Tybee Island Marine Science Center Podcast

Coastal Ocean Physics, Hurricanes, and Right Whales with Dr. Catherine Edwards

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes Dr. Catherine Edwards, a coastal physical oceanographer and professor at UGA’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, to discuss how coastal ocean physics shapes ecosystems and forecasting.
 
Edwards describes her path from music and Spanish into applied physics and oceanography, and explains her work measuring temperature, salinity, density, tides, waves, and currents across Georgia’s wide continental shelf using research vessels, seafloor instruments, and autonomous gliders. She connects coastal processes to carbon export and sequestration, the Gulf Stream’s influence, and why real-time glider profiles improve hurricane intensity forecasts, including rapid intensification risk.
 
Edwards also details using quiet gliders with hydrophones to detect North Atlantic right whale calls, confirm detections with analysts, and send alerts through NOAA to tools like Whale Alert and Whale Map to help slow ships. The conversation includes river-driven events like undammed flood pulses reaching Gray’s Reef and a myth-busting aside about toilet swirl direction.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Welcome to Tybee Podcast
01:01 Meet Dr Edwards
01:38 Path Into Oceanography
04:22 Coastal Physics Explained
05:45 Tools and Measurements
07:30 El Nino and Carbon
11:10 Hurricanes and Heat
12:18 Gliders and Right Whales
16:38 Whale Alerts to Mariners
18:25 Radars and Rescue
20:16 Defining Local Waters
21:37 Rivers and Flood Pulses
24:38 Altamaha Flood at Grays Reef
27:54 Do Oceans Really Mix
30:39 Gulf Stream Basics
32:54 Myths and Wrap Up
33:38 Next Tropical Research
36:37 Thanks and Membership
 

Sea Turtles, Terrapins, and Lionfish: Dr. Kathryn Craven on Coastal Georgia Conservation

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes Dr. Kathryn Craven, a Georgia Southern University professor, Tybee Marine Science Center board trustee, and researcher known for work with loggerhead sea turtles and diamondback terrapins.
 
Craven shares her path from growing up near the Northeast coast to landing a sea turtle research job on Jekyll Island in 1991, including renewing flipper-tagging efforts. She discusses Georgia nesting-season monitoring, increasing loggerhead nest numbers linked to conservation measures such as shrimp fishery regulations and beach protections, and emerging challenges like rising coyote predation, plus mitigation using nest screening and predator control (including feral hogs).
 
Craven highlights research on nest microbiomes (fungi and bacteria) and findings that most unhatched eggs show fertility. She explains the TERPS head-start program incubating terrapin eggs and releasing hatchlings to offset female road mortality on Highway 80. The conversation also covers teaching evolution misconceptions through student drawing, earlier humpback whale work on bubble-net feeding, and new collaborative DNA-based lionfish research tied to lionfish rodeos and outreach.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network
 
FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Welcome to the Podcast
00:42 Meet Dr Craven
01:42 Coastal Roots and Mentors
04:27 Finding Turtles in Georgia
06:46 Nesting Patrols and Tracks
08:22 Conservation Wins and Predators
10:49 Protecting Nests on Islands
13:06 Microbes Inside Turtle Nests
17:33 Terrapin Season and TERPS
19:04 Head Start Hatchlings Program
21:57 Terrapin History and Turtle Soup
23:27 Teaching Evolution Through Art
28:23 Whales and Bubble Net Feeding
32:20 Lionfish Invasion Research
37:38 Wrap Up and Support the Center
38:53 Membership and Programs Outro
 

Joy Davis on Blending Art and Marine Science at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes back Joy Davis, the Tybee Island Marine Science Center’s permanent artist-in-residence, a biologist-artist known for the Center’s three-dimensional North Atlantic right whale model of “Smoke” and life-size sea turtle models.
 
Davis discusses how homeschooling, travel as an Air Force brat, and a blended arts-and-science college path shaped her career, plus her move to Savannah/Tybee through teaching, bartending, ocean-driven volunteering, and eventually working at the Science Center. She explains the research and collaboration required to make the whale anatomically accurate, including reproducing Smoke’s unique callosities and adding 3D-printed “lice.”
 
Davis also describes work with Animal Exhibits and Designs creating zoo/aquarium environments, new Tybee exhibits like a sit-in osprey nest, four tiled ecosystem murals (marsh, maritime forest, dunes/beach, and Gray’s Reef), and a newly approved backyard pollinator and memorial-style garden.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Welcome to Tybee Podcast
00:45 Meet Joy Davis
02:21 Homeschool Roots
04:35 College and Mentors
05:43 Moving to Savannah
07:12 Tybee Ocean Pull
08:35 DIY Science Center Builds
09:17 Making the Right Whale
12:07 Smoke Fingerprints
14:09 Zoo Fabrication Work
16:18 Research First Process
17:04 Osprey Nest Exhibit
19:57 Murals Reveal
20:45 Mentor Polly Cooper
21:26 Barrier Island Ecosystems
23:49 Tile Craft Process
25:35 Firing Glazing Install
27:06 Backyard Garden Plans
28:49 Surfing Intuition Story
31:59 Wild Water Encounters
34:07 Teamwork Farewell
36:06 Science Center Membership
 

Veteran Healing Through Fishing: Captain Jimmy & Knot Lucky Foundation

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos is in the Ship Watch Loft of Tybee Marine Science Center with  Captain Jimmy Armel, former Army Ranger and founder of the Knot Lucky Foundation (K-N-O-T), which offers free fishing trips for active-duty service members and veterans (and immediate family) to support healing, connection, and purpose.
 
Armel shares his own struggles after leaving the military, including alcoholism, brain damage, and suicidal crises, and explains how fishing and later ibogaine treatment led him to shut down his for-profit charter to run the nonprofit full time. He describes transformations he’s witnessed, including posting $75,000 bail for a fellow Ranger, housing him, and building a customized mental health plan.
 
The episode also covers launching from Savannah Boathouse, ocean-based restoration, great white shark satellite tagging with Gray Fish Tag Research, fundraising via an annual barbecue, and ways to donate at knotlucky.org.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network
 
FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:30 Knot Lucky Mission
02:18 Veteran Struggles and Suicide
03:29 Jimmy’s Combat Trauma
05:08 Deployments and Brain Injury
06:38 Fishing as Lifeline
07:34 Second Spiral and Breakthrough
09:59 Veteran Transformations
11:43 Ocean Purpose and Stewardship
12:46 Great White Tagging Begins
14:36 How Shark Tagging Works
15:53 Tag Data and Biggest Sharks
16:42 Adrenaline and Close Calls
18:17 Supporting Not Lucky
20:48 Fishing as Healing
22:02 Water Connection Mindset
24:18 Purpose and Harvest
25:45 How to Join Trips
26:45 Plant Medicine Advocacy
28:03 Ibogaine and Recovery
29:52 Ryan Davis Spotlight
31:24 Fishing Research Thanks
32:48 Tybee Science Center Outro

Wilderness Southeast Eco Tours & Fish Gotta Swim: Coastal Georgia Environmental Education with Lisa Goodman

Welcome to the Tybee Island Marine Science Center Podcast! Host Jessica Leigh Lebos interviews Lisa Goodman, executive director of Wilderness Southeast, Georgia’s first environmental education nonprofit (founded 1973), about its mission to build awareness, appreciation, and stewardship through fun, guide-led outdoor eco-tours.
 
Goodman describes offerings including boat and kayak trips to Wassaw Island, marsh and creek exploration, and paddles at Ebenezer Creek, a tannin-stained blackwater ecosystem with ancient bald cypress and tupelo trees. She explains Wilderness Southeast’s roots, alongside the Caretta Research Project, as organizations that branched from the Savannah Science Museum, and highlights the grant-funded Fish Gotta Swim program (founded 2002) serving Title I students year-round, growing from 550 to 1,385 students. Challenges include school transportation, testing schedules, environmental threats, and technology. She previews the October Paddle Battle fundraiser and shares booking details.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network
 
FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Welcome to Tybee
00:51 Meet Lisa Goodman
02:16 Wassaw Island Tours
04:16 Savannah Science Museum Roots
06:52 Ebenezer Creek Kayaks
08:04 Tea Colored Water Explained
09:22 Fish Gotta Swim Program
12:02 Challenges and Changes
14:56 Lisa's Path to Leadership
18:47 Wild Stories in the Swamp
21:34 What's Next and Paddle Battle
23:04 Book a Tour and Connect
23:41 Closing Thanks and Outro
24:22 Science Center Membership Plug
 

Artist Betsy Cain on Coastal Georgia’s Marshes, Creative Process, and Reviving the Ossabaw Island Artist Residency

Host Jessica Leigh Lebos records from the Tybee Island Marine Science Center’s Ship Watch Loft and interviews multidisciplinary abstract artist Betsy Cain, whose work appears in major museums, galleries, and collections.
 
Cain discusses moving to Savannah in 1981 through the early SCAD community, how living near the river and later on the marsh shaped her work through tides, light, movement, and texture, and how kayaking immersed her in marsh ecology, weather, and pluff mud—materials she has even used in art.
 
She describes her disciplined daily studio practice, including distinct work “stations” and taking a 20-minute nap to gain clarity. Cain reflects on Ossabaw Island’s landscapes and longtime steward Sandy West, highlights the Jepson exhibit “Off the Coast of Paradise,” and explains efforts with Art Southeast to restart the Ossabaw Island Artist Residency, funded by sales of her Ossabaw drawings and new grants, with the first resident hoped for in the fall.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network
 
FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Podcast Welcome
00:55 Meet Betsy Cain
01:57 Moving to Savannah
03:12 Landscape Inspiration
04:15 Tides and Rhythm
07:39 Kayaking the Marsh
10:19 Pluff Mud Lessons
11:21 Studio Discipline
13:42 Stations and Process
15:11 Figure to Abstraction
16:57 Ossabaw Island
18:20 Exploring Ossabaw Landscapes
18:57 Painting With Sandy West
20:23 Saving The Island
21:25 Adventures At 102
22:48 Exhibit And Legacy
25:39 Reviving Artist Residency
28:15 Remembering Jane Fishman
31:27 Where To See Betsy Work
32:02 Longleaf Pine Inspiration
33:53 Art Making Philosophy
34:24 Protecting Coastal Georgia
35:22 Tybee Marine Science Center
 

Protecting Georgia's Marine Ecosystems: Light Pollution, Oysters, and More with Dr. Chris Hintz

This episode of the Tybee Marine Science Center Podcast (recorded at the Ship Watch Loft on Tybee Island) features award-winning marine biologist Dr. Chris Hintz, associate professor at Savannah State University.
 
Hintz recounts arriving at Savannah State in 2009, early NSF-funded coastal sampling along the Savannah River and Georgia coast, and his path from chemical/environmental engineering into marine science via coral aquaculture and filtration work, leading to a PhD at the University of South Carolina. He discusses receiving a Google Geo Good Impact award for documenting sea turtle hatchling misorientation linked to coastal light pollution affecting Ossabaw Island and other sites, plus efforts to estimate nest incubation temperatures using NOAA/NWS and NASA data without disturbing nests and to assess climate-related sex-ratio impacts.
 
He also describes collaborations on Ogeechee River microplastics and Gray’s Reef concerns, and research on oyster growth, reef restoration, and aquaculture’s environmental benefits.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Welcome and Awards
01:19 Georgia Coast Origin Story
03:19 Engineering to Ocean Science
09:22 Sea Turtle Light Pollution
12:05 Tracking Nest Temperatures
15:01 Microplastics and Rivers
16:32 Oysters and Acidification
18:50 Aquaculture Benefits Explained
22:41 Microscopic Ocean Monsters
23:45 State of the Ocean Today
25:29 Relaxing on the Water
27:17 Closing and Support TMSC
 

Tybee Island Marine Science Center Podcast Season 4: Sea Turtles, Octopus Adventures, and More

The award-winning Tybee Island Marine Science Center Podcast kicks off season four from the Shipwatch Loft at North Beach with host Jessica Leigh Lebos and superstar guest Chantal Audran, Executive Director of the Tybee Island Marine Science Center, to preview major updates.
 
Chantal highlights new exhibit clusters, including the center’s first cultural exhibit on Gullah Geechee coastal cultures featuring ethnobotany and medicinal plants, plus a maritime knot-tying exhibit incorporating a salvaged yardarm from the ship Barbara Negra.
 
The conversation also covers a newly arrived octopus (brought in through catch-and-release collection) and a new sea turtle hatchling, alongside upcoming releases. Chantal also shares some recent, wonderful news of her own! 
 
They discuss diamondback terrapin rescue, mortality research on Highway 80, egg recovery and incubation with Georgia Southern, and announce the April 25 Turtle Trot 5K fundraiser supporting Tybee’s sea turtle nesting season and education programs reaching 80,000 visitors annually.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network
 
FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Podcast Welcome
00:28 Season Four Guest
01:44 New Exhibit Unveiling
02:20 Gullah Geechee Culture
03:40 Maritime Knot Station
05:52 Octopus Arrival Story
08:02 Sea Turtle Hatchlings
08:44 Chantal New Mom
11:31 Terrapin Season Prep
12:45 Terrapin Rescue Research
15:16 Eggs To Headstart
18:07 Sea Turtle Season
18:58 Turtle Trot Details
22:21 Education Pillar
24:44 Why Our Water Green
26:07 80K Visitors Impact
29:16 Closing Thanks
 

Sun, Sand, & Sea Turtle Secrets: Tybee's Year-End Wrap

In the final episode of the Tybee Island Marine Science Podcast for 2025, the team reflects on a remarkable year. Host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes curators Sarah Alley and Rachel Cantrell to dive into the highlights from the Marine Science Center, including the much-anticipated Whale Week, turtle nest discoveries, birding adventures, and engaging in necropsies.
 
They also discuss upcoming plans for a new sea turtle hatchling and the release of Ossie the turtle. With a fun and informative tone, this episode captures the essence of marine conservation and the incredible work being done at the Tybee Island Marine Science Center.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network
 
FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE: 
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:51 Meet the Guests: Sarah Alley and Rachel Cantrell
01:09 Recap of the Year at the Science Center
01:27 Whale Week: Protecting Georgia's Whales
04:20 Shorebird Season on Tybee Island
06:59 Turtle Season: Nesting and Hatching
08:57 Memorable Moments and Challenges
16:26 Westie the Sea Turtle: A Success Story
22:52 Fun and Unexpected Events
23:57 Weather Woes and Bingo Wins
24:17 Rattlesnake Encounters
24:38 Fish Release Adventure
26:44 Graduate School and Coast Guard Duties
27:36 Sea Turtle Lighting Ordinance
31:21 Emergency Management in the Coast Guard
34:18 Master Birders Program
36:57 Necropsies and Conservation Efforts
40:44 New Residents at the Science Center
46:37 Looking Forward to 2026
 

Conserving Georgia's Coast: Megan Desrosiers of One Hundred Miles

In this episode of the Tybee Island Marine Science Center podcast, host Jessica Leigh Lebos welcomes Megan Desrosiers, the founding president and CEO of One Hundred Miles a coastal conservation organization dedicated to protecting Georgia's coastline through advocacy, education, and community engagement.
 
Megan discusses the organization's journey from its inception in 2013 with just two employees to becoming the leading advocacy group for the Georgia coast. Key topics include the success stories of legislative and community-driven conservation efforts, such as the protection of the Okefenokee Swamp and the halt of Spaceport Camden.
 
Megan sheds light on the challenges and strategies of grassroots mobilization and highlights the importance of community involvement in environmental protection. She also touches on environmental justice issues and the impact of local communities on conservation activities. Megan concludes by encouraging listeners to engage in local government and conservation efforts, emphasizing the power of voting and community participation.
 
Learn more about the voices and topics in this episode:
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Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network
 
FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Welcome to Tybee Island Marine Science Center
00:29 Introducing Megan Desrosiers and One Hundred Miles
01:24 Founding and Growth of One Hundred Miles
04:09 Advocacy and Legislative Successes
13:53 The Fight Against Spaceport Camden
22:25 Environmental Justice and Community Involvement
28:11 Personal Background and Passion for Conservation
31:43 Recreation and Conservation on the Georgia Coast
33:18 Get Involved: How You Can Help