Center Fifth Anniversary Celebration a Success!
On November 2, 2002 Center board members, members, and guests gathered at the Coastal
Heritage Center next to the Saint Simons Island lighthouse to celebrate five years
of accomplishments in addressing important coastal issues.
Featured speaker, Susan Shipman, Director of the Coastal Resources Division of the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources, gave an engaging talk about a range of conditions,
trends, and concerns related to our region's natural resources. She emphasized the
challenges that lay ahead in gathering better information and developing more complete
analysis of environmental problems and their causes. Issues covered included fisheries,
growth trends and related land development, water supply and water quality, and hammock
protection.
Shipman advised that sustainable development can be achieved by:
(1) conserving natural landscapes,
(2) limiting impervious surfaces (roofs, pavement), and
(3) concentrating new growth in areas where supporting
infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, etc.) is already available.
In keeping with the Center's emphasis, Ms. Shipman declared that "Knowledge is
the currency of future decision making." Citing the need for baseline data, as
well as new types of information (economic and social as well as biological and
environmental), and the powerful potential of computer-based analysis, she concluded,
"With this new knowledge we can accelerate education and outreach, and achieve more
frequent exchange of information to improve cross-cutting decision making by all levels
of government."
Susan Shipman
Director of Coastal Resources Division,
Georgia Department of Natural Resources |
Center members Eileen Hutcheson and Kim Gollin
at the welcoming table |
As evidence of the audience's rapt interest, numerous questions were asked at
the end of Mr. Shipman's 45-minute presentation, which was also followed by an
enthusiastic round of applause as our executive director, David Kyler,
thanked her for speaking to the Center's board and members.
Following this, participants socialized over drinks and other refreshments
until a delicious flounder dinner was served. A number of people commented on
how much they enjoyed the evening, and suggested that we host similar events more
often. We encourage our members to volunteer in organizing one or more events for 2003.
Please call the Center to express your interest in getting involved!
Note: Our annual meeting is always held the first or second Saturday in November,
so please mark you calendars now, and look for further details in the Center's
newsletter and on our website (www.sustainablecoast.org).
Special Thanks to:
- Helen Alexander for her fine camera work in providing
the photos of our annual meeting, and
- Jeff Hoffman for his reporting on our annual event.
 |
