By Leigh Baumann Jekyll Books at the Old Infirmary, located at 101 Old Plantation Road in the Landmark Historic District, will be hosting the first annual “Eco Book Festival” coinciding with the island-wide Mother Nature Festival to be held on Saturday, April 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00p.m. The juried selection of authors will include nationally-known and local best-selling authors from the genres of nature and environmental writing, naturalists guides, environmentally-related fiction, living “green” titles, and children’s books that have an ecological theme. The majority of authors at the “Eco Book Festival” are represented by national/international publishers, but regional authors with national recognition are also included. A full schedule of author events is available at Jekyll Books at the Old Infirmary.

A celebration of The Georgia Review, a quarterly publication of essays, short fiction, poetry, reviews, and art, will also be featured during the event. The Georgia Review celebrates publication of the Spring 2009 issue and its Focus on Culture and the Environment, featuring essays from five contemporary writers on the practice of living simply. Winner of two National Magazine Awards, The Georgia Review is a nationally respected, award-winning literary quarterly published at UGA since 1947.
In addition to the numerous authors signing throughout the day, a representative from Burt’s Bees, which is known for their earth-friendly personal care products, will also be at the store from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. doing product demonstrations and providing product samples.
 
Leigh Baumann, Proprietor of Jekyll Books, adds, “We are excited to be able to bring to together such a unique group of talented authors whose works help us to focus on environmental awareness and a renewed appreciation for ecological issues. Both adults and children alike will be delighted to be able to meet and interact with this wonderful group.”

In the spirit of Earth Day and to promote the recycling of used books, Jekyll Books will be collecting gently used books during the “Eco Book Festival” that will be donated to the Jekyll Rotary Lending Library located on the terrace level of the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. Donations of used fiction and non-fiction titles will be accepted, though encyclopedia sets are not able to be utilized.

Tags: Beachscape, book fest, burt's bees, earth day, earth-friendly, eco book festival, geocaching on jekyll island jekyll island georgia, Georgia, georgia beaches, georgia coast, georgia review, green, jekyll, jekyll books, jekyll bookstore, jekyll island, jekyll island plantation road, Mother Nature Festival, old infirmary, recycling
Posted in April 2009, Beachscape | No Comments »

On Jekyll Island, conservation is paramount. Great golf courses are pretty important, too. It has not always been easy for golf course managers to balance the demands of golf with their responsibility to the natural environment. Now, the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP) offers golf courses a way to protect the environment using low or no cost management practices. The ACSP for Golf Courses is an education and certification program that promotes ecologically sound land management and the conservation of natural resources on establishedgolf courses.John Niedhardt and Jim Curry, golf superintendents for the Jekyll Island Authority, have used the program to blend environmentally responsible maintenance practices into their day-to-day operations. They followed the Standard Environmental Management Practices set forth by the ACSP, which are the basis of the certification program. They include six major areas of attention: Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, Water Quality Management and Outreach and Education. Because of the steady efforts of Niehart, Curry and others, major progress has been made. This includes everything from reducing pesticide and fertilizer use to monitoring water quality, to adding bird nests along the golf course. As a result, the Pine Lakes Golf Course on Jekyll Island is very near to being certified. Golfer support of a course’s environmental management program is essential to its long term success, making Outreach and Education an important component of the certification process. Christa Frangiamore, conservation manager for the Jekyll Island Authority, has been working as part of the Jekyll Island team to complete these requirements of the certification process. As a means of educating the public while also improving the landscape, a wetland demonstration garden is being planned for the Pine Lakes Golf Course. “We are going to use a runoff retention pond to create an attractive wildlife garden that will host native plants and wildlife,” Frangiamore said. Several things will be accomplished using this educational tool. “We can show people an attractive and effective way to deal with rain water runoff,” said Frangiamore. “The garden will hold native wetland plants, and people can get ideas for their own landscaping projects.” The garden will naturally attract birds and butterflies thus aiding those volunteers who are compiling native species lists for butterflies, birds and “herps” (amphibians and reptiles). Most of the work to make the Pine Lakes Golf Course a top notch, environmentally responsible golf course has been done. The addition of the wildlife garden and several other planned Outreach and Education initiatives will help push the Pine Lakes Golf Course a step closer to certification.

Tags: conservation, environment, green, Jekyll Island gold, pine lakes
Posted in Beachscape, June 2008 | No Comments »