Coastal Communities Program
The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium’s Coastal Communities program assists communities with creating a sustainable balance between economic growth and natural resource conservation to ensure the sustained use of South Carolina’s marine and coastal resources.
This program educates residents and public officials about land use and associated impacts on natural resources, by providing science-based information and tools to enhance their ability to address the pressures of coastal growth.
Extension Specialist
April Turner
Coastal Communities Specialist
Recent Projects in Coastal Communities
The South Carolina Coastal Information Network
The S.C. Coastal Information Network includes federal and state agencies, regional government agencies and private organizations seeking to coordinate and/or jointly deliver outreach programs. The purpose of this collaboration is to avoid duplication of efforts and minimize the number of meetings/workshops that community leaders and staff are asked to attend, leverage scarce resources, maximize program benefits and expected outcomes.
Connected Land Conservation Plan for the East Cooper Region of Charleston County, S.C.
The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium worked with partners to develop the Connected Land Conservation Plan for the East Cooper Region of Charleston County. The project team synthesized technical knowledge regarding urban and regional planning, landscape architecture, and ecology, as well as organized workshops to gather input from the mayors and planning staff to develop a plan to provide a regional perspective of local development patterns and natural resources in the area between the Cooper and Santee rivers.
S.C. Coastal Community Initiative Grant Program
The S.C. Coastal Community Initiative Grant Program (CCI) is a collaborative land-use planning and water quality program for local decision makers to help foster sustainable land use planning and resource management. This small grants program provides an incentive to engage local governments in the development and implementation of “quality growth” land management policies and practices.
Recipients of these CCI mini grant awards have addressed a variety of issues related to stormwater runoff and water quality management, open space preservation, alternative transportation and greenway pedestrian/biking access, and natural resource-based planning.
