In June, Girl Scouts from Troop 30197 of Guyton earned their Coastal Georgia badge while also making friends. The girls met up with three other Girl Scout troops from West Virginia and Ohio and visited the Tybee Island Marine Science Center to learn about the Georgia Coast to earn their badge.

They began the journey to their badge with a tour of the Coast Georgia Gallery which features species native to Georgia’s coast as well as exotic species from other oceans. The troops had the opportunity to meet and take pictures of “Ike,” the center’s baby loggerhead sea turtle, as well as learn about a lionfish, stingray, jellyfish and baby alligators.

The day continued with animal interaction when the scouts got to touch marine invertebrates like hermit crabs, snails and spider crabs in the center’s touch tank.

The troops took a trip to the pier and walked on the beach where they learned about the tides as well as more about the animals that live in the ocean and on the sand.

At the end of the program, the girls used a seining net and went fishing in the ocean.