Tybee Island Marine Science Center Podcast

The Tybee Island Marine Science Center podcast welcomes senior curators Sarah Alley and Rachel Cantrell to discuss fall weather, daily animal husbandry, and preparations for the release of their three-year-old loggerhead sea turtle Ossie.

They explain the multi-week process of ordering, programming, testing, and attaching a satellite tag, and recall last year’s tagged turtle Westie, whose tracker pinged for nearly a year and fueled community updates. The hosts also cover ongoing tank cleaning and resets, new support from partner trawls for collecting animals, and the addition of a downstairs generator that reduces storm-related animal moves.

They share updates on moonfish added to Ossie’s tank, a strong Tybee-found hatchling discovered during a nest excavation, and Rachel’s upcoming move to San Diego for active-duty Coast Guard search-and-rescue command center orders.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:41 Meet The Curators

01:44 Ossie Release Prep

02:48 Tagging Day Details

03:21 Westie Release Story

05:26 Tracking Data Hopes

08:02 More Turtles Ahead

08:40 Daily Husbandry Work

09:42 Moonfish Snack Drama

11:32 New Generator Upgrade

12:14 Goober And Tank Plans

13:02 Tybee Hatchling Found

14:16 Nest Excavations Reality

15:05 Straggler Survival Checks

15:36 Foster Turtle Milestones

16:04 Nest 50 Tiny Turtle

16:46 Naming the Newbie

16:54 Rachel Heads to San Diego

18:05 Coast Guard SAR Life

18:25 Helicopter Over Tybee

19:58 California Turtle Surprise

21:16 Finding Wildlife Work

22:59 Favorite Turtle Memories

23:55 Friendship and Teamwork

25:10 Beach Educator Throwbacks

26:27 Goodbyes and Next Steps

26:54 Support the Science Center

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos is in the Ship Watch Loft at Tybee Island Marine Science Center with artist and landscape architect Lisa D. Watson of Planet Green Design LLC, who uses salvaged materials in her art and promotes sustainable landscaping with native plants. 

Watson shares her early connection to nature, how suburban lawn culture and retail nurseries contributed to invasive species, and defines invasives as exotics that harm native ecosystems, citing nandina (heavenly bamboo) and its toxic berries linked to eastern waxwing deaths. She recommends native alternatives such as wax myrtle, yaupon holly, inkberry, and chokeberry, and discusses conserving pollinators by avoiding leaf blowers and keeping fallen leaves as mulch to protect overwintering insects like fireflies and swallowtails. 

The conversation also covers her exhibitions (including “Fur, Feathers, and Familiars”), pitcher plant–inspired work from protected South Carolina sites, her in-progress book “Wild for Wildscapes,” and her advice to convert 10% of a yard into native habitat.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:48 Meet Lisa Watson

01:49 Eco Hero Origins

03:50 Native Plant Basics

04:15 Invasives Explained

06:09 Better Plant Choices

08:13 Leaves Not Blowers

11:11 Pollinator Garden Talk

12:23 Milkweed And More

14:45 Pivot To Artwork

15:12 Fur Feathers Show

17:14 Fragile Habitats Inspo

18:36 Roadside Ecosystems

19:05 Mosquito Control Debate

19:56 Roadside Ditch Exhibit

20:35 Wild for Wildscapes Book

22:09 Why Plant Natives

24:13 Native Plants in Public Spaces

24:52 Tybee Berm Success Story

26:59 Propagation and Where to See Natives

28:12 Art vs Gardening Balance

30:21 Seed Packet Greeting Cards

31:05 Easy Steps to Start Today

32:10 Marine Science Center Closing

Jessica Leigh Lebos hosts the Tybee Island Marine Science Center podcast and interviews Laura Solomon, co-founder of Tybee Oyster Company, about their floating oyster farm in the Bull River near Wilmington Island and how it produces salty, consistent oysters for Tybee, Savannah and other restaurants in the region.

Solomon explains year-round harvesting through refrigeration, food-safety cold chain practices, and keeping oysters submerged and shaded in summer, along with Georgia’s recent regulatory framework for oyster mariculture and oversight by DNR, Department of Agriculture, Army Corps, Coast Guard, and NOAA. She describes the farm’s seed-to-harvest process (including a FLUPSY nursery), culling for quality, and the ecological role of oysters as keystone species.

The conversation covers oyster-history on the Georgia coast, shell recycling and restoration with partners like Shell to Shore, and Tybee Oyster Company’s nonprofit Eco Georgia (started in 2024) which works with eight schools on oyster education, advocacy, and student projects. Solomon also previews Eco Georgia’s Nov. 8 oyster festival fundraiser at Starland Yard featuring Georgia-grown oysters, local chefs, and beverage partners, and discusses scaling challenges, storm impacts, and her preferred way to eat oysters.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:30 Where the Farm Lives

02:26 Year Round Oyster Safety

03:37 Permits and Regulators

04:57 Farm Gear and Nursery

06:25 Perfect Oyster Process

07:27 Oysters as Community

09:48 Restoration and History

14:30 ECO Schools Program

17:33 Georgia Oyster Festival

19:31 Scaling and Storms

23:00 Marsh Challenges and Terroir

25:19 How Laura Eats Oysters

26:14 Closing and Membership

Welcome to the Tybee Island Marine Science Center podcast, recorded in the Ship Watch Loft. On this episode, host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes Brooke Chase, host of the Simply B. Sustainable Podcast and co-organizer of Green Drinks Savannah, a monthly gathering (second Tuesday at 6:00) for ecologically minded community and action.

Chase shares how she and Chloe revived Green Drinks after reconnecting with a former organizer and describes the event’s growth and rotating locations and topics, including an upcoming Forsyth Park tree walk.

She discusses her lifelong drive to reduce waste, emphasizing that imperfect efforts by many matter more than perfection by a few, and frames consumer choices as “money is your vote.” Practical tips include “refuse, repair, reduce, reuse, recycle,” avoiding plastic and styrofoam, composting (highlighting Core Compost), using ABC Glass recycling in Thunderbolt, buying secondhand via Goodwill, Facebook Marketplace, and Buy Nothing, and creating native pollinator gardens. They also note concerns about AI’s water and energy impacts.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Welcome to Tybee Podcast

00:37 Meet Brooke Chase

01:53 Reviving Green Drinks

04:58 Why Sustainability Matters

06:28 Small Choices Big Impact

09:40 Thrifting and Buy Nothing

11:57 Clothing Swaps and Waste

12:39 AI and Environmental Costs

14:42 Community Sustainability Partners

16:51 Easy Sustainable Habits

19:07 Hope and Learning Together

20:57 Next Green Drinks Details

22:26 Final Tips and Farewell

23:45 Science Center Closing Message

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos sits down at the Tybee Island Marine Science Center with Cloe LeMaire, an environmental scientist and the Savannah Reuse System Outreach Coordinator for Savannah Riverkeeper. They dive deep into the major pressures currently facing the Savannah River, from port-driven growth to the rapid explosion of regional warehouses.

What We Cover in This Episode

Get Involved Cloe invites listeners to join Savannah Riverkeeper, make use of their community reporting tools, and roll up their sleeves for a cleanup at Lake Mayer Park on September 12th.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes Tybee Island Maritime Academy science teacher and assistant principal Katie Holliday to the Tybee Island Marine Science Center podcast to discuss TIMA’s place-based, maritime-centered K–8 curriculum and daily experiential learning on Tybee’s beach and marshes.

Recorded from the Ship Watch Loft at Tybee Island Marine Science Center. 

Holliday explains TIMA is a lottery-based charter school within Savannah-Chatham County Public School System that integrates STEAM through project/problem-based learning and community partnerships, including a NOAA Ocean Guardian native plant garden planted at the Marine Science Center with support from All The Buzz nursery. They highlight TIMA’s MATE ROV robotics program (earning high-school engineering credit) and a recent second-place finish.

Holiday shares her 17-year teaching journey and stewardship goals, discusses the school’s purchase of the former Thunderbolt Elementary to potentially expand beyond Tybee, notes TIMA’s established cellphone collection policy, and outlines thoughtful approaches to student AI use and STEAM recertification.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos records the Tybee Island Marine Science Center podcast from the Ship Watch loft and interviews Kristen Zemaitis, a biologist with the Caretta Research Project, a nonprofit loggerhead sea turtle research program on Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge that has monitored nesting for 54 years.

Zemaitis explains how saturation tagging shows individual females can lay up to eight nests per season about two weeks apart, and discusses natal homing, genetics work with UGA and building paternal family trees from embryo DNA.

She describes night patrol fieldwork from May–August using volunteer teams, data collection (measurements, PIT/metal tags, blood/skin/cloacal samples, one egg per nest), nest relocation and predator screens, and challenges like heat, bugs, storms, coyotes, and alligators. The episode covers nesting cycles, TED impacts, satellite tagging, volunteer registration, fundraising, and education outreach.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes Dr. Catherine Edwards, a coastal physical oceanographer and professor at UGA’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, to discuss how coastal ocean physics shapes ecosystems and forecasting.

Edwards describes her path from music and Spanish into applied physics and oceanography, and explains her work measuring temperature, salinity, density, tides, waves, and currents across Georgia’s wide continental shelf using research vessels, seafloor instruments, and autonomous gliders. She connects coastal processes to carbon export and sequestration, the Gulf Stream’s influence, and why real-time glider profiles improve hurricane intensity forecasts, including rapid intensification risk.

Edwards also details using quiet gliders with hydrophones to detect North Atlantic right whale calls, confirm detections with analysts, and send alerts through NOAA to tools like Whale Alert and Whale Map to help slow ships. The conversation includes river-driven events like undammed flood pulses reaching Gray’s Reef and a myth-busting aside about toilet swirl direction.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Welcome to Tybee Podcast

01:01 Meet Dr Edwards

01:38 Path Into Oceanography

04:22 Coastal Physics Explained

05:45 Tools and Measurements

07:30 El Nino and Carbon

11:10 Hurricanes and Heat

12:18 Gliders and Right Whales

16:38 Whale Alerts to Mariners

18:25 Radars and Rescue

20:16 Defining Local Waters

21:37 Rivers and Flood Pulses

24:38 Altamaha Flood at Grays Reef

27:54 Do Oceans Really Mix

30:39 Gulf Stream Basics

32:54 Myths and Wrap Up

33:38 Next Tropical Research

36:37 Thanks and Membership

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes Dr. Kathryn Craven, a Georgia Southern University professor, Tybee Marine Science Center board trustee, and researcher known for work with loggerhead sea turtles and diamondback terrapins.

Craven shares her path from growing up near the Northeast coast to landing a sea turtle research job on Jekyll Island in 1991, including renewing flipper-tagging efforts. She discusses Georgia nesting-season monitoring, increasing loggerhead nest numbers linked to conservation measures such as shrimp fishery regulations and beach protections, and emerging challenges like rising coyote predation, plus mitigation using nest screening and predator control (including feral hogs).

Craven highlights research on nest microbiomes (fungi and bacteria) and findings that most unhatched eggs show fertility. She explains the TERPS head-start program incubating terrapin eggs and releasing hatchlings to offset female road mortality on Highway 80. The conversation also covers teaching evolution misconceptions through student drawing, earlier humpback whale work on bubble-net feeding, and new collaborative DNA-based lionfish research tied to lionfish rodeos and outreach.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Welcome to the Podcast

00:42 Meet Dr Craven

01:42 Coastal Roots and Mentors

04:27 Finding Turtles in Georgia

06:46 Nesting Patrols and Tracks

08:22 Conservation Wins and Predators

10:49 Protecting Nests on Islands

13:06 Microbes Inside Turtle Nests

17:33 Terrapin Season and TERPS

19:04 Head Start Hatchlings Program

21:57 Terrapin History and Turtle Soup

23:27 Teaching Evolution Through Art

28:23 Whales and Bubble Net Feeding

32:20 Lionfish Invasion Research

37:38 Wrap Up and Support the Center

38:53 Membership and Programs Outro

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes back Joy Davis, the Tybee Island Marine Science Center’s permanent artist-in-residence, a biologist-artist known for the Center’s three-dimensional North Atlantic right whale model of “Smoke” and life-size sea turtle models.

Davis discusses how homeschooling, travel as an Air Force brat, and a blended arts-and-science college path shaped her career, plus her move to Savannah/Tybee through teaching, bartending, ocean-driven volunteering, and eventually working at the Science Center. She explains the research and collaboration required to make the whale anatomically accurate, including reproducing Smoke’s unique callosities and adding 3D-printed “lice.”

Davis also describes work with Animal Exhibits and Designs creating zoo/aquarium environments, new Tybee exhibits like a sit-in osprey nest, four tiled ecosystem murals (marsh, maritime forest, dunes/beach, and Gray’s Reef), and a newly approved backyard pollinator and memorial-style garden.

Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Welcome to Tybee Podcast

00:45 Meet Joy Davis

02:21 Homeschool Roots

04:35 College and Mentors

05:43 Moving to Savannah

07:12 Tybee Ocean Pull

08:35 DIY Science Center Builds

09:17 Making the Right Whale

12:07 Smoke Fingerprints

14:09 Zoo Fabrication Work

16:18 Research First Process

17:04 Osprey Nest Exhibit

19:57 Murals Reveal

20:45 Mentor Polly Cooper

21:26 Barrier Island Ecosystems

23:49 Tile Craft Process

25:35 Firing Glazing Install

27:06 Backyard Garden Plans

28:49 Surfing Intuition Story

31:59 Wild Water Encounters

34:07 Teamwork Farewell

36:06 Science Center Membership