Consortium Promotes Bolger to Grants Manager

Caitlin Bolger was recently promoted to grants manager at the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium. Bolger has been employed with the Consortium since 2021 as an administrative intern. In her new role, Bolger will work closely with Susannah Sheldon, Research and Fellowships manager, and Ryan Bradley, assistant director for Administration, to assist with managing research projects and various administrative tasks.

Bolger earned a B.S. in biology from Florida Southern College and M.S./M.P.A. degrees in environmental and sustainability studies and public administration from the College of Charleston.

The Consortium currently has a number of open positions, which can be viewed on the Careers webpage.

Consortium Awards $2.6M to USC for Natural Alternatives to Plastics Study

The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium awarded $2,619,856 to University of South Carolina’s Bill Strosnider, Ph.D., director of the Baruch Marine Field Laboratory, for the project “From Blue-Gray to Blue-Green: Facilitating the Transition to Non-Plastic, Natural Material Use Within the Coastal Zone Economy.”

This three-year project, funded by the National Sea Grant Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Marine Debris Challenge Competition, will test the viability of natural materials, such as coir, wood, jute, and hemp, as alternatives to the non-biodegradable plastics commonly used in environmental restoration, water quality protection, and aquaculture in coastal South Carolina.

“We are delighted that this project was one of only ten chosen from a competitive national pool of high-quality proposals. This multi-institutional team of researchers, outreach professionals, and community partners led by Dr. Strosnider provides an example of the state’s intellectual resources at work to solve our environmental challenges,” said Susan Lovelace, Ph.D., executive director of the Consortium.

Read the press release for more details, including a list of diverse partners, stakeholders, and project deliverables.

Biodegradable mesh bag photo courtesy of Ocean Farm Supply.

Consortium Receives $600K for Marine Debris Prevention and Removal

The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium was awarded two grants of nearly $300,000 each to support community-focused projects that address marine debris prevention and removal. “Gullah/Geechee CREATE: Coastal Debris Removal Engaging Artists through Environmental Cleanups” is led by Consortium extension staff and Gullah Geechee community leaders. “The Lowcountry NETwork: Building a Coalition of Community Members, Shrimpers, Educators, and Conservationists to Remove and Recycle Marine Debris,” is led by extension staff from both the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Grant programs in partnership with the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor staff.

Both projects were funded by the National Sea Grant Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and are part of a national effort to cultivate Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions to connect communities with research and education programs to address the negative impacts of marine debris on ecosystems, economies, and communities.

For more information, read the press release and contact Brooke Saari, Coastal Environmental Quality specialist, at (843) 953-6406 or Sarah Pedigo, Shellfish Aquaculture specialist, at (843) 953-2074.

Water Chats Program Wins Prestigious National Award

Water Chats, a water quality technical training program launched in 2022, was recently presented with the Gold Award for Promotional and Marketing Materials from the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals. The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium was represented on the program team by Brooke Saari, Crystal Narayana, Emmi Palenbaum, and Matt Gorstein, along with Guinn Wallover, formerly with Clemson University Cooperative Extension.

The promotional material package consisted of digital and print items, such as a Water Chats branding guide, program webpage, save the date flyers, webinar agendas, social media content, and webinar presentation slides. Other components included the call for abstracts for an upcoming special issue of Clemson University's South Carolina Journal of Water Resources and panelists’ display boards for the Water Chats session at the 2022 South Carolina Water Resources Conference.

Contact Brooke Saari, Coastal Environmental Quality specialist at (843) 953-6406 for more information.

Educators Discover Underwater Creatures on Bioracks

Formal and nonformal educators recently participated in a BioDiscovery Project workshop at James Island County Park, where they had an up-close look at organisms living on bioracks. Bioracks—a rope with discs vertically spaced out over three meters and hung off a floating dock—revealed translucent skeleton shrimp, barnacles, and tunicates, or “sea squirts.” These organisms are collectively called fouling communities because they attach to artificial surfaces, such as piers, pylons, docks, and jetties.

The day began with a presentation by Robert Podolsky, Ph.D., associate professor of biology and director of the Grice Marine Laboratory at the College of Charleston, who introduced workshop participants to the types of organisms they might identify on the bioracks. Then the educators studied various marine creatures under several different microscopes and determined, sometimes with the help of Dr. Podolsky, what had settled on the bioracks. Educators were given identification sheets, lesson plans, and instructions on how to enter catalogued organisms in the BioDiscovery Data Portal.

The BioDiscovery Project is a collaborative STEM-based initiative that is supported through a Bosch Community Grant and coordinated by the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium in partnership with the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission, College of Charleston Grice Marine Laboratory, and Clemson University. To learn more about the project, contact E.V. Bell, Marine Education specialist, at (843) 953-2085.