Beachwalk Project Joins Altamaha Riverkeeper to Support Jekyll Island Protection
Altamaha Riverkeeper's work to protect Georgia's coastal environment is a shared goal of Beachwalk project members doing a 1600 mile paddle/walk of the East Coast.
Jekyll Island, GA (PRWEB) April 28, 2007
Protecting Jekyll Island for future generations was the focus of Altamaha Riverkeeper's (ARK) (www. altamahariverkeeper. org) recent Celebrate Jekyll gathering. ARK and Beachwalk Project members braved high winds on the island's undeveloped south end to urge citizens to support protection of Jekyll, one of Georgia's most accessible natural beaches.
Beginning in February 2007, Beachwalk Project members Stein Kretsinger and Robert Weinman launched a 133-day, 1600-mile walk/kayak journey along the entire eastern seashore from Miami, FL to New York, NY to support the environment.
After being on their trek for 8 weeks, the paddlers joined Altamaha Riverkeeper for the April 15th celebration. Weinman, a Seattle-based teacher when not paddling, expressed how wonderful it was to discover an island as pristine as Jekyll; "The landscape in Georgia is beautiful and natural, especially after coming from Florida where it is so developed."
Their stop on Jekyll was made to highlight the importance of protecting Georgia's barrier islands from beachfront development. Krestsinger said, "In Florida we saw first hand how development has driven the spending of millions of dollars to re-nourish beaches that are naturally eroding. Because numerous structures are built too close to the beach, now residents are paying the costs of bringing in more sand to keep the structures from falling into the ocean."
"We know how special Jekyll Island is to Georgians but learning from our guests about development problems on Florida's beaches renews our commitment to protecting the island for the thousands of visitors who come to enjoy its undeveloped nature," said Billie Jo Parker, the Coastkeeper of the Altamaha Riverkeeper.
In the last month, the Altamaha Riverkeeper joined thousands of citizens from throughout Georgia to support legislation to protect the south end of Jekyll from proposed development. The effort came after members of the Jekyll Island Authority began publicly discussing their plans to seek a master developer to create a development plan for the island. In the last hours of the 2007 General Assembly, Senator Jeff Chapman of Brunswick amended legislation aimed at facilitating Jekyll's development. These amendments will protect the island against inappropriate development.
The Beachwalk project is continuing and its route will take Kretsinger and Weinman along the world's longest barrier island chain, marked by beaches, swamps, estuaries and wetlands. Along the way, they are meeting with other waterkeepers, leaders, and educators in coastal communities. Part of their goal is to raise support for Waterkeeper Alliance, a grassroots advocacy organization with 155 local clean water advocates, such as the Altamaha Riverkeeper, who patrol waterways and protect the publics right to clean water. Beachwalk project is also using the expedition to promote healthy water and wind-based activities to children including: fishing, kayaking, surfing, windsurfing, kite-boarding and sailing.
Kretsinger and Weinman have a long history of outdoor sports under their belts and say every day is an adventure. When asked about planning for the trip, Kretsinger laughed and said that even though neither one of them started out as expert paddlers, they would be by the end of the trip.
If Kretsinger seems confident, it may be because he is no stranger to success. In 2000, he co-founded Advertising. com, an on-line marketing company, which was sold to AOL/Time Warner for a sunny $435 million in 2004.
The planner in the group seems to be Evelyn Weinman. She is following in the escort vehicle, organizing all public relations events, and arranging their overnight stays on beaches and in national and state parks. From Guam, Evelyn is also the chief cook and prepares her healthy native food in the RV, which serves as their home away from home.
Evelyn says, "You have to respect the water. It has its own spirit. Today in Guam, the water is so polluted with discharge from large ships it is not healthy for the natives to use the water for fishing anymore. We want to raise environmental awareness and encourage children and community members to become involved with programs, like the Altamaha Riverkeeper to promote responsible watershed stewardship."
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