On the Jekyll Island pier, Addison Simmons, a rising junior at the University of Georgia, hauls up her crab net, hoping to see a flash of blue. Her excitement builds with the realization that she’s caught a female blue crab.

With help from Lisa Gentit, a marine resource specialist at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, she learns how to carefully remove the crab from her net. Gentit points out some of the crab’s distinctive features, like the bright red pinchers that indicate it’s female, before releasing it back into the estuary.

Simmons is one of 11 UGA undergrads exploring the Lowcountry, documenting and celebrating the relationships between people and seafood as part of a service-learning domestic field study course at UGA entitled “Writing and Community at the Georgia Coast.”

Domestic field studies integrate place-based learning across diverse U.S. locations, and service-learning courses address community needs through partnerships with local organizations and institutions. With these partnerships, students learn new topics through the lens of those who live and work in the community.

This course was developed through a collaboration between the UGA Office of Instruction and UGA Public Service and Outreach, connecting the Office of Service-Learning, the Domestic Field Study program, and Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. Course instructor Elizabeth Davis spearheaded the initiative following her participation in the first Domestic Field Study Fellows cohort.

“It’s been incredible. This is what I imagined—learning firsthand what goes on in these communities, what they’re like, what their concerns are,” says Davis, who coordinates the Interdisciplinary Writing Certificate program at UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “Concerns vary from place to place, yet they are all connected by some very strong threads.”

Davis developed the concept after teaming up with faculty at Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. The organization’s long history of working with Georgia’s fishing communities made it an ideal partner for connecting students with people whose lives revolve around safe, sustainable seafood.

During the first half of the trip, the students stayed at South Carolina’s historic Penn Center, immersing themselves in the cultural tapestry of the Gullah Geechee community and gaining insights into its historical significance along the Georgia coast.

The second half took them to various UGA coastal campuses, including Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s facilities on Skidaway Island and in Brunswick, as well as UGA’s Marine Institute on Sapelo Island. They explored the saltmarsh, which is vital to seafood like fish, crabs and shrimp. They participated in activities like crabbing and seining, where they learned how to identify marine life and experience seafood harvesting firsthand.

The students also engaged with coastal residents with links to seafood—from harvesters and aquaculturists to chefs and conservationists—who shared their expertise and experiences.

“These opportunities to immerse are key to service-learning,” says Davis. “Understanding what a community is asking you to help them with, as writers, you really need to be on the ground.” 

Students learned about Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s work to bring sustainable oyster aquaculture to Georgia and help commercial fishermen navigate changes to the industry.

Laura and Perry Solomon, owners of Tybee Oyster Company, spoke with the class about challenges they faced launching the first floating cage oyster farm in the state. They credited Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Shellfish Research Lab, which produces and sells oyster seed and advises shellfish farmers on best practices for growing shellfish, with helping them navigate the oyster farming process.

The students also toured City Market Dock in Brunswick, a seafood business that operates one of the few remaining commercial fish houses where fishermen can offload their catch. Bruce Collins, fish house manager, discussed issues facing the commercial industry, including competition with imported shrimp, rising fuel costs and a diminishing workforce.

In between activities, students spent time in reflective writing workshops, developing pieces inspired by their experiences.

April Cerritos, a rising sophomore double majoring in English and comparative literature, had never been to the Georgia coast.

“I didn’t expect to see so many local, smaller fishermen supporting themselves and their families, and smaller communities,” says Cerritos, who plans to go into book publishing.

By sharing her experience and what she learned through the course, Cerritos hopes that her writing encourages people to buy local seafood and research places before traveling. 

“One thing I’m going to do before I ever visit a place again as a tourist is research the communities there,” says Cerritos. “That’s what I really want to inspire people to do—learn more about the places they’re going.”

By the end of the course, the students had crafted insightful texts illuminating the resilience and interconnectedness of coastal communities. Perhaps even more exciting for Davis was seeing the transformative impact of experiential learning on the students and the special bond they cultivated during the trip.

“I hope they take away the community that they formed here as a group, and the realization that you form communities wherever you go throughout life,” says Davis. “That experience of bonding, as a community, with shared interests and concerns is really important.”

Read pieces written by students Addie Simmons and Theron Camp on Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Student Blog at https://gacoast.uga.edu/studentblog.