UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant played a prominent role as co-sponsors and participants in the fourth annual Jekyll Island Green Screen, which was attended by more than 200 people this year. This free film event opened with the acclaimed environmental documentary, “The Forgotten Coast: Return to Wild Florida,” in which three friends leave civilization and explore the vastly unknown wildlife corridor from the Everglades to the Florida-Alabama border.
The opening film was followed by light hors d’oeuvres and a coastal research showcase, in which researchers and environmental professionals shared their work with an informal poster session. Afterwards, participants viewed the feature film, “Racing Extinction,” a documentary that has won and been nominated for numerous film festival awards.
UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant staff have been involved with this event since its inception in 2011. Ben Carswell, a former Georgia Sea Grant Knauss Fellow and now the director of conservation for the Jekyll Island Authority, helped develop the Green Screen with the help of UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant communications director Jill Gambill.
This year, Gambill served on the planning committee, Mark Risse gave the official welcome, Mona Behl spoke with participants at a Georgia Sea Grant display, Kelly Spratt presented a poster on her resiliency programming efforts and Bryan Fluech served on a Q&A panel that discussed biodiversity loss.