Tybee Island marks one year of sustainability committee with community event

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - The City of Tybee Island marked one year since city council appointed its first sustainability committee with an event called Tybee Talks Sustainability on Wednesday at the Tybee Post Theater.

The committee’s purpose is to bring together local organizations and community members to protect Tybee’s coastal environment. The free event featured a short film highlighting the island’s native plants and wildlife and Tybee’s sustainability partners, followed by a panel discussion on how local organizations are working to keep the island healthy and thriving.

Sustainability among city’s top priorities

Tybee City Manager Bret Bell said sustainability is now one of the city’s top five priorities.

“And for us, it’s not just about sort of doing what’s right. It’s really about survival. I mean, we’re out here on an island all by ourselves. It’s an extremely delicate natural environment,” Bell said. “It’s really about keeping the island afloat. And it takes all of us on Tybee Island to keep this island afloat.”

Bell said city council adopted sustainability as one of its top five priorities earlier this year and has begun allocating funding toward it.

Since the sustainability committee was appointed a year ago, it has created Tybee’s first sustainability plan, which has been adopted by city council, according to Bell.

Panel featured local partner organizations

The event’s panel discussion included representatives from Fight Dirty Tybee, Manomet, Savannah Bee Company, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Tybee Island Marine Science Center, according to the City of Tybee Island.

Tim Arnold, who manages Fight Dirty Tybee, serves on the sustainability committee and is a trustee on the Marine Science Center board, spoke about the importance of local organizations working together on sustainability issues.

“It wasn’t until a couple of years ago, really, that sustainability became kind of front and center for the city of Tybee, not just the residents and some nonprofits,” Arnold said. “So the fact that we really enter an era where we can work together to solve problems, and not kind of street fight with each other... to really kind of tackle problems together, maybe taking on different aspects of it, or mutually supporting each other.”

City programs

Bell said the city has adopted a sustainable purchasing policy and has issued reusable water bottles to reduce single-use plastics. He said the city is also using native grasses and plants in landscaping, transitioning to hybrid and electric vehicles, and installing motion detectors for lighting in city facilities. Bell said new city buildings, including the fire station, will be built using sustainable building practices.

Bell said the city issued its first request for proposals last year for projects meeting its sustainability goals. He said about five organizations applied, and city council funded them about $10,000 each.

Bell said the city also plans to launch its first sustainability survey and its first sustainability newsletter later this year, and is partnering with the Savannah College of Art and Design this fall to redesign its recycling drop-off center.

More information on Tybee’s sustainability efforts and ways to get involved with local organizations is available at cityoftybee.org.