Although 85% of wild oyster reefs have disappeared over the past 120 years, Georgia's oyster populations are thriving!

Listen in as we chat with Justin Manley, the hatchery manager at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Shellfish Research Laboratory on Skidaway Island! We get deep into the science of oyster aquaculture and learn all about the work being done to protect this critical ecosystem!

Want to access resources about oyster farming? Check out the links below!

UGA Marine Extension

Oyster South

East Coast Shellfish Growers Association

We interrupt your regularly scheduled episode of Conservation Connection to bring you this special crossover episode with Crystal DiMiceli of the Forces For Nature Podcast and The Healthy Seas Podcast!

Listen in for a sneak peak of Season 10 and to discover another incredible podcast!

In a changing ocean, whales and their protectors must react fast to stay ahead of the curve!

This week we sit down with Cathy Sakas, a life long adventurer, biologist, and ocean advocate. She found the first North Atlantic right whale calf in Georgia over forty years ago, and has spent her career working to ensure that they'll survive in the face of a changing ocean!

Over 300 species rely on the Gopher Tortoise - and its burrows - to survive!

This week we chat with disturbance ecologist Barbara Blonder at Flagler College to learn about the struggles and survival tactics of coastal gopher tortoises! She uses her research and her position as City Commissioner to help St. Augustine make the best possible management decisions.

Happy rattlesnakes mean a happy island!

This week we sit down with Joseph Colbert, a wildlife biologist with the Jekyll Island Authority. He studies eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, and uses this knowledge to inform management decisions which keep the entirety of Jekyll Island in harmony with nature!

EXGREEN20

We're wrapping up this season with some big changes, some quick announcements, and a conversation on the value of collaboration!

Check back on April 2nd for the start of our next season when we'll be investigating coastal conservation in the American southeast, and come see us at EarthX in Dallas from April 22 to April 26th!

Visit EarthX.org to buy passes, and don't forget to use discount code EXGREEN20 to get 20% off! Reach out to us on our instagram @ConservationConnection

This week we dive deeper into the spider shoal lily and its role in the Chattahoochee River ecosystem by sitting down with Natalie Downey from the Chattahoochee River Conservancy. Listen in to learn about the importance of this flower and the ways that volunteers are working to restore its population!

Click here to get involved: ChattRiver.org

On Georgia's southern border lies the Okefenokee Swamp, our nation's largest intact blackwater wetland. For thousands of years it's been a place of refuge and recreation, but modern industry is threatening to change it forever. Listen in this week to Deborah Reed (Reed's Grocery Store) and Rena Peck (Georgia River Network) as we discuss the value of the Okefenokee and the dangers that are threatening its future!

www.ProtectOkefenokee.org

www.GARivers.org

Hydroelectric dams produce renewable and carbon-neutral electricity, but at what cost? This final episode from our live-podcasting event explores the story of the shoal lily, an endangered-but-not-legally-protected flower that's found only in the Southeast US.

If you'd like to get involved, check out these opportunities:

Shoal Lily Planting: https://www.chattahoocheeriverconservancy.org/volunteer.html

Shoal Lily Viewing on the Flint River: https://flintriverkeeper.org/events-calendar/

Thank you to ⁠Nia Impact Capital⁠ for sponsoring this live recording!

What's the point of studying our environment if we never take time to enjoy it? This week we sit with local student and river enthusiast Caroline Ellmer to hear her perspective of growing up on the Chattahoochee River and why it's so important to love where you live!

Thank you to ⁠⁠Nia Impact Capital⁠⁠ for sponsoring this live recording!

Not all species of bees are the same, and some are MUCH better at pollinating our food than others! Listen in this week to hear Masters student Sarah Tash tell the story of our favorite pollinator and their vital role in our lives.

Thank you to ⁠Nia Impact Capital⁠ for sponsoring this live recording!