Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges

Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges All-volunteer group supporting, advocating & promoting the 7 National Wildlife Refuges near Savannah. Connecting people to wildlife.

Southeast Georgia | Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex

Protecting coastal habitats. Supporting conservation for generations to come. Friends of Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the mission of the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex, which includes seven national wildlife refuges across coastal Georgia. Through fundraising, education, volunteer engag

ement, and community partnerships, we help conserve vital habitats for migratory birds, endangered species, and native wildlife—while expanding opportunities for people to experience and connect with these protected lands. Visit our nature store, The Gator Hole, at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor's Center! 694 Beech Hill Lane, Hardeeville, SC 29927
Hours: M-F 10am - 2pm

OUR IMPACT
- Support 7 National Wildlife Refuges across coastal Georgia
- Protect critical habitat for migratory birds, shorebirds, and threatened species
- Fund conservation, education, and visitor experience projects
- Engage the community through events, outreach, and volunteer programs

YOU ARE INVITED to our Annual Meeting! Saturday, June 6, 202610:00am - noonSavannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Cen...
05/29/2026

YOU ARE INVITED to our Annual Meeting!

Saturday, June 6, 2026
10:00am - noon
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge
Visitor Center
694 Beech Hill Lane, Hardeeville, SC

Free and open to the public. Come out and learn more about Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, who we are and what we support.

Also, come learn about our amazing guest speakers.
Re:Purpose Savannah, Rollen’s RAW Grains, & Lite Foot Foundation.

Light refreshments will be served, including a special treat, with plenty of time to meet and greet with members of our environmental community. Learn about advocacy, volunteer opportunities and what is happening on our wildlife refuges.

Registration is encouraged so we can prepare with an accurate head count. Visit our website’s event calendar to register.

https://coastalrefuges.org/calendar/ #!event/2026/6/6/2026-annual-meeting

We look forward to seeing you on the refuge!

Many of our migratory birds are flying into our refuges now. But don’t sleep on our Red-winged Blackbirds! While they ar...
04/23/2026

Many of our migratory birds are flying into our refuges now. But don’t sleep on our Red-winged Blackbirds!

While they are more common, and year-round residents, they still make great subjects for photos.

📸: Mary Alice Tartler

It was an amazing event! Over 600 in attendance and you helped Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges raise ov...
04/18/2026

It was an amazing event! Over 600 in attendance and you helped Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges raise over $1200 for our Refuge Complex!

A huge thank you to all of the volunteers that made this happen and the Refuge staff for the huge undertaking of planning such a great event!

It’s National Gardening Day 🌱Here in the Lowcountry, what we plant matters.Choosing native plants is one of the simplest...
04/14/2026

It’s National Gardening Day 🌱

Here in the Lowcountry, what we plant matters.

Choosing native plants is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to support the wildlife that call our coastal refuges home. Native species provide the food, shelter, and habitat that birds, pollinators, and other local wildlife depend on to thrive.

Even a small garden, a few containers, or a patch of yard can become part of a larger network of care—helping sustain the delicate balance of our coastal ecosystems.

This National Gardening Day, we invite you to plant with purpose. Support local wildlife. Strengthen our shared landscape.

What native plants are you adding to your garden this season?

Looking for a fun family friendly event this Saturday? Come out to Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge as we celebr...
04/07/2026

Looking for a fun family friendly event this Saturday? Come out to Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge as we celebrate 50 years of service!

Best of all? It’s FREE!

Gates open at 9:00 for a rare opportunity to drive onto the refuge. There will be activities scattered throughout the day including yoga, birding tours, nature walk, wagon rides, exhibits, live music, food trucks and MORE!

We hope to see you all on the refuge this Saturday!

More information can be found at FWS.gov/refuge/pinckney-island

Native Plant Spotlight: (Because April is also native Plant Month!) Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)Supports: h...
04/04/2026

Native Plant Spotlight: (Because April is also native Plant Month!) Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

Supports: hummingbirds, butterflies, and native bees

Why it matters: This native vine provides nectar along forest edges without crowding out everything else (unlike certain overachievers aka invasive species we won’t name…Lonicera maackii, L. japonica.) 😁

You’ll often see it weaving along sunny trail edges in refuges like Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, offering quick fuel stops for migrating hummingbirds.

Consider adding this to your yard to support local ecosystems—and give hummingbirds something worth arguing about.

Learn more here

April continues to show off—in the best way. Earth Month and Children & Nature Awareness Month? We love an overachiever....
04/01/2026

April continues to show off—in the best way. Earth Month and Children & Nature Awareness Month? We love an overachiever.

At Friends of Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, we’re celebrating the board, refuge staff, and volunteers who turned early life experiences into a lifelong commitment to showing up and caring—for people, wildlife, and wild places.

Next up… Monica, Savannah Wildlife Visitor Services Manager.

Before welcoming visitors to the refuge, Monica was already deep in her service era—starting at age 13 as a hospital volunteer (aka candy striper). By 14, she had already logged so many hours she earned the hat—a big deal and the ultimate badge of honor.

Not only that… she went on to earn more volunteer hours than any youth had ever recorded there at the time.

Overachiever? Absolutely.
Surprising? Not even a little.

Some people collect rocks as kids… Monica collected volunteer hours—and never really stopped 🙂

April is both Earth Month and Children & Nature Awareness Month, which feels like the perfect excuse to connect the dots...
03/30/2026

April is both Earth Month and Children & Nature Awareness Month, which feels like the perfect excuse to connect the dots between who we were… and how we got here.

At Friends of Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, some (not all!) of our board members, refuge staff, and volunteers all seem to share a similar origin story: muddy feet, pockets full of rocks, and a deep curiosity about the natural world.

So all month long, we’re sharing throwback photos of the people behind the work—because every conservation story starts somewhere.

First up… Kelley—board member and part of the team behind the Gator Hole Nature Store.

Barefoot, binoculars around her neck, somewhere in the mountains, and already fully committed to paying attention to the wild.

Some things don’t change 🙂

Address

694 Beech Hill Ln
Hardeeville, SC
29927

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 2pm
Tuesday 10am - 2pm
Wednesday 10am - 2pm
Thursday 10am - 2pm
Friday 10am - 2pm

Telephone

+19126041872

Website

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