More than 100 people attended the dedication of the expanded Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center, the education and outreach facility for the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Sept. 18 in Georgetown, S.C.
Officials from the University of South Carolina, the Belle W. Baruch Foundation and NOAA joined Reserve staff, friends and volunteers in celebrating the completion of the 13,500-square-foot, $5.6 million facility with new classroom and office space and upgraded educational exhibits. NOAA provided more than $3.9 million of the project’s cost.
Following remarks by Reserve Manager Wendy B. Allen and Baruch Foundation Executive Director George K. Chastain, the guests toured the new facilities and enjoyed refreshments while admiring and interacting with the exhibits.
Other speakers were Amy Clark of OCRM’s Estuarine Reserves Division; George Greer, Baruch Foundation trustee; Dr. James T. Morris, director of the University of South Carolina’s Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences; and Dr. Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, dean of the USC College of Arts and Sciences.
North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve, designated in 1992, comprises more than 12,000 acres of open water, tidal wetlands and coastal uplands habitats. NOAA’s partner in managing the reserve is the University of South Carolina Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences. Most of the land is owned by the Belle W. Baruch Foundation.