Ossabaw Island Foundation

About

Ossabaw Island is a 26,000-acre barrier island owned by the State of Georgia, located just 20 minutes south of Savannah, Georgia. It is only accessible by boat, which helps to preserve its unspoiled natural beauty. The island is home to a variety of wildlife, including endangered loggerhead turtles, alligators, birds, raccoons, deer, and Ossabaw pigs. Ossabaw is also home to a small herd of free-range donkeys.

As Georgia’s first and largest Heritage Preserve, Ossabaw Island’s uses are limited to “natural, scientific and cultural education, research and study.”

The Ossabaw Island Foundation (TOIF) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1994. TOIF holds a use agreement with the State to provide a variety of educational and cultural programs, (day trips and overnight trips) and coordinates with the state on providing scientific research opportunities.

Ossabaw Island Foundation offers a variety of day trips that allow visitors to experience the island's natural beauty and learn about its history. Some of the popular day trip activities include: Super Museum Sunday Ossabaw Trip, Tour of Ossabaw Island’s North End, and Ossabaw Descendants Heritage Day which includes a day trip to Ossabaw for descendants of people with connections to the island from 1760 – 1980. In the summer and fall, day trip offerings include “Lift Every Voice: African American History Tour of Ossabaw Island and Pin Point”; an archaeology hands on workshop; a coastal ecology day trip featuring loggerhead turtle hatching, and indigo dyeing workshops. Each February TOIF also offers a creative four day, three night retreat on Ossabaw Island that includes painting, photography, writing, playing musical instruments, and much more.

The Ossabaw Island Foundation also offers scientific research opportunities for students and scientists.

For more information, visit ossabawisland.org