist and newspaper columnist, Diana Churchill. We've timed this program for high tide, when high tide forces the birds off their mudflat feeding areas to rest on the beach. You'll meet some of the long distance flyers that visit the Georgia coast, and gain from Diana’s enlightening commentary. Discover some of the mysteries and dynamics of our wide, flat beaches. Fee of $20 per person includes use of spotting scope and binoculars; tour size 5 to 12 people for an intimate, personal experience. Meet on Tybee Island. Reservations required.

During the winter, the beach exercises a quiet magic. Join a Wilderness Southeast naturalist guide for a close look at the mysteries and dynamics of our wide, flat beaches. Find out who hides under the sand, and what they’re hiding from. Learn where beaches come from and why they remain. Learn the history of the area as you search for natural treasures. $20 fee. Group size: 5-15. Meet on Tybee Island. Reservations required.

February 2011

An easy stroll along the trail allows your naturalist guide to help you explore this dynamic and fascinating ecosystem that has supported humans on this coast throughout history. Come learn the fascinating inner workings of this rich natural resource that shelters, cleanses, and protects. Alternately submerged beneath salt water and baked under the sun, the plants and animals of this unique wilderness are highly specialized. Discover the drama of life in the mud and salt. Meet at Tybee Island, GA. $25 per person; tour size 4 to 12 participants.. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.

Join your naturalist guide aboard a small motorboat for a journey back in time. Beginning amidst the bustle of the harbor, you’ll travel upstream through the bustling Savannah Harbor to the serene expanse of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. Your guide will describe the history of human uses of the river from the days of rice plantations to the present day industrial landscape, and how these activities have changed the river and its tidal wetlands. Fee: $70/person includes use of binoculars. Tour size 5-6 people. BOAT SPACE IS LIMITED; RESERVATIONS REQUIRED!

With local birding guide extraordinaire, Diana Churchill you’ll explore a variety of habitats to find our late winter residents before they head north to their breeding grounds. Ducks such as hooded mergansers, several sparrow species, kinglets, sapsuckers, yellow-rumped warblers and more are likely to be spotted under Dianas leadership. She will share all sorts of information and stories about what you see. Fee $20/person, includes use of spotting scope and binoculars. Tour size, 4-15 people; meet on Skidaway Island, Ga. Reservations required.

After basic canoeing instruction, your WiSE naturalist will lead the way downstream past tupelo and cypress, their dark, twisted trunks reflecting perfectly in the mirror-dark water. We'll be on the lookout for turtles, herons, and noisy kingfishers diving for their next meal. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to spot a shy alligator sunning in the shallows. There's beauty around every bend in every season. Be sure to bring your camera. Fee of $45/person includes canoe, paddle, and basic instruction. Tour size 4-16 people. Meet in Rincon, GA. Reservations required.

Our Mission: To develop appreciation, understanding, stewardship, and enjoyment of the natural world.

For reservations call 912-236-8115 or sign-up on our website www.wilderness-southeast.org.

Note: A portion of fees from private programs help fund science enrichment education, both in-school and related educational field trips, for Savannah's under-served public school students.

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