CoastalScience@Work Updates from the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium - Issue 28 April 29, 2022 Team Assists Town of Edisto Beach with Resilience Planning A new report, Town of Edisto Beach Flooding and Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment, was recently published by the Consortium, University of South Carolina’s Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments program, and College of Charleston’s Lowcountry Hazards Center. Sea level rise (SLR), and corresponding impacts to groundwater, septic and wastewater systems, and transportation infrastructure, is a concern for the Town of Edisto Beach and other communities along the South Carolina coast. The team assessed the town’s vulnerability to flooding and sea level rise using a variety of methods, including the Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios process. The Consortium and Lowcountry Hazards Center developed a high-resolution flood model to assess vulnerability to properties and roads. Then the Consortium and Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments staff conducted workshops with town employees and residents to gather information about current challenges with flooding and identify steps the town and residents can take now to mitigate SLR and flooding effects. Contact Landon Knapp, Coastal Resilience program specialist, at (843) 953-2091, or Matt Gorstein, assistant director for Development and Extension, at (843) 953-2084 for more information about the report. Photo courtesy of Wade Spees.

Aquaculture Toolkit Now Available The Consortium recently launched a Shellfish Aquaculture Toolkit to offer products and resources to current shellfish growers and people who are interested in entering the industry.   The kit includes the 32-page South Carolina Aquaculture Permitting Guide, facts sheets about the mariculture seed purchase process and financial resources, a cage flipping economics tool, an oyster farming budget tool, and a link to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources’ shellfish harvesting locations and regulations.   To learn more, visit the Consortium’s Toolkit webpage or contact Sarah Pedigo, Shellfish Aquaculture program specialist, at (843) 953-2074. Photo courtesy of Grace Beahm Alford.

Tide Gauges Capture Local Data for Coastal Communities The Consortium, in partnership with the College of Charleston, American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, and South Carolina Beach Advocates, is supporting a water-level monitoring initiative that has resulted in seven new tide gauges installed along the South Carolina coast, as well as seven gauges in North Carolina. An additional 40 gauges are planned for installation in the coastal Carolinas this year, with funding provided by the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association.   The gauges continuously collect water-level data and have greatly increased the coverage of tidal monitoring in the region. Thanks to this public-private partnership, municipalities only pay $500 of the total $2,500 cost per gauge. Local communities now have the opportunity to understand and prepare for extreme and chronic flooding, and increase resilience to sea level rise and flooding events.   For more information, contact Landon Knapp, Coastal Resilience program specialist, at (843) 953-2091. Photo courtesy of Nicole Elko, South Carolina Beach Advocates.

Educator Science Café Series is a Wrap The third and final event of the 2021 – 2022 Educator Science Café series took place in March aboard the USS Yorktown. Fifteen educators from across the state attended the “All Hands on Deck” event and were joined by science educators from Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, the Consortium, and Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission.   The “brunch and learn” highlighted classroom applications for incorporating STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), social studies, and ELA (English language arts) to address the new South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Science Standards 2021. There were two sessions aboard the ship: one demonstrating interdisciplinary classroom approaches using social studies, engineering design, and ELA, and a second on using nature journaling for addressing the scientific process, exploring ecosystems, and developing skills in technical and creative writing.   The Educator Science Café series was created in 2014 by the Consortium, Patriots Point, and S.C. Department of Natural Resources as a way to connect scientists and educators in an informal setting. Over the past seven years, the series’ partners hosted more than 20 events for 250 formal and nonformal educators and 50 science experts.   The 2022-2023 Educator Science Café series will be announced in fall 2022. Contact E.V. Bell, Marine Education specialist, at (843) 953-2085 for more information about future café series and other education programs. Photo courtesy of E.V. Bell, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium

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