How the North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve Is Growing the Next Generation of Coastal Stewards

Photo courtesy of Cindy Lilly. 

On a clear fall morning, students from South Florence High School waded into the marsh at the North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve, collecting marsh grass seeds beneath a bright blue sky. Underway for more than a decade, this muddy, hands on project has been planting the seeds of not only future marshes, but also the next generation of coastal stewards in South Carolina. 

As one of the hubs for South Carolina Sea Grant’s From Seeds to Shoreline® program, the Reserve provides a site where education and restoration intersect. Each fall, K-12 students collect native marsh grass seeds, raise them in classroom greenhouses through the winter, and return in the spring to plant them back into coastal marshes that need a boost. 

While some plantings in areas like public boat landings have been damaged and show signs of wear, “that just tells us we need to keep going,” notes Beth Thomas, the Reserve’s education coordinator. “The Seeds to Shoreline® program is a great way to share so much about the estuary ecosystems we try to protect, and allows us to offer a tangible, full circle solution to mitigate impacts to these habitats.”

The Reserve also provides free supplies and training that help teachers integrate coastal science into their curricula, helping limited school budgets stretch further. If a class can’t travel to the marsh to collect seeds, the Reserve mails seeds from their seed bank directly to schools. 

“Wonderful experience,” says Caitlin Szymanski, educator and former program participant. “You come away with excellent resources, new insights, and a team to guide you along the way!”

Photos courtesy of Beth Thomas.

The program also creates pathways to careers in coastal science and resource management for participating students. The Reserve’s long-standing partnership with the University of South Carolina, which has maintained a marine biology lab on-site since the late 1960s, exposes students to real-world, ongoing research. Karen Sundberg, a scientist who has been studying marsh grasses and sea level rise in North Inlet and Massachusetts for over a decade, uses PVC monitoring stations that students can walk out and see when they visit the Reserve. She also joins teacher trainings, helping translate up-to-date science into classroom-suitable science.

Perhaps most importantly, the program fosters a sense of place and ownership in the participating students. In an era of smart phones, this real life program gets students outside and exploring their local estuary ecosystems. Many students return year after year, further fostering an awareness that can lead to ecosystem stewardship later in their lives. 

“As a teacher, I appreciate the opportunity to engage my students in the community and encourage being a lifelong learner and world citizen,” says Alison Pegram, another educator and former program participant.

After more than ten years, the impact is visible. Over the last decade and a half, the From Seeds to Shoreline® program has engaged 157 schools statewide, allowing thousands of K–12 students to restore critical salt marsh habitat while gaining hands-on coastal science experience. Last spring, 623 K-12 students from 23 schools participated in 22 restoration days in which they planted around 8,192 cordgrass stalks in approximately 76.45m2 of salt marsh. At the Reserve alone, 18 high school students planted 953 Spartina stalks. There are three restoration days planned at the Reserve this upcoming spring.

Photos courtesy of Beth Thomas.