“People think of us as a tourist destination, but our conservation and outreach work extends far beyond the aquarium walls,” says Sara McDonald, director of conservation for the South Carolina Aquarium. McDonald, a former manatee biologist with a PhD in marine science and conservation from Duke, came to Charleston via the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where her research was focused on the international seafood supply chain. “It’s hard to see results when working on complex international issues,” she says, “but what I loved about the opportunity here is that the work is community-based and on a smaller scale. After a day of planting cordgrass in a salt marsh, I can stand back and say, ‘We did that!’ We’re affecting real change.”
McDonald oversees the aquarium’s Resilience Initiative for Community Engagement (RICE), which immerses volunteers and the public in fieldwork addressing issues such as sea-level rise and storm surge and connects at-risk communities with tools to track, and thus better understand, flooding. Kelly Thorvalson, senior manager for conservation programs at the aquarium, works alongside her with a focus on plastic pollution. Both use the free SC Aquarium Citizen Science app to raise awareness in the community and mobilize the public to become part of the solution. “If you have a mobile device, you can become a citizen scientist,” says McDonald. “I love that our app is open source, so the data we collect belongs to everyone. It’s egalitarian and empowers the community to help develop solutions-based programs.”
On the flooding front, the aquarium has partnered with MUSC and the City of Charleston to erect 11 signs in flood-prone areas such as the intersection of Line and Hagood streets. Charleston County Parks and Recreation has put up four more. All signposts include a ruler at the bottom and read “Flooded? Take a picture” with a QR code so passersby can upload their photos and information about the area. “People are always taking pictures of flooding, so why not add them to a database that will help us learn more about where the problem spots are and what’s causing it?” McDonald asks. The app automatically pings the nearest NOAA buoy to upload additional information, such as salinity, which helps determine the type of flooding (storm runoff or tidal, for example). Photos and information can be added from anywhere—one doesn’t need to be near a marked signpost. “The accumulated data helps inform resilience planning,” notes McDonald, who encourages people to “adopt” a flood location and commit to monitoring it and entering findings regularly.
Similarly, the app’s Litter Journal creates an online record of all plastic pollution and other debris collected, with 2,300-plus members having documented more than three million pieces of debris removed from the environment since it launched in 2017. “This data has helped inform the need for in-water stream capture devices in the Upstate and was instrumental in helping us pass single-use plastic bans and smoking bans on two Charleston-area beaches,” Thorvalson says, noting that people seem empowered by entering the data. “It’s amazing! We’ll have litter sweeps for 150 or more people, and when they see those numbers add up and how we can identify the most problematic debris in a particular spot, it makes them want to learn more.” Tackling big issues like flooding or plastic pollution can seem overwhelming, but by making it simple for people to be part of the solution, “it inspires them to help create change,” adds Thorvalson. “They make a connection, and in the end, it helps create a sense of community.”
Learn more: scaquarium.org
