UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Studies

The Baruch Institute, part of the College of Arts and Science, sponsors a variety of educational programs for all ages at its coastal facilities in Georgetown and the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. These include informal seminars, short courses, and open houses of the Baruch Marine Lab. Contact the Reserve for a schedule of events at 843-546-6219 or visit the Baruch Institute's Web site at: http://www.cas.sc.edu/baruch/.

Coastal Training Program for Decision Makers

The North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), operated by USC’s Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, has been offering workshops on coastal issues for decision-makers for several years in cooperation with the ACE Basin NERR and the S.C. Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management. These efforts have evolved into a Coastal Training Program for decision-makers in coastal communities. Contact the reserve for more information at 843-546-6219.

Environmental Programs

The School of the Environment offers many community and school programs, including:

• The A.C. Moore Garden, a combination school partnership and community outreach project sponsored by the Sustainable Universities Initiative. Students and staff from A.C. Moore Elementary as well as garden clubs and scout groups in the community work with the University to rejuvenate A.C. Moore Garden, located at the corner of Pickens and Blossom streets near the campus.
• Earth Day enhances the University's Earth Day activities through community service activities sponsored by the School of the Environment such as planting trees and removing trash from Rocky Branch Creek near the Columbia campus.

For more information, contact the School of the Environment at 803-777-9153.

Estuary-Net Project

Estuary-Net is a volunteer water quality-monitoring project developed by the National Estuarine Research Reserve System to educate high school students and others about the importance of healthy water quality and the value of watersheds and estuaries. The North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), operated by USC's Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, assists high schools in the Georgetown area with studies of their local watersheds. Participating schools collect data and share their findings via an Estuary-Net website. For more information, visit the Estuary-Net Web site: http://northinlet.sc.edu/education/estnetweb/estnet.html or contact the North Inlet-Winyah Bay NERR at 843-546-6219

Nature Workshops for Teachers

The program, a partnership between the School of the Environment, the state Department of Education, and the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, gives middle-school teachers hands-on science education in an intensive three-week program with Rudy Mancke, a USC faculty member in the School of the Environment and one of South Carolina's best-known naturalists. The project, begun as a pilot program with Richland School District One but expanded to other districts in counties along the coast and in the Upstate, is intended to prepare teachers for leading students on scientific nature walks, gathering natural history objects for classroom discussion, and identifying objects brought in by students. Under Mancke's tutelage, teachers refine their natural science knowledge and share it with their students in simple schoolyard walks and classroom activities. As part of the School of the Environment's outreach efforts, Mancke leads more than 100 nature walks with school teachers and other S.C. citizens each year. For more information, call the School of the Environment at 803-777-9153.

Pritchards Island—USC Beaufort

Through a partnership with the USC Development Foundation, USC Beaufort provides conservation, education, and research on this pristine barrier island. University researchers and classes, secondary education groups, and the general public use Pritchards Island for the purposes of research, education, and conservation. The island also is the home of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle Conservation project. For more information, call 843-575-7432

Watershed Ecology Center—USC Upstate

USC Upstate's Natural Sciences and Engineering School houses the Watershed Ecology Center, which provides an educational outreach program in seven area school districts. The center conducts research in water quality, presents educational programs for Spartanburg County citizens, and monitors water quality in the North and South Pacolet Rivers. The center also conducts water quality studies for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Spartanburg Water System. For more information, contact Jack Turner at 864-503-5711.