The South Carolina Wildlife Federation is honored to be in a position to distribute educational grants to full-time students pursuing environmental education at South Carolina schools of higher education. Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible, based on their performance in academia and in related community activities.

The winners of the 2018-19 Scholarships are:

Eilea Knotts, PhD Candidate, University of South Carolina
With a doctoral degree, Eilea plans on seeking a high-load teaching position as an Associate Professor in the areas of marine biology and ecology at a university satellite school. There, she hopes to have her own undergraduate lab where she will train the next generation of scientists in community ecology and physiology. She believes teaching is an opportunity and an honor, which has led her to be an instructor under a Teaching Assistantship for six different laboratory courses and an assistant in a field research techniques course. As a marine ecologist working towards a terminal degree, Eilea has contributed to research through peer-reviewed articles and conference presentations. She began in 2014 working toward her master’s degree on animal behavior in fiddler crabs. During those two years, she focused on how herding behavior influences spatial positioning and published three peer-reviewed articles, two of which were 1st author publications related to her master’s research. In 2016, Eilea began her doctoral work on the community ecology of phytoplankton. Her research is primarily grounded in the competitive advantages of carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme found in phytoplankton. With this work, she plans to contribute at least five peer-reviewed articles to the scientific community, one of which is already published. Over the last four years, she has participated in numerous conference presentations, including poster and oral presentations. These meetings span from graduate symposiums (Biology Research Symposium at Baruch) to research site meetings (2018 Hobcaw Research Symposium). She has also presented on a larger scale at regional conferences (Southeastern Estuarine Research Society Conference) and national conferences (Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Conference and Benthic Ecology Meeting). Apart from her time engaged in activities with the university and research, Eilea volunteers for Guinyard-Butler Middle School and EdVenture Children’s Museum in Columbia.

Grace Allen, Senior in Environmental Studies, University of South Carolina
Grace has a passion for wildlife and their habitats, and for sharing her knowledge with others. As an intern for SCWF, Grace manages a Habitat Enhancement Project under a grant from Duke Energy. She is coordinating the installation of 80 wood duck boxes and 10 osprey nesting towers on public and private lands in the Catawba-Wateree Watersheds. She works directly with homeowners, park officials, vendors, volunteers, and Duke Energy representatives. Grace is also the Project Director for Pollinator Corridor Project at USC- a plan to add pollinator corridors in Columbia for beautification and to provide connections between isolated green space, allowing for easier migrations for pollinators (monarchs, etc).

Maura Glovins, Sophomore in Marine Science at University of South Carolina
In the future, Maura wants to earn her masters in marine science and possibly teaching. With the ocean playing such a prominent role in our environment and our lives, She feels that it is important to encourage those with an interest in marine science to pursue their passion. . She intends to continue researching the marine environment, share its many wonders and great importance with future generations, and present herself as a role model for those who are passionate about science. Maura has participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Rutgers University, where she completed an independent research project on the population dynamics of New Jersey artificial reefs. Last semester, she gathered 60+ service hours from multiple different service opportunities, including Sustainable Carolina, Edventure Children’s Museum and the USC Marine Science Club.

Reeves Goettee, Junior in Environmental Studies & Biology at Wofford College
After graduation in 2020, Reeves plans to pursue a graduate degree. She is especially interested in environmental education outreach programs and awareness projects and wants to use her degrees in Environmental Studies and Biology to translate upper-level environmental science into simple and straightforward terms for the public. She wants to equip people with the power to understand environmental issues and how we can actively take steps to mitigate them. Ultimately, she wants to make a direct, positive impact on the health of our environment and simultaneously enact necessary change within her community. She has strengths in both sciences and creative endeavors, and will be doing her senior capstone project next year using photography to document landscape changes at different scales of space and time.

SCWF Scholarship Program:

The SCWF receives contributions from our members; however, a large portion of the funds for these scholarships are received from these two funders:

• D. L. Scurry Foundation – In 1969, Mr. D. L. Scurry and his CPA, Mr. J. F. Burgess, created a non-profit foundation which emphasized providing educational scholarship funds for individuals attending colleges, universities and technical schools in South Carolina. Since that time, the D. L. Scurry Foundation has helped further the educational goals of thousands of students and many organizations within the state.
• The Riverbanks Conservation Support Fund (CSF) – This Fund was created to provide financial assistance for conservation oriented projects/programs worldwide that promote preservation of the Earth’s biodiversity.

Knowledge lays the groundwork for analyzing environmental problems, resolving conflicts, and preventing new problems from arising. The South Carolina Wildlife Federation is committed to supporting future leaders by helping to provide the financial resources necessary to lay the groundwork for more responsible decision-making tomorrow.

Scholarship applications are accepted online through our website each year until October 31st.

Photo by David Stoney – “Solitary Pine at Sunset”