Spring Island Trust

What Spring Island Trust does

Spring Island Trust is a nonprofit land trust established in 1998 that manages the natural environment of Spring Island, a private residential community in Okatie, South Carolina, in the Lowcountry region of the southeastern coastal plain. The organization employs approximately 8 staff and operates with a conservation mandate that spans habitat management, prescribed fire programs, invasive species control, wildlife research, and community education. Its core technology is rooted in 25+ years of accumulated domain expertise in ecosystem management — including techniques such as prescribed burning, habitat review, and long-term species monitoring — rather than proprietary software or commercial platforms. The Trust coordinates or hosts field research with multiple academic institutions (Coastal Carolina University, University of Georgia, Marshall University, University of the Pacific) and operates a MOTUS wildlife tracking tower in partnership with Port Royal Sound Foundation.

The Trust's revenue model is donation- and membership-based with no commercial product lines or paid service tiers. It distributes educational content through the SCETV-broadcast Coastal Kingdom TV program (hosted by Education Director Tony Mills), a YouTube Trust Talks series, school and teacher workshops, and its Master Naturalist certification program. Its customer base is non-transactional: Spring Island property owners receive direct stewardship services (home site visits, habitat review board consultations), while the broader Lowcountry community and South Carolina public engage through educational programming and digital content. The organization is led by Executive Director Andy Jones (appointed May 2022, succeeding founder-era Director Chris Marsh, now Director Emeritus) and is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by Andy Geoghegan.

Name

Spring Island Trust

Legal name

Spring Island Trust

Website

https://springislandtrust.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spring Island Trust is a nonprofit land trust that manages habitat, wildlife research, and conservation education for the Spring Island residential community and the broader Lowcountry region of South Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Conservation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

akta.pro primary industry

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental Interpretation & Ranger-Led Education Programs (Visitor Education) (THAAAOAJ)

Keywords

• Environmental conservation services
• Land trust stewardship
• Wildlife research programs
• Conservation education
• Habitat management services

Headquarters

HQ city

Spring Island, SC

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Spring Island Trust is a nonprofit land trust that preserves and manages the natural environment of Spring Island, South Carolina, while delivering environmental education and conservation programs to residents and the broader Lowcountry region. Its offerings include the Master Naturalist certification program, the Coastal Kingdom television nature program, on-island habitat review and home site visit services, school programs and teacher workshops, and long-term wildlife research and monitoring programs.

Product overview

Spring Island Trust is a nonprofit land trust and conservation organization that provides environmental education, research, and natural resource management services. The organization does not offer commercial software products or technology platforms. Its offerings include educational programs such as the Master Naturalist Program, outreach through the TV nature program Coastal Kingdom, research and conservation initiatives across wildlife categories (birds, insects, marine, vertebrates), community programs including home site visits and habitat review board services, and a resource library containing publications, maps, and educational materials. The Trust operates nature preserves and provides expertise in land stewardship for the Spring Island residential community in South Carolina's Lowcountry region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Master Naturalist Program A certification program co-taught by Trust staff that trains community members in natural history and conservation practices for the Lowcountry region.
• Coastal Kingdom TV Program An award-winning SCETV nature program written and hosted by Education Director Tony Mills that airs on South Carolina Channel and the County Channel, broadcasting conservation content to a statewide audience.
• Home Site Visits On-island consultation service where Trust staff visit Spring Island residents' home sites to provide conservation guidance and recommendations on landscaping and wildlife management.
• Habitat Review Board Formal review board service for Spring Island residents to evaluate habitat and natural area management plans on private property in accordance with the community's conservation standards.
• School Programs and Teacher Workshops Educational programs delivered to schools and teacher professional development workshops led by Trust education staff throughout the Lowcountry region.
• Wildlife Research and Monitoring Programs Long-term monitoring and research programs covering birds, bats, snakes, small mammals, and other vertebrates to understand population dynamics and habitat relationships on Spring Island.
• Native Plant Project Outreach program promoting native plant landscaping and conservation practices in the Lowcountry region.

Quantifiable outcome

• Highest recorded fox squirrel density in the Southeast documented through research studies
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Coastal Carolina UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partnership with Coastal Carolina University for wildlife studies. Mario Lawrence conducted small mammal population research in 2007. Graduate research includes bat species richness studies and vertebrate community analysis. This partnership provides academic rigor to the Trust's research programs while offering students hands-on field experience.
• South Carolina Department of Natural ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on shorebird surveys and wildlife research. Chris Marsh conducted shorebird surveys with the department during his tenure. This partnership connects Trust research to state conservation priorities and data collection efforts.
• SCETV (South Carolina Educational Television)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerBroadcast partnership for the Coastal Kingdom TV nature program. Education Director Tony Mills writes and hosts the award-winning show which airs on SCETV, South Carolina Channel, and County Channel, extending Trust education mission to statewide audience.
• 2015 Bat BlitzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpring Island served as a study site for the regional 2015 Bat Blitz event organized by SBDN (South Bat Disease Network), providing collaborative bat research opportunity with regional partners.
• Dirk StevensonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaborator on eastern kingsnake conservation. Dirk Stevenson contributed photography and expertise to the mark-recapture study and head-start program for declining kingsnake populations.
• University of the PacificminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership with Dr. Zach Stahlshmidt from The University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA for the 2016 fire ant impact study on vertebrate communities, published in Biological Invasions journal.
• University of Georgia (UGA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Karl Miller and UGA students conducted fox squirrel population studies on Spring Island. Graduate research by Katelyn Amspacher funded by Marshall University, Nemours Foundation, and LCI continued this research in 2016.
• Lowcountry InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClosely affiliated organization founded in 1998. Chris Marsh served as Director of both the Spring Island Trust and Lowcountry Institute. Organizations share mission of conservation leadership in the Lowcountry region and co-fund research projects.
• Marshall UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch funding provided for Katelyn Amspacher's fox squirrel population study conducted at Spring Island starting in summer 2016.
• Port Royal Sound FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for the MOTUS Tower research project. The Spring Island Trust MOTUS Tower is hosted in partnership with Port Royal Sound Foundation for wildlife tracking research.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLaoacDdxcb82xs0_8fJbf-nNzBdGwIaRf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spring-island-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spring Island Trust