WILMINGTON — For most people, designing a curriculum to get an entire class of third-graders involved in learning how to help the environment would be intimidating. For Terry Brinson of Alderman Elementary, it was just another Monday. But after twenty six years of teaching, Brinson doubts she will ever get tired of doing it.

“When you see the light turn on in a child’s head, and they’ve learned something,” Brinson said, “it warms my heart.”

The N.C. Coastal Federation awarded Brinson with a Pelican Award this year to commemorate her outstanding involvement in environmental education. This annual award is given to people who rise above and beyond in the effort to protect our coastlines.

Watching her students grow is Terry Brinson’s greatest joy.

Brinson, third-grade teacher at Alderman since 1994, created a rain garden in front the school with the help of her class and the federation. The garden is a collection of plants and trees with fibrous roots that collect the dirty runoff and allows it to seep into the ground instead of flowing to the nearest creek. It also helps counteract the flooding that occurs in the parking lot and around the school.

“Every child got their own plant,” Brinson said. “They marked them and watched them grow over the school year.”

When the federation approached her three years ago with the idea to build a rain garden at Alderman, Brinson saw it as a chance to give her students a hands-on lesson in environmental awareness. She helped coordinate between the school and the federation to build the garden. After planting the garden, each student chose one of the garden’s plants to take care of for the school year.

“Without Terry’s enthusiasm and support,” said Ted Wilgis, an educator with the federation, “we would not have been able to implement the project.”

Brinson didn’t hesitate to take ownership of the garden after the project was introduced. She immediately set to creating lessons for her class, teaching the students about the garden and the importance of environmental awareness. The students have a responsibility in keeping the garden maintained, as well.

“We have them come out and remove dead leaves.” Brinson said, “They’re responsible for a lot of the upkeep. They love doing it.”

For three years, third-grade students at Alderman have been helping keep their new garden clean and efficient. Taking care of the garden is part of a unit on environmental science and helps engage young students to get involved in it. However, nobody engages students quite like a dedicated teacher.

“I’ve always been teaching elementary,” Brinson said, “watching them grow into wonderful and caring students makes me happy.”

A native of Wilmington, Brinson left as a child when her father’s government job made him move to Savannah, Ga. Later, she moved to Cary. From there, she decided she would become a teacher, and received a full scholarship to Fayetteville State University. In 1988, she started teaching second grade in Dunn.

“I tried teaching kindergarten for one year,” Brinson laughs, “but it definitely wasn’t my forte. They were crying, and I was too!”

She says she enjoys the challenge that comes with teaching children at such a young age.

In 1994, she moved back to Wilmington to be near her family and has been teaching at Alderman since then. She says she loves living in Wilmington, and thinks that it’s like being on vacation all year long. She has three children, a granddaughter and another grandchild on the way.

Brinson’s work with the federation has been instrumental in providing much-needed environmental education to young students. Her passion and dedication to the well-being of her school and her class is unwavering. Even small projects like her class’s rain garden help create positive change in the environment, and there’s no denying that the lessons her students learn from it will stay with them the rest of their lives. She believes it’s not just about teaching students, but also preparing young people to grow up into wonderful human beings. For her dedication to the environment, she earns a pelican award. But for her dedication to her students, she earns something more – a role in positively shaping our future generations.

“It’s an adventure every day,” says Brinson, “I couldn’t think of doing anything else.”

HOLLY RIDGE – Groups like the N.C. Coastal Federation spend a lot of time and effort building oyster reefs to create marine habitat and improve water quality. But do the reefs really work? Do the lifeless piles of shells actually become a sort of living organism? Are the marshes that the reefs protect thriving?

Federation volunteers set out last month to find out. They measured the salt marsh that the federation built at its Morris Landing Preserve in Onslow Countyand poked around the reef for signs of life. The reef is an ongoing federation project, and the group monitors it as it does all its oyster restoration projects.The results so far are very encouraging.

Worms and other marine life begin to colonize an oyster shell on the sill. Photo: Gregory Loftis.

“The projects are looking generally successful,” said Ted Wilgis, a federation educator and head reef builder. “So far we haven’t had any failures.”

Erosion constantly threatens the marshes of our coast, forcing them to retreat inland. Wooden bulkheads and stone walls meant to combat erosion also prevent the marshes from migrating. Slowly, they disappear as the shoreline in front of the wall continued to erode. Living shoreline projects like the Morris Landing oyster sill offer an alternative to walls, but it’s important to keep an eye on them to see if the they are working, Wilgis said. One way is to sample for marine life.

“A successful oyster sill,” Wilgis said, “will have new, live oysters attaching and growing around it.”

Volunteers checked each individual oyster shell  from several submerged bags for signs of life. Because the newest section of the sill at Morris Landing has only been in place since November, no full-grown oysters were found in this survey. However, spats – baby oysters – covered the reef, as well as other marine life such as worms, snapping shrimp and sea squirts. They’re early indicators of a successful sill, Wilgis said.

Coastal vegetation is another metric used to determine the effect of a sill. Volunteers measured the height and density of the salt marsh hay and cordgrass at Morris Landing. The information will be compared against previous surveys to determine whether the marsh grew.

The marshlands aren’t the only thing the federation hopes to protect. “We’re trying to encourage oysters to spawn,” said Wilgis.

Oyster reefs provide habitat for many smaller marine species. Whenever a new oyster sill is put into place, Wilgis always hopes it will attract baby oysters and eventually become home and hunting ground for many other animals.

Volunteers and members of the federation measure the height of marsh grass. Photo: Gregory Loftis.

But the sills have to be carefully monitored to make sure they’re fulfilling their intended purpose.

“The sills have to be constructed correctly,” says Rachel Gittman, a researcher at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who is studying coastal restorationprojectss. “Sometimes, an area doesn’t even need a sill.”

Gittman said that the federation’s efforts have all been appropriate and well-constructed, but other organizations and private landowners have made poor decisions. “Some places have been installed with unnecessary sills,” she said, “and they actually get in the way.”

Bree Kerwin and Frank Headly measure the density of the marsh grass.

There are alternatives to oyster sills in areas where erosion is not such an immediate threat, Gittman explained. Simply replanting and filling the already eroded shoreline may be sufficient. There is no easy, cure-all solution, she noted.

“Lack of awareness and education [about coastal protection] has been one of the major obstacles,” Gittman says, “but I think people are starting to become more aware of the problems facing our coast, and how it might affect us.”

The federation will continue to monitor Morris Landing over the coming years along with other projects, such as Permuda Island in Stump Sound and Jones Island in the White Oak River. Future plans include a 200-foot living shoreline at Oak Island.

It’s important to work scientifically to maximize the effectiveness of habitat restoration projects, Wilgis said. As the data from monitoring habitat restoration projects comes in, the federation will adapt its strategies, he noted.

WILMINGTON — The N.C. Coastal Federation and the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association have formed a dynamic duo designed to make building eco-friendly development projects a friendlier process.

The budding relationship blossomed a couple of weeks ago when the home builders awarded the federation with the Coastal Green Built Award as part of their 26th Annual Parade of Homes Banquet. Local governments usually get the award to recognize their progress in green development, but the federation won it this year because of its work with the home builders in promoting low-impact development, or LID, to reduce the effects of stormwater from development projects.

“Working toward a common goal has brought us together,” says Cameron Moore, the governmental affairs director for the home builders association.

Lauren Kolodij and Todd Miller of the N.C. Coastal Federation show off the Coastal Green Built Award.

The organizations have been working with local governments since 2006 to promote green building and uncover obstacles to low-impact development. More specifically, the groups have been encouraging homebuilding methods to reduce stormwater runoff, using tools such as rain gardens and cisterns to lessen its effects.

“That’s part of the bigger picture.” says Moore, “The goal is to create a comprehensive plan for green building.”

Part of this comprehensive plan involves creating tools and resources to make life easier for hopeful green builders.

“In 2007, the federation assembled a team of experts to produce a low-impact development manual for voluntary use by developers,” says Lauren Kolodij, deputy director of the federation, “We also hosted training sessions on the use of this manual.”

The federation also contracted with an engineering firm to devise an LID stormwater permitting tool that builders and local governments can use to estimate stormwater reductions.

The organizations, however, are looking beyond simply creating references and utilities.

“We want to make not just development tools,” says Donna Girardot, the executive officer at the home builders association, “but examples for others to use.”

The idea is that as more and more green-built subdivisions, transportation lines and commercial buildings begin to emerge, other builders will take notice and integrate low-impact development into their plans. Hopefully, ideas used by green builders on the coast will flow to the rest of the state, making low-impact development the standard.

Beyond assisting development, the home builders and the federation also talk with local governments about eco-friendly building regulations.

“Our work together to date has focused on offering options for developers and not new regulations in regard to LID,” says Kolodij, “We are working with local governments to identify obstacles to LID and make recommendations on how to reduce them.”

Some of the obstacles identified so far include a lack of incentives for low-impact development and general unawareness of LID options.

Over the past few years, talks between the home builders’ association, the federation and local governments have resulted in almost limitless benefits to low-impact building. Proper planning around stormwater runoff saves space and creates a more self-sufficient environment. Advances in green building techniques have allowed low-impact development to become as cost-efficient as other methods – perhaps even more so. New methods of managing stormwater runoff and harvesting rainwater will help conserve water supplies.

“Everybody can find a benefit in low-impact development,” says Kolodij.

“We want to make it easy for builders to take the low-impact route,” Girardot says, “and encourage them to do so.”

The relationship that the federation and the home builders now share is the result of their joint efforts to promote LID. That the federation won the Coastal Green Built Award is significant, Girardot said.

“The award is significant in that the federation is the first non-governmental organization to receive it,” she said. “That says a lot.”

Moving forward, the newly found working relationship between the two groups will likely expand as they continue efforts to make LID a viable option for the development community.

• Lauren Kolodij, our deputy director, explains our work with the home builders

OAK ISLAND — Students at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington braved nasty weather last week to get their hands dirty and help create healthier waters and a more stable shoreline for this beach community in Brunswick County.

About 25  students arrived bright and early at Waterway Park on Wednesday, April 25, to continue bagging oyster shells and limestone marl, which will eventually be used to create an underwater reef spanning a portion of the island’s northern shore.

The reef is part of a project that will also include a restored salt marsh along the shoreline of the park. The reef and marsh will work as a living shoreline to slow down erosion while providing important habitat and water quality benefits. Living shorelines use more natural methods of erosion control than wooden or concrete bulkheads and stone rip-rap.

“Our goal,” says Michaux “is to create a coastline that is both healthy and aesthetic.”The project, initially started by the one of Oak Island’s advisory boards, has grown to involve the N.C. Coastal Federation and the town’s Public Works Department. John Michaux, Public Works manager for Oak Island, says that the federation has been a tremendous help in planning and coordinating the reef’s construction.

Boat traffic across the Intracoastal Waterway currently creates wakes that slam into the shoreline, eroding the land. When the sill is put into place and the marsh restored, that wake will be buffered and hopefully cut down on the amount of erosion , Michaux said. This will allow several vacant lots across the coastline to be converted into public park space.

“What the reef will also do,” says Michaux, “is create a good habitat for new oyster beds.”

The sill works by layering bags of limestone marl or oyster shells on top of each other underwater, explained Ted Wilgis, one of the federation’s coastal educators who is overseeing the project for the non-profit conservation group.

“Baby oysters, called spat, like to settle on oyster shells,” he said. “So this new sill will encourage new populations of oysters. As it matures, the reef will become important habitat to many types of marine life.”

The marl and shells provide  a home and protection for juvenile fish, crabs, small marine organisms and many important commercial and recreational species, Wilgis said. As the oyster reef develops, larger fish will tend to congregate around it, feeding on the smaller fish and marine life. Oyster reefs are important nurseries and feeding grounds that help support North Carolina’s billion dollar commercial and recreational fishing industries.

To complete a reef of this size, though, takes planning, and more importantly, lots of labor. That’s why oceanography and marine science students at Hoggard volunteered to help collect and bag the needed materials.

“This is a valuable experience for them,” says Aaron Soodek, an oceanography and marine science teacher at Hoggard. “The students had the option of joining in as part of a unit on shellfish.”

Soodek and his students travelled hours to work in the cold and the rain for the better part of Wednesday. Despite the disagreeable weather, however, students went about energetically bagging the oyster shells and marl. Soodek says that his students were more than eager to get outside and work in the field.

“I don’t mind the rain,” says Vassily Brown, a Hoggard student. “I think this is too important to let something like that (the weather) get in the way.”

Volunteers arrived by bus at10 a.m. and were handed raincoats and treated to lunch, courtesy of the federation. Wilgis, who coordinated the event, helped everyone split into groups – students were making bags, helping slide shells into collection tubes, tying the full bags up and stacking them with the rest. For several hours, students joked and laughed as they performed their duties.

“It’s repetitive,” says Will Garbo, another student, “but rewarding, and I’m out here making a difference.”

Students who volunteered for the project received valuable community service hours, a requirement of high school organizations such as the Beta Club.

The reef will also help preserve a unique feature of Oak Island’s coast, the marshlands that are being overrun by the constant boat wake – a problem made apparent when a passing military vessel created large waves that slammed into the shore’s bulkhead. Even the bulkheads in place do very little to protect against the effects of constant marine traffic. With the sill in place, there will be a buffer for the marshes. The federation and the town plan to replant some of the marshes later.

Along with all the benefits to the continued health of the shore, the volunteer effort also had a more subtle, yet arguably more important effect – teaching a younger generation about the importance of maintaining our ecosystems.

“It’s not just our responsibility,” says Garbo, “it’s everybody’s responsibility to do what they can for our environment.”

Organizations like the federation can provide information and tools, but the real effort comes from everybody doing their part to make a difference – no matter how big, or how small.