Coastal Carolina University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

From FA/18 - FA/20, students in UNIV 122 (now SUST 122: Introduction to Sustainability) participated in Zero Waste Football & Baseball as part of their course requirement. At these events, students educated and engaged with members of the community about the Zero Waste, and were responsible for helping collect and sort waste at these events. Each student was required to write a reflection paper about the event and what they learned from the experience. Many students reflected on the amount of waste these events generated and commented that they enjoyed being part of an initiative that aimed to divert waste from ending up in the landfill.

In recent years, many students from UNIV 110: First Year Experience volunteer at Zero Waste Football as part of the Experiential Learning requirement for the course. Again, Zero Waste advances students understanding about waste management on CCU's campus.

(On-going) The Environmental Quality Laboratory (EQL) at Coastal Carolina University is a non-profit facility within the Burroughs & Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies (BCCMWS) emphasizing education, research, and community service.‌‌ We are a state-certified analytical chemistry and microbiology laboratory focused on environmental investigations with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) Certificate #26001002.

In all our work, we adhere to quality control procedures designed to produce analytical results of known, documented, and high quality. Our current activities include:

Traditional wet chemical analysis techniques.
Both classical and state-of-the-art instrumental analysis methods.
Field measurements taken using both portable and continuously monitoring equipment.

The EQL provides students, staff, and faculty with the opportunity to collaborate with external agencies in research projects relevant to the environmental problems of the Waccamaw watershed region. We also provide the community with technical assistance for water quality analysis and monitoring, establishing a link between graduating seniors and potential employers.

These activities are an important contribution to the BCCMWS’s established mission, approved by the S.C. Commission of Higher Education in 1988, "to provide a focal point for and promote the development and management of the natural resources of northeastern South Carolina."

https://www.coastal.edu/eql/
https://www.coastal.edu/ccustories/publicationstvshows/ccumagazine/features/troubledwaters/

(SP/19) Coastal has dealt with many hurricanes over the past few years. Julinna Oxley proposed a restructured class where the focus would be to have a better long term infrastructure plan for Horry County. This would make it so that the Coastal Carolina area wouldn’t suffer as many road closures and housing development flooding events, due to hurricanes. During the course, students researched sustainability initiatives and interviewed staff members of CCU impacted by the hurricanes. They then used this data to formulate a plan for hurricane preparedness and environmental protection. Oxley’s goal is to take students out of the classroom and into the world of environmental action. Within Oxley’s course, she sets up a day of activism in the Lib Jackson Student Union, which is where they conduct surveys about students experiences with hurricanes. They also hand out materials to raise awareness regarding Sustainable Development Goals Accord and sign petitions to encourage CCU to recognize education’s role in fostering sustainable development.

https://www.coastal.edu/humanities/tapestrymagazine/tapestry2019/environmentaladvocacy/

(FA/21) Green Roof Honors Research Project. As part of a semester-long honors project, a student in SUST 122: Introduction to Sustainability explored if a green roof is a positive and practical sustainable addition to the Coastal Carolina University campus. She examined the economic, environmental, and social benefits of green roofs; evaluated both the advantages and disadvantages of green roofs; and analyzed if it would be an appropriate addition to a Coastal Carolina University building.

(SP/22) In Spring 2022, the student Solar Ambassadors looked for easy solutions to engage our campus community in helping to reduce energy usage and, hence, carbon emissions. The Solar Ambassadors spent the semester researching best practices, strategies, and research-driven solutions for energy efficiency. This research was presented at the end of the semester to senior administrative staff from University Housing, Auxiliary Enterprises, Sustain Coastal, and Facilities Planning and Management.

(SP/19) For their final project, students in UNIV 122 (now SUST 122: Introduction to Sustainability) researched and presented one aspect of sustainability on campus. One student chose to research Green Energy on CCU's campus, which included researching existing Green Energy projects and also opportunities for the university to explore.

(SP/20) For their honors student thesis, a student developed a cohesive outline to carry out a food forest project on the campus of Coastal Carolina University. The project was created by drawing upon informational interviews with representatives from other universities that have implemented campus sustainable agriculture programs, coupled with a photography project, campus workshops, and a survey of the CCU community to gather data to support the future implementation of food forest project on the CCU campus. A food forest is a 7-layer system of sustainable gardening that functions year-round and mimics the ecosystem and patterns found in nature.

Citation: Spangler, Abigail, "Campus Food Forest" (2020). Honors Theses. 374.

(SP/19) For their final project, students in UNIV 122 (now SUST 122: Introduction to Sustainability) researched and presented one aspect of sustainability on campus. One student chose to research the sustainability of CCU Dining Services, which included researching existing practices within dining halls, examples from peer institutions, and opportunities to improve sustainability in the CCU Dining Halls.

(FA/19) As part of a semester-long project, students from ANTH/GEOG 300 Human Landscapes class developed a proposal for an arboretum and botanical garden on campus. This proposal was presented to CCU President DeCenzo, and the CCU Arboretum is now a public garden, research facility, and green space located on the campus of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. The 1.5-acre Arboretum features a collection of trees that are indigenous to the area and found throughout the campus and is a place of education, research, and discovery for CCU students, faculty, and the community.

https://www.coastal.edu/arboretum/

(SP/19) For their final project, students in UNIV 122 (now SUST 122: Introduction to Sustainability) researched and presented one aspect of sustainability on campus. Two students chose to research transportation options on campus. Their presentation included researching issues around transportation as well as identifying sustainable transportation alternatives to implement on CCU's campus.

2018 Dyer Fellow: Emily Taylor is a Coastal Carolina University student from Andrews, S.C., who is majoring in public health and minoring in biology and psychology. She is interested in health policy and health disparities locally, nationally and globally. As part of her fellowship with the Dyer Institute for Leadership and Public Policy, Emily will research pedestrian safety across S.C. 544, which flanks a major portion of the CCU campus. She will examine the use of school zones for college campuses. Emily aspires to earn a master’s degree in physician assistant studies and will focus on preventative health for underprivileged populations.

Research topic: Pedestrian safety and the need for school zones on college campuses
https://www.coastal.edu/dyer/dyerfellows/pastfellows/

From FA/18 - FA/20, students in UNIV 122 participated in Zero Waste Football/ Baseball as part of their course requirement. At these events, students educated and engaged with members of the community about the Zero Waste and they were responsible for helping collect and sort waste at these events. Each student needed to write a reflection paper about the event and what was learned from the experience. Many students reflected on the amount of waste these events generated and commented that they enjoyed being part of an initiative that aimed to divert waste from ending up in the landfill.

In recent years, many students from UNIV 110: First Year Experience volunteer at Zero Waste Football as part of the Experiential Learning requirement for the course. Again, Zero Waste advances students' understanding about waste management on CCU's campus.

An undergrad student named Nikita R. Tolbert, did research on the “Turbidity & TDS monitoring at Coastal Carolina University”. Drinking water can have many pollutants such as micro and macro-organisms. The amount of these in water can be measured through turbidity and TDS. Turbidity measures how clear or opaque the water is in relation to those micro/macro-organisms. TDS represents the number of dissolved particles such as dirt, animal / sea life decay and fecal matter. Tolbert took 717 samples from Wall Pond Bridge site. For South Carolina, the normal turbidity levels should be under 50 NTU. The Wall Pond Bridge tested within the limits of required safety most were under 20 NTU.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1628&context=ugrc

(On-going) Waccamaw Watershed Academy - Volunteer Water Monitoring Program

Since 2006, the Waccamaw Watershed Academy’s Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program has been keeping an eye on the health of surface water in Horry and Georgetown counties. Now, the Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program has grown to include four monitoring programs: Waccamaw River, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet, and Briarcliffe Acres. Additionally, students at Coastal Carolina University can join the Campus Monitoring program and help monitor CCU's stormwater ponds that eventually flow to the Waccamaw River.

Volunteer monitoring is conducted twice a month year-round by local, trained volunteers using environmental testing equipment to sample selected sites within the watershed of interest. Each program was designed to meet the specific water quality goals of each municipality.

Volunteers work as part of a team, with much of the coordination of the team's activity being done by the team itself under the leadership of the team captain. Assistance is provided by the project's field leader and by Coastal Carolina University's volunteer monitoring coordinators who, in addition, ensure that all quality assurance and quality control procedures are being followed in accordance with the guidelines provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

https://www.coastal.edu/wwa/vm/

As part of a Spring 2021 class (SUST 325) and Summer internship with the Sustain Coastal office, students gathered and analyzed data for a sustainability report and STARS submission. Students: Caton, Emily / Pauley, Megan

(On-going) We CCyoU: A Deep Dive into Self-Awareness: IISS is offering an opportunity for students to take a deep dive into self-awareness using Johari's Window to understand their role as a student at CCU and how they can make a difference on our campus.

https://www.coastal.edu/intercultural/diversitypresentations/

2020 Dyer Fellow: Erica Richardson is a Coastal Carolina University student from Southeast Michigan. She is a public health major with interest in social justice, poverty relief, and sexual health. As part of her fellowship with the Dyer Institute for Leadership and Public Policy, Richardson will be exploring potential causal factors of basic need insecurity among college students, specifically undergraduates here at Coastal. With this research, Richardson hopes to develop short-term and long-term solutions to basic need insecurity in order to promote academic achievement and a higher quality of life among college students. Upon graduation, Richardson plans on attending graduate school to pursue a dual master's in public health and social work.

Research Topic: Causal factors of basic need insecurity among college students
https://www.coastal.edu/dyer/dyerfellows/pastfellows/

(SP/20) As part of a semester-long Honors project, a student in UNIV 122 (now SUST 122: Introduction to Sustainability) researched Sustainability living learning communities (SLLC) at peer and aspirant universities and evaluated the benefits and challenges associated with starting a SLLC on Coastal's campus. The research project included information such as learning opportunities, potential activities and benefits to students, such as providing like-minded individuals the opportunity to live together, adopt a true sustainable lifestyle, and create community within residential halls around living sustainably.

(On-going) The LiveWell Office offers opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students to participate in service learning through volunteerism with our three programs: SHORE Peer Educators and the LiveWell Peer Educators. Sometimes, service learning or volunteerism is a requirement for academic classes. In these circumstances, a student can schedule an appointment to meet with one of the advisors of the peer educator groups to review the options for involvement. However, students may opt to volunteer without receiving academic credit. Service learning and volunteer opportunities may look very different for each student who chooses to work with the LiveWell Office. Some students may choose to volunteer to help with setting up or running outreach events, while others may provide assistance with a variety of initiatives, data collection, clerical tasks, and many other tasks relating to wellness. Students can complete internships in the LiveWell Office through a variety of colleges and departments. Some of the most common majors that complete internships with the office are public health, communication, psychology, and sociology. Students in other majors have completed internships in the LiveWell Office as well. Internship activities can include, but are not limited to: research, marketing, event coordination, leadership with peer educator groups, website management, and more. https://www.coastal.edu/livewell/peereducators/