Georgia Magazine

"It has been my great pleasure to give to the Odum School of Ecology in support of the undergraduates in ecology. They are an exciting group of young scientists with whom to work. I have enjoyed reading about the experiences of the students who have visited Selvatica, the wilderness rainforest preserve with which I am involved, and I have sensed the excitement in these students that has derived from their learning experiences. I have been involved in hiring many students and recent graduates of the School of Ecology to work on the Little Cumberland Loggerhead Turtle Project and the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project over the years. One recent graduate, Ben Morrison (BS ’08), has just completed two years of sea turtle research on Little Cumberland Island, and he has used this experience to move on to a new environmental position on Little St. Simon’s Island. It is deeply satisfying for me to follow the development of such student careers and to feel an integral part of the system." —Rebecca Bell

Rebecca Bell

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Rebecca Bell has been a friend of UGA’s School of Ecology for decades through her friendship with ecology professor Jim Richardson and his wife Thelma. A Middlebury College and University of Kansas graduate, Bell met the Richardsons in 1972 at Little Cumberland Island, where she lives part-time. She has been involved in many ecology projects, including the Georgia Sea Turtle Cooperative; Rainforestry Inc., a tropical conservation project in Costa Rica; and the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Research Project in Antigua and the West Indies. As director of the Little Cumberland Island Sea Turtle Project since 1985, Bell has worked with many students from the Odum School of Ecology. In addition, Bell makes an annual gift to the Ecology Fund, which is the backbone of support for all Odum School programs. To learn more about the Odum School of Ecology, go to http://www.ecology.uga.edu.