Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in South Carolina
- Indicates a Headquarters grant
South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium $78,564
Richard Devoe, 287 Meeting St., Charleston, SC 29401
Scseagrant.org
Sowing the Seeds of Estuary Health
This project seeks to leverage the success of the From Seas to Shoreline (S2S) program for expansion throughout EPA’s Region 4 and the concurrent development of tidal creek-salt marsh educational materials that will be used in conjunction with the program. The vision of the program is to increase the stewardship of tidal creek-salt marsh habitats, thereby protecting coastal waters and reducing human health risk. The primary goal of the program is to develop a tidal creek-salt marsh environmental education model that includes three levels of engagement - environmental information, outreach, and stewardship - to increase understanding and care of these ecosystems.
Coastal Discovery Museum $36,652
Amy Tressler, P.O. Box 23497, Hilton Head Island, SC 29925
Environmental Learning Landscapes for Beaufort County
Since it was founded in 1985, the Coastal Discovery Museum has served the youth of the South Carolina Low country through educational programming, field trip opportunities, and classroom visits. The museum is currently seeking funds to build on and enhance its educational programming by creating site-specific environmental educational opportunities that meet the needs and skills of today's students and teachers. Environmental Learning Landscapes (ELL) is the next step in the development of the museum's environmental education program. ELL is an educational advancement project aimed at improving academic achievement through cross-disciplinary, project-based environmental education. It fosters an awareness of and concern for the environment as students participate in complex investigations. The goal is to provide the under-served and vulnerable students of Beaufort County School District with lasting opportunities in environmental education through transforming school-based outdoor spaces into satellite museum environmental learning landscapes. Teachers and students develop a lasting sense of environmental stewardship as they help develop, design, construct, investigate, and nurture their unique ELL. Environmental Learning Landscapes not only successfully engages learners on a daily basis, but also serves as important learning areas for on-site museum-led field trips aimed at enhancing classroom instruction.
South Carolina Department of Education $196,603
Edward Falco, 1429 Senate Street, Suite 1005, Columbia, SC 29201
Integrating Nature by Discovery, Inquiry, and Going Outdoors (INDIGO)
Integrating Nature by Discovery, Inquiry, and Going Outdoors (INDIGO) consists of several activities that incorporate an EE-themed curriculum into real-world, relevant, and standards-based studies and serves as a model for middle school education reform. Indigo strengthens South Carolina's Department of Education (SCDE) EE program by providing professional development for teachers and expanding the model in existing and new schools. Professional development is provided through a 3-day summer institute and technical assistance visits to ensure high-quality implementation. In addition, teachers are provided resources such as instructional television programs, a film series, and a Web site with downloadable resources. These tools present EE best practices and help teachers integrate curriculum standards, core subjects, and local environmental issues. Through field studies and correspondence with their local council and school boards, students are engaged in local environmental issues. Students work with community organizations to plan and complete an environmental service project that targets a local environmental issue. Service learning projects further help students participate in collaborative teams and contribute to their communities. In addition to existing schools, SCDE implements the model in alternative education schools with at-risk students. Core partners include Lowcountry Environmental Education Programs, South Carolina Educational Television, South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Clemson University, and Open Dome Productions.
Clemson University $24,120
William Brown, 300 Brackett Hall, Box 345702, Clemson, SC 29634-5702
Extreme Environment
The purpose of this grant is to provide an opportunity for fourth and fifth grade students from disadvantaged schools to experience environmental education in a natural setting in a way that is interactive and fun, while providing them with learning tools that enable them to be more successful in school. Students attend a 3-day camp at Camp Cooper. The curriculum features four main exercises: Water Quality, Soil Horizons, Forestry, and Amazing Animals. Students examine environmental issues such as testing water quality, collecting soil samples, and learning about the nature of soil, its composition, and its relationship with vegetation, water, and wildlife. This program serves to advance environmental education and as a catalyst for advancing educational reforms.
Earth Force, Inc. $14,795
Anna Richardson, P.O. Box 22583, 125 Cannon Street, Charleston, SC 29413
Earth Force Beyond the Classroom
Earth Force beyond the Classroom is designed to engage young people as active citizens who can improve the environment and their communities now and in the future. The youth and their adult facilitators are provided the skills, resources, and knowledge to turn their passion for the environment into real and lasting change in their communities. Participants examine the root cause of an issue and focus on sustainable solutions to improve the local environment. The knowledge they gain enables them to assess issues in their community and choose a local environmental problem to address, conduct balanced research so that they understand the problem from a variety of perspectives, and to take action on the issue by implementing a long-term solution.
University of South Carolina Research Foundation $17,017
Jeffrey Tipton, 901 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208
Watershed Ecology Center Program at University of South Carolina
This project is design to implement a watershed education and pollution prevention program for Lake Lyman residents and students in kindergarten through grade 12. The project has developed and implemented a long-range adult education and outreach program and administers a watershed curriculum in school districts in the Lake Lyman watershed. The audience is reached through public school education programs, a summer children’s pontoon classroom on Lake Lyman, regularly scheduled town meetings, a water education festival, volunteer educators, and presentations and printed material at local events.
Heritage Elementary $9,850
Martha Kinard, 1592 Greer Highway, Travelers Rest, SC 29690
Integrated Environmental Science Education Project for Heritage Elementary
Heritage Elementary integrates existing education modules with established environmental education programs at parks and reserves in South Carolina through field trips. The program highlights local environmental issues and implements laboratory exercises with studies from local streams to show older students how science can support decision making in the community. The audience includes students, parents, extended families, and teachers from Heritage Elementary. Heritage Elementary students gain environmental knowledge through Greenville County environmental science modules in the classrooms, presentations from local environmental professionals, field trips, laboratory experiments, and an environmental science fair.
South Carolina Department of Education $84,629
Edward Falco, 1429 Senate Street, Suite 1005, Columbia, SC 29201
South Carolina Environment as an Integrating Context School Network
Through this project, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) is expanding its successful Environment as an Integrating Context (EIC) program to 12 middle schools. Based on the concept of using the local environment as a classroom, EIC improves student achievement, behavior, and attitudes and helps students contribute to their communities. Teachers from 12 South Carolina middle schools participate in a 4-day summer institute that provides the educators with instructional strategies, curriculum content, environmental education techniques, and supporting resources. During the academic year, the teachers develop and implement lesson plans based on the techniques learned at the institute. The teachers then engage their students in environmental investigation projects involving field studies and research. The students at each school collect and analyze field data and interview local residents to supplement their research. Based on their investigation, the students then choose a service learning project that benefits their community. After completing this project, the students present their findings to members of their community. Key SCDE partners in the EIC program include Clemson University Landscapes for Learning; SC Maps and Aerial Photographic Systems/SC Life; the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control; the South Carolina Wildlife Federation; the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League; the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; the SouthEast Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence; South Carolina Parks, Recreation, and Tourism; the South Carolina Forestry Commission; the Lexington, Beaufort, and Richland County Soil and Water; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina; the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service; and the Society of American Foresters.
Clemson University $4,980
W. Howard Brown, 300 Brackett Hall, Clemson, SC 29634-5712
Extreme Environment
The purpose of this project is to provide environmental education opportunities for at-risk middle school students participating in the Community in Schools Program (CIS). The project arranges for students to participate in four weekend sessions at the RM Cooper Leadership Center in South Carolina. The students engage in a variety of outdoor activities, such as understanding soil horizons, testing water quality, and identifying and conducting research on trees and wildlife. Each session component has an indoor laboratory assignment that integrates computer technology. The activities are interactive and enjoyable, and they provide the students with learning tools that enable them to be more successful in school. Teachers also participate in a weekend program and benefit from pedagogical methodology of experimental learning.
Clemson University $62,540
Lynn Kunkle, Office of Sponsored Programs, Box 345702, 300 Brackett Hall, Clemson, SC 29634-5702
Reducing Pesticide Risk through Education
Building on a previous grant project conducted by Clemson University, this project introduces children in kindergarten through grade 5 to the basic concepts of integrated pest management (IPM). The project’s intention is that the children will be less likely to be unnecessarily exposed to pesticides and that as adults, they will be more likely to use nonchemical pest management practices. As part of the project, teachers from two elementary schools attend local workshops to receive training in IPM and learn how to incorporate IPM education into their curricula. The training is also offered to all kindergarten through grade 5 teachers in South Carolina at eight Math and Science Centers where teacher recertification training in math and science is conducted. An ultimate goal of the project is to promote statewide adoption of IPM as part of the state’s science curriculum standards for elementary school children. Project partners include the two participating elementary schools and the South Carolina Department of Education.
Earth Force, Inc. $12,357
Jason A. Sakran, 266 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Earth Force High School Expansion Project
This project focuses on increasing the environmental training of high school educators in four South Carolina counties. The educators are trained to implement the Earth Force program within an existing standards-based curriculum. Educational materials and on-going support are provided to ensure successful implementation of the program in the schools. The cross-disciplinary nature of the program allows integration of environmental education into other areas of the curriculum. The program creates opportunities for young people to become involved in environmental conservation through both hands-on work and expression of their ideas. The expected outcome is that 250 high school students will design and complete an environmental project to help the local community.
2003 Grants
Clemson University $22,076
Barbara Speziale, 300 Brackett Hall, Clemson, SC 29634
Youth Water Quality Education for South Carolina
This project provides environmental education about local water resources at summer day camps for 500 children of ages 8 through 14 and instruction for 50 teachers. The project uses a location-specific environmental education program called "4H20 - Pontoon Classroom/River Adventure" that is presented in both formal (middle school classroom) and nonformal (summer day camp) settings. The summer day camp experience reinforces and enhances the lesson plans used during the school year. The project expands and reinforces the children’s understanding of aquatic environments. The instruction of in-service teachers is administered as a Clemson University graduate course called “South Carolina Water Environmental Education” for 25 middle school teachers and nonformal educators. All the educational activities meet the South Carolina Science Curriculum Standards.
National Wild Turkey Federation $5,000
Christine Rolka, P.O. Box 530, Edgefield, SC 29824
Workshop for Educators Emphasizing the Importance of Land Management in Enhancing Wildlife Habitat
The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) continues to host a 1-day workshop for educators that emphasizes the importance of land management in enhancing wildlife habitat. This workshop focuses on sustainable forestry principles, which involve management of the forest to meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. NWTF teaches educators about land stewardship ethics that integrate growing, nurturing, and harvesting of trees for creation of useful products with conservation of soil, maintenance of air and water quality, and preservation of wildlife habitat.
University of South Carolina Research Foundation $60,690
Jeffrey Priest, Sponsored Programs and Research, USC Columbia, Columbia, SC 29208
Underrepresented Populations Learning in Nature's Kindergarten
Focusing on underrepresented populations, the Underrepresented Populations Learning in Nature’s Kindergarten (UPLINK) project improves student achievement by providing real-world activities in a natural environment. This project involves use of a mobile classroom at the Silver Bluff Audubon Sanctuary in which students can collect, analyze, and summarize data that will enable them to make decisions about an environmental problem or issue. Students in grades 3 through 12 at schools in high-poverty areas participate in five project visits during the year: three visits to the Silver Bluff Audubon Sanctuary and two visits with the UPLINK instructor in their own schools. In addition to promoting student achievement, the project enhances students' interest in natural resources and exposes them to possible environmental careers. The UPLINK project is a cooperative effort between the Natural Resources, Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education Programs at the University of South Carolina; the South Carolina Chapter of the National Audubon Society; and the Silver Bluff Audubon Sanctuary.
2002 Grants
Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands, Inc. $10,396
Sara Harden, 715 Betsy Drive, Suite B-7, Columbia, SC 29210
The Ultimate Journey
The Ultimate Journey program addresses a cross section of environmental topics, thereby equipping youth with the fundamental knowledge necessary to ensure their equitable treatment in environmental law, policy, and regulation. They learn and understand why the environment is so important to all of us. Participants see for themselves how ordinary, everyday actions have an impact on the natural world. Youth gain environmental knowledge from which they have the ability to explore negative environmental consequences derived from their own actions, as well as the actions of industry and government. Each session provides several interactive activities that allow leaders to select those that best meet the needs, interests, and abilities of club members. The progression of activities from one week to the next prepares members for the culminating event - a trip to a natural area they select and plan. This program encourages young people to be engaged and receptive to the world around them and has the potential to be replicated across the country in similar settings.
2001 Grants
Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission $5,000
Keith Kargel, 200 Leisure Lane, Columbia, SC 29210
Environmental Education Curriculum Correlation for Grades 3 through 7
The purpose of the project is to provide an environmental education curriculum and instruction guides teachers, park staff, and volunteers use as they conduct students on field trips to Saluda Shoals Park. Teams of teachers of grades 3 through 7 in District Five create the guides by adapting a nationally recognized curriculum to each grade level and conforming the curriculum to the South Carolina 2000 Science Standards, K-12, as well as to the cross-curricular standards set forth in the core curriculum. The curriculum guides focus on hands-on, inquiry-based activities to be conducted at approximately six field sites in Saluda Shoals Park that take advantage of the park’s natural resources, including riverfront, wetland, forest, and meadow habitats.
The Conestee Foundation, Inc. $13,725
Dana Leavett, 1 Marshall Court, Greenville, SC 29605
Learning From Lake Conestee: A Brownfields Site as a Multi-Disciplinary Teaching Resource
The Conestee Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization that was incorporated with the express purpose of acquiring and rehabilitating Lake Conestee. The foundation acquired the lake with private funding and plans to convert what is now a neglected eyesore into a managed wetland complex, recreation area, and education center. The project is the first step in creating an environmental education center, with the entire property to become a laboratory for teaching and research. A small group of teachers in Greenville County in the four core academic disciplines, along with specialists representing public- and private-sector organizations, adapts existing environmental education materials to the conditions at Lake Conestee. Teachers from each of the county’s 14 high schools are trained in the site-specific curriculum and provided with packets of resources. Assistance in funding field trips also is provided.
2000 Grants
Coastal Carolina University $4,832
Sharon Gilman, P. O. Box 2619454, Conway, SC 29528
Community River Project: Volunteer Monitoring Program for Horry County
The primary goal of the project is to foster local appreciation and a conservation ethic with regard to our wetlands and water resources. Teams of local volunteers in Horry County are trained to participate in a long-term water quality monitoring program. Volunteers are provided the necessary equipment and trained to collect, review, and report data that are used to formulate conservation recommendations for the community. The efforts of the volunteers and the results they achieve, in collaboration with those of participants in Coastal Carolina University's High School River Project, are highlighted at an education event open to schools and the public that is held at the Playcard Environmental Education Center.
Youth Service Charleston, Inc. $10,820
Ben Long, P. O. Box 22085, Charleston, SC 29413
Earth Force Community Action and Problem Solving (CAPS) Program
CAPS is an environmental problem-solving program through which middle-school-age youth and their adult leaders identify local environmental issues and work to create sustainable solutions to those problems. CAPS educators and youth acquire problem-solving skills by identifying and addressing an existing environmental problem in their community. Through the Youth Service Corps (YSC), the Charleston area has become one of six communities throughout the nation to implement the Earth Force CAPS program. Because of the increased recognition of and demand for the program, YSC plans to add sites in areas which the program already is established and expand it into additional areas, especially rural communities.
1999 Grants
Airport High School, Lexington County School District 2 $4,936
LaToya Glover, 1315 Boston Avenue, West Columbia, SC 29170
Macroinvertebrate Biological Assessment of Streams
This project provides a stream monitoring program for approximately 50 minority biology students at Airport High School. Biologists with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) work with the students to demonstrate collection techniques and help the students identify the invertebrates collected. Macroinvertebrate assessments conducted by SCDHEC provide data for comparison, and the project provides biologists the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of monitoring programs conducted by volunteers.
City of North Charleston $5,000
Shannon B. Praete, 4900 LaCross Road, P. O. Box 190016, North Charleston, SC 29419
SOS: Summer of the Sea Program
The SOS: Summer of the Sea Program works with 50 to 75 young people between the ages of 8 and 11 to increase their understanding of marine life, communities, and processes. The six-week project is a magnet program that involves primarily minority and low-income children in the North Charleston area who attend camp programs at community centers throughout the area. South Carolina's marshes play a prominent role in the hands-on program, which actively engages participants in learning to solve problems and think critically about the marine environment and its sustainability.
University of South Carolina $4,918
Debra Wingard, Aiken Campus, Sponsored Programs, Columbia, SC 29208
Chemical Analysis of Rainwater Runoff from an Urban Wetlands Setting
Through a partnership with the city of Aiken, the University of South Carolina seeks to explore the chemical nature of wetland pond runoff by training middle and high school teachers in handling environmental samples, analyzing such samples, and managing data. The teachers take the experience they gain through the project back to the classroom. Teachers are trained through a special topics course at the university.
Youth Service Charleston, Inc. $5,000
Jennifer Rezeli, P. O. Box 22085, Charleston, SC 29413
Earth Force Community Action and Problem Solving (CAPS)
Youth Service Charleston, Inc., an organization that builds stronger citizens and communities through youth service, and Earth Force, a national environmental organization for youth, are partners in the implementation of the Earth Force Community Action and Problem Solving (CAPS) program. CAPS is an environmental problem-solving program through which middle-school students and their adult leaders identify local environmental issues and create sustainable solutions to those problems. The action projects they create benefit the environment by bringing about change in local policies or in the practices of citizens. The project expands the program from 16 sites to 24 sites; 1,000 students and 60 educators are involved in the program.
1998 Grants
School District of Georgetown County $21,552
Suzie Showman, 524 Front Street, Georgetown, SC 29440
What's in Our Water?
This project implements two programs that provide students in grades 4 through 12 with hands-on, outdoor environmental lessons, including regular collection and recording of data and various field activities. The project uses the National Geographic Society's Kids Network program What's in Our Water? and the pilot program Estuary-Net developed by the Belle W. Baruch Marine Laboratory of the University of South Carolina to implement a technology-based watershed project.
1997 Grants
City of North Charleston $3,000
Shannon B. Praete, 4900 LaCross Road, North Charleston, SC 29419-1906
Coasting Through the Summer
Coasting Through the Summer is a program for minority and low-income children. The children attend a camp for 11 hours per week over 12 weeks. They take part in a variety of activities designed to increase their knowledge about the environment, particularly water and the coastal and marine environment.
University of South Carolina, Institute of Public Affairs $3,990
Langdon S. Warner, Carolina Plaza, Columbia, SC 29208
Use of Siting Game as an Assessment Tool
The Siting Game is an interdisciplinary simulation of real-world environmental problems designed for use by teachers of 9th- to 12th-grade social studies programs. The game is played in a fictitious location by 30 to 50 students. Ten high school teachers attend a two- to three-day workshop that includes a review of key elements and a demonstration of the game. The teachers receive complete packages of game materials so they can play the game at their own schools.
1996 Grants
Furman University $24,900
Kenneth Sargent, 3300 Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC 29613
Paris Mountain Watershed Laboratory
The Paris Mountain Watershed Laboratory project is educating undergraduates for careers in the environmental sciences. The Roper Moutain Science Center will conduct workshops for elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers as part of a watershed dynamics study. Students will be involved in watershed demonstration projects.
York Technical College $5,000
Dr. Edward Duffy, 452 S. Anderson Road., Rock Hill, SC 29703
Quality of Life to Quality of Water
The Quality of Life to Quality of Water project is promoting environmental careers and developing new environmental education programs. The student newspaper, campus promotions, faculty advisory meetings, and regular classes are being used to communicate the opportunities in environmental careers.
1995 Grants
Coastal Carolina University $4,963
P. O. Box 1954, Conway, SC 29526
Development and Evaluation and Educator Wetland Science Workshop
Organizers of this project will develop an educator wetland science workshop integrating mathematics and environmental issues. In particular, a curriculum activities package will be developed for use in the middle and high school science and mathematics classrooms.
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources $17,474
2221 Devine St., Suite 222, Columbia, SC 29205
Local Watershed Investigation for Middle School
The goal of this project is to test and implement an integrated environmental education program for middle school students that uses hands-on activities to develop an understanding of watershed management in their local communities. The project also will reinforce essential mathematical skills and critical thinking skills. The department will work with teachers to develop a program that requires middle school students to investigate whether changes in land use of the local community caused changes in watershed management and the non-point source pollution associated with it.
1994 Grants
South Carolina Wildlife Federation $3,000
Patricia L. Jerman, P. O. Box 61159, Columbia, SC 29260
Schoolyard Habitat Teacher Workshops
This grant will fund the Schoolyard Habitat Teacher Workshops. The purpose of the workshops is to enhance the ability of 50 elementary and middle school teachers to develop outdoor nature study areas and school yard habitats at their schools.
1993 Grants
Consolidated School District of Aiken County $4,200
Karey M. Santos, 843 Edgefield Avenue, NW, P. O. Box 1137, Aiken, SC 29802-1137
Wild and Wonderful Wetland
The "Wild and Wonderful Wetland" program at the Millbrook Elementary School will enable elementary school students to study environmental issues through laboratory work, field experiences, research projects, and observations.
South Carolina Dept. of Health & Environmental Control $5,000
Richard L. Chesley, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Solid Waste and Recycling Curriculum
For this project, teachers will review, edit, and make final recommendations about the state's solid waste and recycling curriculum for grades 9 through 12. The curriculum affects 171,000 students in more than 200 schools. Teachers will also help train other teachers on how to use and promote the curriculum statewide.
1992 Grants
Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service $5,000
St. George, SC 29477
Workshop for Environmental Education Techniques
The "Workshop for Environmental Education Techniques" focuses on educating county council members, educators, and school administrators, through tours and lectures by experts, about the effects local and regional activities have on natural resources. Participants will learn to develop a lesson plan for educating students about environmental issues.
Mead Hall $4,800
Aiken, SC 29801
Environmental Education Curriculum
This grant funds a project to develop an environmental education curriculum that can be readily integrated into a 5th grade science program. Students will participate directly in the development of environmental education material, ecological field techniques, and methods of environmental assessment.