South Carolina Aquarium Celebrates National Citizen Science Month with Ingevity

Press Release

The South Carolina Aquarium is celebrating National Citizen Science Month this April, thanks in part to the generous support of Ingevity.

The Aquarium is committed to working beyond their walls on critical conservation issues — plastic pollution mitigation, sustainable seafood, and resilience — while engaging the community in their efforts via citizen science opportunities. Citizen science promotes universal and equitable access to scientific data and information, ultimately helping to develop solutions and drive actionable change for the natural world.

Since the creation of the South Carolina Aquarium Citizen Science app back in 2016, more than 2,400 community members and groups have joined to contribute data. In the pilot project within the app, the Litter Journal, citizen scientists have already logged more than 2.4 million pieces of debris (and counting). Litter Journal data has been used to support legislation for plastic mitigation efforts across the state.

“All of the data collected in our citizen science projects are publicly available. They are collected by the citizens and therefore, belong to the citizens,” says Dr. Sara McDonald, director of conservation at the Aquarium. “This enables community members to have conversations among themselves and with decision makers about solutions. As a result, through our Citizen Science app, the Aquarium empowers people to help tackle some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time — plastic pollution, effects of sea level rise and sustainable seafood.”

Ingevity sees the expansive value of engaging the community in these efforts. They have long supported the Aquarium’s plastic mitigation work via the Respond gallery and regularly join the Aquarium on fieldwork opportunities, collecting debris and contributing citizen science data. Their recent gift will enable the Aquarium to craft useful tools and resources to support the growing community of citizen scientists across the state. In addition, Ingevity’s support will be recognized through the conservation classroom at the upcoming Boeing Learning Lab at the Maritime Center, the future home of the Aquarium’s robust slate of education programming. The conservation classroom will house and nurture the next generation of environmental stewards, engaging them in critical conservation issues and fostering their connection to the natural world.

“Our partnership with the South Carolina Aquarium aligns with our mission to purify, protect and enhance the world around us,” said John Fortson, president and CEO at Ingevity. “Ingevity’s continued advancements in biodegradable products demonstrates our commitment to global initiatives addressing single use plastic pollution in our waterways.”

National Citizen Science Month encourages individuals, students, families and communities to learn about the natural world and contribute data to ongoing research. Participating in citizen science projects helps children build critical thinking skills and bridges the gap between scientists and the public, ultimately building trust and evoking change. The South Carolina Aquarium is proud to be a part of the celebration this year with the support of Ingevity.

To learn more about citizen science efforts at the South Carolina Aquarium, visit scaquarium.org/citizenscience

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