Driftwood by Matt Gilligan

Unique driftwood sculptures, lamps, lanterns, chandeliers and decorative items crafted by Dr. Matt Gilligan are offered for sale exclusively by 24e Design Company using local, upcycled driftwood debris from salt marshes along the Savannah River. Dr. Gilligan is professor emeritus of marine and environmental sciences at Savannah State University with over 35 years of experience and study of Georgia's salt marshes and coastal ocean. He collects only 'tidewrack' driftwood embedded in salt marshes that either cannot be seen from land or water and in driftwood debris fields that can cause marsh dieback. He discourages collecting of natural driftwood from beaches or where it is visible from roadways, pathways and waterways because it is part of the natural, landscape. Some of the states beaches, Jekyll Island for example, are posted with signs prohibiting cutting or removal. All of his driftwood is washed and treated with a proprietary organic sealer to stabilize, protect and display its natural and often mud-stained character. A portion of the sales of these driftwood items benefits Wilderness Southeast, Inc., a non-profit that provides, the Fish Gotta Swim© laboratory and field environmental science education program for middle schools and custom, professionally-guided nature tours.