We are very grateful to be able to announce our partnership with Athens’ own Creature Comforts Brewing Co. on the launch of the Whale Fall IPA.
Special thanks to Matt Stevens and Tyler Daniels at Creature Comforts Brewing Co who have treated us with kindness and generosity while working to launch their “Whale Fall IPA” as a benefit to the foundation. We think their press release is a powerful testament to what we are all trying to do to honor Birkley’s life and legacy and will help resource the work to come.
“A whale fall is when a whale sinks to the depths of the ocean floor after death, its presence helping to create new ecosystems that supply sustenance for deep-sea life.
Every year, our Brew For One program aims to do for one what we wish we could do for everyone. This year’s release, Whale Fall, will benefit our friends at the Birkley Heynen Environmental Foundation as a means to help build a hopeful legacy out of tragedy.
Shell to Shore is an Athens based non-profit that diverts used oyster shells from the landfill, reconnecting this natural resource to its coastal home as a means to help combat rising sea levels and proliferate new sea life. They partner with restaurants and community partners all across Georgia to source and transport their used shells back to the Atlantic.
Earlier this year, Shell to Shore board members, Nik and Jennifer Heynen, we’re devastated by the loss of their son, Birkley, who was both a University of Georgia student and a Shell to Shore intern who lived out his passion for bettering the environment, particularly the marine environment. He had intended to graduate this past May.
The experience serving our coastlines had a profound impact on his life. In the personal statement he wrote when applying to graduate schools, he shared this:
“The largest influence on my undergraduate education has been my internship with Shell to Shore during my freshman year…Being able to see first hand how sustainable waste reduction can have such a large impact on preserving and providing for natural ecosystem services was very impactful.”
After he passed away, the Heynens created the Birkley Heynen Environmental Foundation as a way to honor his legacy and continue his legacy with Shell to Shore. Among other environmentally-focused grants, this fund will support Shell to Shore’s robust internship program.
With this beautiful IPA, we aim both to honor Birkley’s commitment to coastal sustainability, but also to help seed the Birkley Heynen Environmental Foundation, which will fund future students who share Birkley’s passion.
We are honored to join other local partners who are committed to honoring Birkley’s legacy, including UGA’s Willson Center (@willsoncenter), UGA’s Office of Sustainability (@sustainableuga), through which Birkley was awarded a posthumous Sustainability Certificate (@sustcert_uga), and UGA’s Odum School of Ecology (@ugaecology), through which Birkley was awarded a posthumous degree.
Here’s to Birkley. Your passion lives on. A giant in this life, a blessing in the next.”
