Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges Announces Formation of Advisory Board for the Kingfisher Pond Discovery Center Project.
(HARDEEVILLE, SC / SAVANNAH, GA) The Board of Directors of Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges (FSCWR) has formed the Kingfisher Pond Discovery Center Advisory Board to direct the planning and building of the Kingfisher Pond Discovery Center. The Center will be built adjacent to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center on US Highway 17 between Hardeeville, SC and Savannah GA. At approximately 29000 acres, Savannah NWR is the largest of our seven local refuges and straddles the Georgia and South Carolina sides of the Savannah River just northwest of Savannah.
The Center will help support the Service’s Urban Wildlife Refuge Initiative by providing much-needed classroom and laboratory space and programs to engage and educate our young people about wildlife and wildlife habitat, inspiring them to become wildlife defenders for the future. The Center will also be available to local outdoor-related groups for meetings, programs and field trips.
The Advisory Board is working to raise the estimated $350,000 needed for the project from private donations and grants, as no Federal money is available. As of this press release, FSCWR has raised about $70,000, mostly from small individual and corporate donations. Our largest contributor so far has been the IKEA Distribution Center in Port Wentworth, donating $18,500. A list of all donors can be found on our website.
The Advisory Board is headed by Dr. Todd Cellini, President of the Savannah Campus of South University. Also serving on the Board are:
- Dr. Rick Shields, President FSCWR
- Monica Harris, Visitor Services Manger, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex
- Gareth Avant, Project Engineer, McKim & Creed
- Cassie Beckwith, Hansen Architects
- Dr. Cora Thompson, Savannah State University
- Marjorie Young, Carriage Trade Public Relations
- Jamie Anderson, Georgia Nature Photographers
- Dr. Lucas Kavlie, Associate Provost, Western Governor’s University
- Dean Peterson, IKEA Distribution Center 490, Port Wentworth, GA
- Victoria Ten Broeck, member at-large
Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges (FSCWR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in coastal Georgia and South Carolina that supports the US Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) and the seven National Wildlife Refuges in our area managed by the Service. For or more information about this worthwhile public-private partnership project, please visit www.coastalrefuges.org, or contact FSCWR President Rick Shields at webmaster@coastalrefuges.org or 912-604-1872.