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:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

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

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:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media Podcast Network

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

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:

What's happening at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Resources:

Become a MEMBER

Volunteer at Tybee Island Marine Science Center

Partnership and Donation Opportunities

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