Daufuskie Island Independent School ArcGIS Mapping

Project Background

Rising water temperatures and sea levels have resulted in more frequent and stronger storms, including hurricanes, which regularly impact the coast of South Carolina or surrounding regions. Storm surges, erosion, flooding events, and property damage are some of the primary concerns for coastal communities. Daufuskie Island is the southernmost inhabited sea island of South Carolina, and its residents are particularly vulnerable as Daufuskie Island is accessible only by private boat, ferry, or water taxi.

Home to roughly 450 permanent residents, Daufuskie’s economy is based on tourism. It offers shops, restaurants, museums, a farm, a winery, and a rum distillery. While Daufuskie Island infrastructure is limited, it does include Fire and EMS services. Under storm conditions, evacuees must depend upon the functionality of two barges and one marina, or private vessels. Residents who choose to stay rely on their community during the storms and throughout the cleanup and restoration process.

Before the creation of Daufuskie Island Independent School, students attended Kindergarten through 5th grade at public Daufuskie Island Elementary School on the island and then took a ferry and buses twice daily to attend middle and high school. With mounting concern for flooding, storm surges, and hurricane impacts on the barrier island, Daufuskie Island residents connected with the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium (Consortium) in December 2022 to seek expertise surrounding erosion issues, while parents and educators also sought to develop plans for the establishment of a middle school located on Daufuskie Island with a focus on marine science programming. The Consortium assisted in the establishment of the Daufuskie Island Independent School (DIIS) with a letter of support, and DIIS was established in August of 2023. With the opening of DIIS, middle school students now have access to a robust academic and environmental education on Daufuskie Island, saving them over three hours of travel time a day.

Project Goals

The Consortium partnered with DIIS in December 2023 to develop a marine science-focused curriculum with the following project goals:

• Teach GIS to middle-grade Daufuskie Island students.
• Identify Daufuskie Island marine issues, including erosion.
• Provide community education on marine issues.

Collaborators

The South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium (Consortium) collaborated with the Daufuskie Island Independent School (DIIS) by providing specialists who interacted with the students over the 10-week period. Participants included Dr. Norman Levine of the College of Charleston (CofC), Katie Finegan at the Consortium and Coastal Carolina University (CCU), Shu-Mei Huang and Landon Knapp of the Consortium and CofC, and members from the Daufuskie Island Conservancy on a 10-week Geographic Information System (GIS) course to teach middle school students how to use GIS technology to understand their local erosion and sea level trends on Daufuskie Island over the last 45 years.

Process

The team of collaborators met in January 2024 to plan and finalize the course curriculum. From March to May 2024, students engaged in a marine science-focused curriculum which included the following topics: GIS Technology; How to Make a Map with GIS; Shoreline & Erosion Analysis; Hurricane & Flooding Data; and How to Make a StoryMap. The course was supported by Dr. Norman Levine, CofC Professor at the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences and the director of Santee Cooper GIS Laboratory (SCGIS) and Lowcountry Hazards Center (LCHC). Dr. Levine created GIS and application development course materials and delivered in-person and virtual lectures.

The course culminated in the completion of the “Marine Issues on Daufuskie Island” StoryMap, which students presented to the Daufuskie Island community. Students wrapped up the course with a field trip to the College of Charleston’s Mace Brown Museum of Natural History, SCGIS, and LCHC. They engaged in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities with the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic and Marisa Them, STEM Outreach Coordinator for the South Carolina Space Grant Consortium, to learn more about NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and other scientific research applications.

Results

Over the 10-week course, students at DIIS conducted an ArcGIS Mapping project that identified marine issues impacting their island using data from 1977 to 2023. By mapping data related to the locations of Daufuskie Island’s wet-dry lines (an approximation of the high tide line), students identified trends of erosion and accretion (or sediment loss and accumulation, respectively). Students studied the pathways of the hurricanes that intersected with Daufuskie Island dating back to 1853 and the evolution of the Island as evidenced by its notable geographical ridges. Students also studied scenarios using GIS projections of up to 3 ft of sea level rise.

Students reported that Daufuskie Island’s ocean-side shoreline has receded 173 ft on average since 1977, while areas including Bloody Point and Haig Point show evidence of accretion. These shoreline changes have led to higher frequencies of road flooding and deterioration, impact on wildlife and vegetation, and reduced distance of houses to the ocean resulting in some buildings becoming surrounded by water permanently.

Students and educators stated: “Overall, our research shows that erosion and sea level rise are significant issues for the island, especially looking into the future… In this project, we have identified areas of greatest change on the island and have been able to measure that change. It is now our environmental stewardship and responsibility to search and learn more about the actions we can take to preserve and protect our island.”

View the Marine Issues on Daufuskie Island StoryMap and the accompanying analysis.

Stakeholder Engagement

Daufuskie Island Independent School and the Daufuskie Conservancy hosted a series of three public events from February through May entitled “What’s happening to Daufuskie’s Shoreline.” The series featured DIIS student presentations, and speakers from the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the College of Charleston, the Consortium, and Coastal Carolina University.

Contact

For more information, contact Katie Finegan, P.E., Coastal Processes Program Specialist​, or Shu-Mei Huang, Coastal GIS Specialist.